Four Major Trends Driving Utility Customer Communications …and What Every Utility Should Know About Them

Superstorms and

Other Natural Disasters

A case study in Superstorm Sandy

iFactor outage maps for the storm area received more than 6.7 million views2.47 million customers were without power; FirstEnergy received 1.5 million outage calls PPL Electric Utilities more than doubled their Twitter followers and increased "likes" on Facebook by a factor of 45

Sources: iFactor Research and Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Report

Customer Interactions During Storms

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Even More Storms Expected2012 produced more than twice the number of storms that were predicted The 2013 hurricane season is also predicted to be above average with: 18 named storms 9 hurricanes (with four storms category 3 or higher)Source: Colorado State University Forecast of Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Activity 2013

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Communicate proactively with customers via Traditional Channels: Phone calls, emails, and information on utility websites Newer Channels: Interactive outage maps, text messages and social media accounts Provide education and context to customers before, during and after storms using Web and mobile outage maps Educational videos

Proactive Outage Communications and Education are Key for Utilities

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Proliferation

of Mobile

Technology

Technology Adoption Today91% of adults have mobile phones; 34% of adults have tablets26% of customers are using their phone to visit their utility company website77% of customers say they would find a mobile app from their utility useful

Sources: Pew Research, J.D. Power andAssociates, and ClickFox Research

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More Mobile in the ForecastBy 2016, the internet will be accessed most frequently from a mobile deviceMobile will become even more a part of daily lifeThe mobile phone may take the place of a walletMore wearable mobile technologies such as the Pebble smart watch and Google Glass will be available

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Use mobile channels to interact with customers – start a conversation, don’t just provide informationTailor messages to work within the limitations of mobile channels – review messages channel by channelGive customers options – let customers chose the messages they want to receive in each channelKeep an eye on mobile trends and what your customers are using

Utilities Should Embrace Mobile Technology•

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New Legislative

and Regulatory

Requirements

May 2012 – Conn. bill passes allowing regulatory agency to set standard for utility communicationsAugust 2012 – Mass. law requires 3-time daily ERTs and additional call center staffJanuary 2013 – N.J. BPU issues strict guidelines for utilities to provide pre-event communications, outage maps, and ERTsMay 2013 – N.Y. scorecard in development to rate performance of utilities during power outages

Recent Legislative Activity•

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Other states are likely to follow suit as they see laws passedUse of additional communication channels such as mobile communications and social media will be expected

Expectations Will Continue•

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Look to update outage maps and communication systems to meet requirementsPlan for improvements so they can be made on your timelineContinue to improve business processes tied to restoration to support more timely and accurate information

Utilities Should Note Requirements and Plan Implementations Carefully•

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Changes in

Utility Company

Technology and

Billing Practices

Smart meter information will provide ways to improve outage management and restoration, and will allow utilities to offer a variety of Demand Response and energy efficiency programsImproving bill collection and payment practices will become even more of a focus Increasing customer satisfaction will require more communication with customers

New Programs/Priorities for Utilities•

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Information from smart meters will need to be disseminated to customers for programs to be a successManaging pre-pay accounts requires more frequent communication to customers, while streamlining payments requires looking at new communications channels Improving customer service means more proactive communications in more channels

More Communication Will Be Needed

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Look at new communications channels as opportunities to improve customer satisfaction, cash flow and operational excellence Plan to not only meet customer expectations, but exceed them

Utilities Should Seize the Opportunity•

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For more information, download the accompanying white paper:

“Four Major Trends Driving Utility Customer Communications and What Every Utility

Should Know About Them”