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Serving Consumers of the Future Today Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative September 14, 2017 Debbie Kimberly SAFELY DELIVER CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE ENERGY & EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
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Serving Consumers of the Future TodaySmart Grid Consumer Collaborative
September 14, 2017Debbie Kimberly
SAFELY DELIVER CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE ENERGY & EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Overview
• Our customers and their expectations
• Strategic plan guides us in delivering value
• Engaging our customers in a more personal way
• Continuous improvement is essential
• Q&A
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Austin Energy’s Customer
• Residential, Commercial, Industrial
– Over 460,000 customers, one million residents
– Significant renter population
• Variety of stakeholder targets
– Renewables, energy efficiency and
storage
– Affordability
– Large industrial vs. small mom & pop
– 500 sq. ft. apartments vs. 6000 sq. ft. homes w/ a pool
• Across 10 city districts, plus consumers outside the city limits
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Our Vision and Focus
• Vision: Drive customer value in energy services with innovative technology and environmental leadership
• Customer driven, community focused
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Customer Expectations of a Smart Utility
“Communication during an outage is critical - the power is off, so is my computer. Text is the only way to effectively communicate when there is no power.”
“I really want a lower rate,
but, what choice do I
have?”
“I want to know why the power went off and when I can expect it back on.”
“Why can’t I choose my
own due date?”
“Clarify as soon as possible what
caused the outage and best
estimated time to resolve.”
“Can you put more information on the web portal? I need
to better understand my
company’s costs and provide better
forecasts for our annual budget”
“I’d like to see my daily utilitycosts on a real-time basis. That
way I can change my habits before the monthly bill hits”
“Make it easier to report an outage. Looking for a meter # on the bill in the dark when we no longer have a paper bill. The site should be able to determine the location of the phone and give you a list of suggested addresses to pick from.”
“Why do I have to call the utility; don’t they know when my power is out?”
“Suggestion…we should have the ability to adjust
our payment date”
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Creating Personalized Products & Services
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53% of consumers don’t believe ANY of their
service providers do this well!
Austin Energy’s Strategic Goals
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Financial HealthCustomer Collaboration Environment
Grid ModernizationEmployee EngagementBusiness Excellence
Customer Digital Engagement
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Customer Collaboration
Business Excellence Grid Modernization
360 Customer View
• Customer ≠ bill, meter, account!
• Customer is the entire person/business, dwelling, and relationship to energy and preferences
• Allows staff to understand differences between apartment dweller and homeowner with a pool or small commercial restaurant and office building– How energy is consumed
– How to communicate
– How to affect the customer experience
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360 Customer View
• Allows for targeted marketing to those similar to current program participants
• Allows for cross-promotion of related programs
• Personalized touchpoints
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Multifamily Energy Use Map
• Customers can use energy information to make better decisions
• Property managers can compare their property to similar properties
• We can better understand how multifamily properties perform and evolve our programs accordingly
– Serves as a lead for properties that may be good candidates for our rebate programs
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Apartment Comparison
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Current Apartment Comparison
• Time period built
• Complex square footage
• # of buildings
Future Apartment Comparison
• # of bedrooms
• Unit square footage
• Occupant type
Austin Energy Web App
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• Allows customers to:
– Monitor usage
– Set alerts
• kW
• kWh
• Solar production
• Forecast billing
2-Way Outage Communication
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Updated Outage Map
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Empowering Renewable Energy Choices
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EnvironmentGrid Modernization
WattPlan Solar Calculator
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• Rooftop solar feasibility tool & calculator
• austinenergy.wattplan.com
Solar Program
• Solar Incentives - 2004– Residential rebates and commercial Performance
Based Incentives – 6,450 participants; 48 MW to date
– Capacity-based incentive ramp-down, online tracker
• Residential Value of Solar (VOS) tariff – 2012
• Community Solar program - 2017– Expands access to solar
– Customers subscribe to off-site community solar systems
– No upfront cost, no long-term commitment, no O&M
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Solar Program – Coming Soon
• Commercial VOS starting in 2018
• Shared Solar program under development
– Enable cost-effective solar on multi-tenant properties
– Generation from single rooftop solar array credited to multiple tenants in individually-metered units
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Electric Vehicle Programs
• Charging Infrastructure
• Rebates for Residential and Commercial
• Time-of-Use Pilot
• E-Ride Program
• Plug-In Everywhere
• Electric Drive Showcase
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EV Cost Calculator
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New Programs and Pilots
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Customer CollaborationBusiness Excellence
Low Income Multifamily Program
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• Low Income Multifamily (MF) Weatherization Rebate Program accounts for 90% of all MF rebates
• Focused on properties receiving federal, state and local subsidies
• Rebates increased to $950/kW to enhance participation
Energy Efficiency Programs
• Energy Audits & Energy Advisors
• AC tune up added to Low Income Weatherization, Commercial Customers
• Low income loan program for AC units
• Power Partner Thermostat program
– 10 manufacturers with 30 models
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OpenADR and Demand Response
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• HVAC control vendors with OpenADR certification• Rebates with enhanced control features• Combination of manual notification and automated
deployment of OpenADR through Load CO-OP• DR audits and performance reviews • AutoDR signals vendors and technologies
Energy Monitoring Services
• Uses existing
metering
infrastructure
• Low cost/low
latency
• Available on-line
L&G Command Center
AE real time monitoringCustomer Dashboard
Pricing Pilots
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Financial Health
Customer Collaboration
Business Excellence
Time of Use Pilots
• For large customers, demand is more of an issue
• For smaller customers, the ROI must be within the lease period
• For houses of worship (e.g.), weekend rate options are more appealing
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It’s all about giving customers choices!
Pick Your Own Due Date
• First rolled out to CAP
customers
• Next outreach to
over-65 customers
• Assess uptake with
each group and
improve effectiveness
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It’s all about giving customers choices!
Targeted & Multichannel Marketing
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Customer Collaboration
Employee EngagementBusiness Excellence
Targeted & Multichannel Marketing
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• Digital, direct, social, events, community• Tying together program, usage, Census and Tapestry
data for targeted outreach• More effective messaging and dollars spent
Summary
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Offer choices
Never stop innovating
Speak customers’ languageEngage via preferred channels
Thank
You!
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Debbie KimberlyCustomer Energy Solutions
512-322-6327
