More E-bills, Please

“Raise your hand if you receive your utility bill by email.” This was an ad-hoc survey posed by Linda Jackman, VP of Product Management for Oracle's Utilities Division, to an audience of smart grid enthusiasts at a recent industry conference. I believe the show of hands from this ‘smart’ audience was less than half.

I happened to be in the group that raised their hands, but more importantly, the question to the audience immediately reminded me that the smart grid hoopla must be balanced by the objectives of our investments.

Investments in smart grid technologies offers many benefits which include the potential to better manage our energy usage, lower our energy bills, reduce our carbon emissions (approximately half our electrical energy is generated from coal powered plants), and protect our environment.

Requesting an e-bill over a paper bill has similar environmental benefits at virtually no cost. With an e-bill we eliminate the use of paper, and the energy required to source and process its raw materials. We eliminate the energy required to produce the paper bill and distribute it to our homes. We also eliminate the energy required to recycle or dispose of it.

I get it. Now what’s in it for me?

If there’s a rub, it’s that most of us are more concerned with cost and convenience. If an eco-friendly option isn’t more convenient or less expensive than the current method, the incentive to change is generally pretty low. For example, most of us pay at least some of our bills online because it beats writing a check, putting it an envelope, and dropping it in the mail. The billing part (e-bill) has not enjoyed the same adoption because it does not always strike us offering greater convenience.

According to Ms. Jackman, at roughly 17%, the utility industry has one of the lowest e-bill adoption percentages of any industry. In the mobile phone industry by comparison, 40 - 50% of customers receive an e-bill. In their defense, utilities provide service to a larger and more diverse base of customers. To that end, there will also be a segment of the population who find that a piece of paper in hand, just works better for them.

Six tips for increasing e-bill adoption rates

While we can expect e-bill adoption rates across all industries to grow organically over time, there are a number of things that utilities, as well other businesses, can do to boost their adoption rates.

1. Provide customers with a high level of understanding on how your e-bill program works and provide easy access to frequently asked questions. 
2. Accept feedback and address specific concerns such as the fear of missing a payment in the absence of a physical paper reminder. 
3. Connect your e-bill with multiple online payment options including your website and online banking sites. 
4. List ALL of the advantages of electronic billing to the customer. This would include convenience factors, improved service levels, and environmental benefits. 
5. Consider additional incentives: 
1. Financial incentives may come in the form of small monthly discounts or one-time bonus bucks for switching to a paperless bill format. 
2. Environmental incentives might come in the form of contributions to non-profit carbon offsetters or tree planting organizations for every customer that switches to a paperless format. 
3. Sweepstakes for cool gadgetry or Energy Star products can also be effective at driving conversions. 
6. Give customers numerous opportunities to make the switch by widely incorporating the message into all customer communication touch-points: phone, email, invoices, web, newsletters, advertising, etc. Bottom line: make it easy! 

While we wait for more and more businesses to make it easier for us to switch to an e-bill format, take an extra moment this week to evaluate whether you would be equally served by switching any of your current paper statements to electronic versions.

Look out for a follow up piece with more ideas on reducing unnecessary mail delivered to your home.

Google Killer - Qu'est Que C'est?

If there’s a large market, you can bet that Google will be there if it isn’t already. 

Today, Google launched its own Android Smartphone called Nexus One.  Google recently turned the mapping/GIS industry on its head when it announced that it was going to provide its maps with turn-by-turn directions for free. Most people have to pay for GPS functionality.  It has also quietly upped the ante on its geolocation game with the launch of Latitude and Favorite Places.  There will be plenty more written about this elsewhere, but when you’re done reading about all the iPhone vs. Android comparisons, remember that Google’s real money is still largely generated from advertising.  Hat tip to Brian Sheehan for providing some insight:  How Google Is Moving to 'Own' Mobility.

Smart Grid Market – Entre Google

The modernization of our nation’s electrical grid, which runs from the points of power generation through to the transmission and distribution of electrical energy to homes and business, represents a trillion dollar market.  Specific opportunities along the value chain make up opportunities that run in the hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars.  Naturally, every major technology company in the world is hungry for a piece of the pie.  Google is no exception.

That Google would use its strengths to develop a Home Energy Management (HEM) solution that provides consumers with useful energy consumption data should come as no surprise.  It’s also no surprise that it can be obtained for free.  What stands out however, is that they have unabashedly entered the marketplace from a philanthropic perspective.

Here’s their angle.  Energy conservation stands as a central pillar of the smart grid movement.  Reducing our energy consumption and shifting it away from fossil fuels benefits our environment.  And, since curbing climate change is a global environmental challenge, an energy management tool falls within the mission of Google.org.

Google PowerMeter is a project of Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, which aspires to leverage the power of information and technology to address global challenges.

When Google enters a market, you can expect that they’ll have the wherewithal to spend untold millions without a near-term profit motive.  That’s got to make business leaders on the same playing field feel uneasy.  When Google.org enters a market with no profit motive, well I imagine that’s gotta make competitors feel down right queasy.

Google dominance is no fait accompli.

Even without Google and Google.org, the HEM market is one of the most competitive in the smart grid space.  There are dozens of energy monitoring and management solutions available, and more are coming online this year.  There are well financed and well respected companies providing compelling solutions for utilities and consumers.  Google could very well marginalize some providers, but dominance is no fait accompli.  Would be competitors might even find opportunities to offer solutions that run on Google’s traditionally open platforms.

C’est la vie – Consumers should have their options.

I'm as big a fan of Google as the next guy, and I will soon profile a number of quality HEM solutions (Google included) that consumers can begin taking advantage of, even without a smart meter.  Let’s just hope we can keep Google’s AdWords off our in-home energy management displays.

Your Utility added you as a friend on Facebook…

Now that utilities have access to the gear necessary to deploy smart grid technologies in the tens of millions this year, one of the remaining burning questions is how to improve dialogue with customers and develop more meaningful relationships. This topic warrants discussing a couple factors that will help shape the dialogue that can lead to those meaningful relationships:

• How should we engage customers (by what means)?
• What should we talk about?

How should we engage customers?

Energy Management Displays, Web Based Applications, Mobile Applications

One of the relevant concerns that has emerged in the rollout of smart meters, is the incongruous deployment of energy management displays and other complementary smart devices. Along with providing highly convenient access to the real-time energy consumption data that can affect positive change, these tools can also be used in various ways to readily engage customers. These devices certainly add another cost component to the ROI equation, but it’s important to test these options while we’re in the early phases. Providing online tools and mobile applications of the same content and customer interaction capabilities should also be a part of these tests.

Social Media

No discussion of customer engagement should go without a thoughtful social media strategy. Social media’s open and decentralized nature often presents operational and cultural challenges for organizations. It is for this reason that utilities need leadership roles in ‘community building’ to develop their social outlets, integrate their strategy into all aspects of customer communication, educate internal and external audiences, experiment, innovate, and ultimately empower customers to talk about energy consumption in ways that are meaningful to the customer and the utility.

Low Tech

Not to be forgotten are all those folks who aren’t fully plugged into our highly connected world. They’re not on email all day, spending hours on Facebook, or using fancy iPhones and Blackberrys. They do however have regular cell phones with SMS capability and a snail-mailboxes. Utilities no doubt will need to pay attention to this important customer segment, leverage the ‘old reliable’ communication platforms, and also participate in community events. Utilities could start off by creating a simple, easy-to-read bill with a usage chart that families can place on their fridge every month.

What should we talk about?

As with the devices, applications, and social media tools themselves, the topic(s) of conversation are also open to experimentation. We should also recognize that customers will have increasingly more control over this discussion. Our goal is to provide simple concepts and messages that empower customers to take action, motivate others, and come up with their own ideas in support of those concepts. I’m a big believer in establishing simple goals and suggestions for meeting those goals.

 

In the case of introducing Demand Response programs or Time-of-Use (TOU) rates, it may serve utilities well to have sufficient, real-time historical consumption data to show customers what their bill “would look like” under a new proposed rate structure. Then providing simple suggestions that shift the usage of major appliances such as dishwashers and clothes washer and dryers to off-peak hours as a means to maintain or lower their current bill. Providing numerous outlets and support for further suggestions from the utility or from customers will help in engaging them further to achieve those goals.

 

A final note on experimentation. To the extent that we’re trying to avoid another Backersfield-style backlash (see Incident in Bakersfield), remember that it was the lack of communication that hurt PG&E and potentially the smart grid evolution at large. If change is coming, then it’s never too early to communicate. Imperfect and frequent communication is better than one perfectly worded brochure or letter that will get lost or tossed in no time. Social media is a great way to communicate early and often to see what resonates.