On 26 February I will present to the National Power Conference (give these guys your contact details at your own risk – you will be flooded with unwanted conference and event invites) during the “Billing and Smart Metering Stream”. A brief synopsis of what I intend to present follows.
Power to the people!
Energy retailing is a world dominated by crusty utilities operating at glacial pace and with a fetish for complexity and jargon.
Designed and built by engineers, bastardised by economists and muddled by marketers, the industry continues to deliver one of the most successful consumer confusion programmes of all time. While “customer centricity programmes” have improved service levels, the fact remains that power companies systemically make even smart people feel dumb. Left to its own devices, smart metering will allow power companies to exponentially accelerate these consumer confusion programmes.
Customers do not currently engage with their electricity usage or spending, not because they don’t want to, but because they do not know how. Their meters are cobweb ridden alien objects that destroy the architectural prowess of their homes to give their power company comfort that they are not nicking power, bills contain more numbers than the Harihari phone book and everything is all too difficult.
Customers’ engagement with electricity as a product must be made much simpler, much more understandable and much easier. The feedback loop between usage and purchase must be closed long before smart meters can deliver true value to customers.
Smart metering as a technology is not a panacea. It will not solve the basic woes that lead to customer dis-engagement. It is smart customers that will deliver any change in behaviour – to the benefit of themselves and wider the power system. Fortunately for the industry, behind every meter is a smart customer. It is up to the industry to stop introducing confusion into customers’ decision-making processes. It is up to the industry to deliver information, and products and services that will allow customers to make informed decisions about electricity. Smart meter based products designed poorly will deliver more confusion – smart meter based products designed well will integrate into and enhance well-engineered products and services with truly engaged customers.
Powershop intends to deliver an information rich experience that will provide choice and control to customers using the internet as its primary service channel. Key features of this service will be presented and discussed at the conference.
Ari, you should get someone to record your session, and then post it up here.
Good luck.
January 31st, 2009 at 12:40 pmThe price of $4600 versus Webstock’s $1000 essentially says it all about the power industry industry: Fat and happy.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:40 amAri, congratulations. I caught your presentation at the conference and it went down very well in my book – best presentation of the day!
March 9th, 2009 at 8:31 pmRoll on your roll out to the provinces we are the last to get most things, hopefully not this great option.
In response to Jan:
Thanks! We will roll out to the provinces in due course, but we need to learn to walk before we run and want to focus on getting things right before we over extend ourselves.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:25 pmWise move- finally a company that isnt completly money hungry! (Like Energy Online- great concept, 50,000 customers signed up, cant handle the call volume!)
March 24th, 2009 at 10:53 am