Smart Grid and Home Area Network Technology Ramp Up
10/12/2009
ATLANTA, Oct. 8, 2009 – Internet-savvy consumers tend to be happier utility customers, reported Jeff Conklin of J.D. Power and Associates at Apogee Interactive’s 16th annual conference in Atlanta. Overall utility customer satisfaction rose in 2009 despite a poor economic outlook among respondents and no real drop in electricity prices, Conklin added.
Utilities with the highest percentage of customers paying their bills online scored the best among the 121 large and midsize utilities covered in the 2009 survey of 80,000 consumers. Utilities offering energy-saving information on their websites scored higher as well.
Utility consumer satisfaction is increasing during a time when investment in smart grid technology is expected to quintuple over the next 20 years, according to Rob Wilhite, senior vice president of Intelligent Networks and Communications for KEMA, Inc. Federal stimulus funds for smart grid projects is a contributing factor, he noted, but so is the reality of an aging electric power system infrastructure that is in widespread need of replacement and maintenance.
Smart grid technology will bring new opportunities for two-way utility-customer communications, in part through Home Area Network technology and “energy dashboards” for business, Wilhite added. According to KEMA, smart grid deployment will open up a $100 billion market for new smart technologies.
Strategic development vice president Paul Nagel of Control4, a national leader in home automation systems since 2003, demonstrated how utilities can bring smart grid information into consumer homes and prompt energy efficiency actions with Home Area Network technology. Apogee is one of Control4’s technology partners for the energy analytics within Control4’s new home energy management systems.
Dovetailing the J.D. Power findings was E Source’s 2009 Review of 100 North American Electric and Gas Company Web Sites, presented to the Apogee conference participants by Andrew Heath, director of E Source customer satisfaction services. Utility websites are catching up with customer expectations, offering more self-service functions and more options wanted by consumers across the board, Heath reported. New to the E Source study this year was usability testing on mobile devices for utility website home pages, outage and emergency reporting, account balance presentment and one-time bill payment. Users’ experiences varied widely depending on their mobile device.
Fourteen speakers addressed the two-day conference hosted by Apogee on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at Stone Mountain, just outside of Atlanta. The company provides this forum for utility professionals each year to present the latest industry trends, online energy efficiency applications and customer self-service website functions for utilities. Joel Gilbert, chief software architect and co-founder of Apogee, previewed Apogee’s new Version 5 AuditMation™ Energy Analysis System and online HomeEnergyCalculator™. Apogee’s latest software features enhanced mathematical algorithms, a fully redesigned interface based on extensive usability testing and automated mechanisms for consumer feedback throughout the application.
Other energy efficiency leaders presenting at Innovations included Chandler von Schrader, national manager of the EPA’s Home Performance with ENERGY Star program; Bill Rodgers, president and chief executive officer of GoodCents; Penni Mclean-Conner, vice president of customer care and energy efficiency for NSTAR; Tracy Kirk of PSE&G; Joel Smith of Puget Sound Energy; and Michael Overstreet and Dan Lockman of Apogee.
Apogee Interactive Inc.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Apogee is a leading provider of online energy analysis applications for the utility industry. More than 400 investor-owned, cooperative and public power systems currently use Apogee’s customer- and company-facing energy-use analysis tools, call center programs, Web content modules, website development and hosting services. The company's customers span a wide range of energy utilities including Southern Company Services (NYSE: SO), American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Entergy (NYSE: ETR), FPL (NYSE: FPL), Westar Energy (NYSE: WR), CPS Energy, Tennessee Valley Authority, Jackson EMC, and NOVEC.
Contact: Kathy Hart, khart@apogee.net, 404-271-1489, Apogee Interactive, Inc.
2009 Press Releases
