My first installment of a three-part series on Beyond the Meter programs for Utilities, beginning in general with BTM program planning for success. Later, we’ll tackle the traditional mover services programs and marketplace programs, part of BTM distribution plans. Let’s begin at the beginning, though, and talk goals for Utility Beyond the Meter programs.
What Are Your BTM Goals?
So many conversations with utility project leaders about Beyond the Meter at various symposia and workshops jump right into the “what” and the “how” of BTM programs that we often skip over the essential “why” and “where are we going” questions.
To avoid letting the obvious questions go unasked, I like to begin by enquiring about goals and objectives, as they define the essential contours of how your BTM program will operate and may include or exclude some of the utility’s options.
Beyond the Meter programs offer utilities a range of suitable goals to consider:
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation – deliver EE education, manage rebate programs, measure device adoption and score efficiency credit programs
- SmartHome Automation– engage customers for the education, adoption, and integration of smart home technology, devices, and monitoring for home automation, energy management, and security
- Beneficial Electrification – educate, inform, and deliver offers to customers on the benefits of converting legacy systems to more efficient electric alternatives including appliances, heating and cooling systems, lawn equipment, and EV charging
- Revenue Enhancement – deliver non-commodity products and/or services to customers with the intent to create substantial incremental revenue streams
- Residential and Commercial Solar – enhance the credibility of the utility and help customers calculate reliable and realistic savings, total cost of ownership, and time to repay investment for rooftop solar installations based on local rates and regulations
Having clear goals in mind for Beyond the Meter outcomes helps teams uncover the checks and balances of each type of program to select the options that best fit their utility and customer expectations.
Utilities adopting an Energy Efficiency BTM program, for example, typically seek to measure EE credits related to regulatory expectations or manage their device rebate and fulfillment program. Often these EE BTM programs include a marketplace with a small selection of efficiency-oriented devices like LED bulbs, smart switches and learning thermostats and may include an instant rebate in the checkout. Utilities with an EE goal in mind will find several suitable vendors to facilitate the program. Innovations in technology even link Demand Response and Time of Use program enrollment to EE purchases like the learning thermostat to deliver meaningful cross-program facilitation.
But, those goals also limit some Beyond the Meter outcomes. Energy Efficiency programs operate almost universally as cost centers with no revenue enhancement opportunity because the high cost of inventory usually requires a heavy subsidy from the utility. Instant rebate programs at point of sale may require a substantial pre-funding commitment that saps engagement budgets. EE programs also have limited customer appeal, generally only to homeowners who can buy and install smart devices like a learning thermostat, else to higher income customers with higher bills who would get the most value from a modest reduction in energy use. Those factors limit the widespread appeal and affinity for customer engagement, so program managers must adjust accordingly.
Other utilities may have customer populations with high adoption of Electric Vehicles and may be fielding calls related to EV chargers, so would like to develop a customer engagement program with revenue enhancement opportunities. Their Beyond the Meter goals could easily lead to a program offering EV charger information, a marketplace with home charging stations for purchase, and attaching protection plans on the charger that yield incremental revenue to the utility.
Alternatively, utilities with Energy Efficiency goals that also want to drive incremental revenue may consider a broader SmartHome BTM program, instead, that includes products AND services to offer a catalog appealing to more customer segments than just the typical EE devices, plus service plans and recurring revenue programs associated with home automation and energy management solutions. These programs still meet EE goals, but create a path more favorable to revenue enhancement objectives, repeat engagement, and higher customer lifetime value
And those scenarios describe just a few of the possibilities. Beyond the Meter ecosystems offer a wide range of opportunities for virtually every utility. Our experience supporting BTM programs for utilities suggests that taking stock of your utility’s goals for the program offers the best first step in determining what type of program makes the most sense for you and your customers. Often, the primary goals for BTM success quickly identifies the “best fit” options to consider and outlines the frameworks enabling you and your customer to achieve your objectives. From that starting point, the rest of the plan fits more easily into picking the right partners, catalog, and teams to kick start the BTM program. Good luck.