Part of EnergyBiz® Network »

Customer Care Group

This special interest group is where customer care professionals share tactics on how utilities are improving interactions with their customers. 

Author Profile
Eric Durdov's picture
Eric Durdov
Managing Director J.D. Power

About me

Mr. Durdov has over 25 years of consulting experience in the electric, gas, and water utility industry working with leading utility clients, premier consulting firms (Accenture, PwC), and the top...

  • Member since 2020
  • 4 items added with 2,905 views

Top Members

WARNING: SIGN-IN

You need to be a member of Energy Central to access some features and content. Please or register to continue.

Post

Utility Customers in Need - Connecting Customers with Financial Assistance during these challenging times

  • Jul 6, 2020 9:21 pm GMT
  • 605 views

Consider this... Will it be easier for utilities to disconnect/reconnect customers for non-payment/payment or would it be better to help connect customers in need with funding/assistance? We think the latter! Expending effort on disconnects/reconnects can be costly not only from an operations perspective but also from a Customer Satisfaction perspective. As we make strides to return to our new normal, where can customers go for further assistance? The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) offers support in all 50 states as well as U.S. territories. Learn more: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/liheap-state-and-territory-contact-listing Utility leaders that help their customers navigate this will be greatly appreciated for their efforts. 

Discussions

Spell checking: Press the CTRL or COMMAND key then click on the underlined misspelled word.
Eric Van Orden's picture
Eric Van Orden on Jul 13, 2020

For better or worse, disconnect/reconnect is much easier with AMI smart meters. Of course, there are still customer and policy considerations with customers that increasingly need to stay safe and healthy at home. In some climate, using energy to cool is not just a comfort, it's a matter of physical and mental health. 

In addition to financial assistance, do you expect more pre-paid programs or mid-cycle high bill alerts to help customers manage usage before they get their bills? 

Eric Durdov's picture

Thank Eric for the Post!

Energy Central contributors share their experience and insights for the benefit of other Members (like you). Please show them your appreciation by leaving a comment, 'liking' this post, or following this Member.

More posts from this member

Get Published - Build a Following

The Energy Central Power Industry Network is based on one core idea - power industry professionals helping each other and advancing the industry by sharing and learning from each other.

If you have an experience or insight to share or have learned something from a conference or seminar, your peers and colleagues on Energy Central want to hear about it. It's also easy to share a link to an article you've liked or an industry resource that you think would be helpful.

                 Learn more about posting on Energy Central »

Your access to Member Features is limited.

Apply for membership
Energy Central Jobs
Featured Jobs
More Jobs