Customer Corner: Monthly Digest of Insights Shared by Your Peers in the Energy Central Customer Care Group – February 3, 2022

Welcome to the Customer Care Group roundup, Customer Corner. As always, your fellow group members are paying close attention to utility customer care trends and sharing their insights. This month’s selection includes information about trend predictions for 2022, what’s new in prepay billing, and more. Be sure to like and comment on your favorite posts. Happy reading!

Utility Customer Participation, Key to Reaching 2022 Utility Goals

Vanessa Edmonds

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/pip/utility-customer-participation-key-reaching-2022-utility-goals

Utilities are being asked to manage a lot these days, including the energy transition, the growing threat of extreme weather events, and the need to maintain safety, reliability, resiliency, and security without sacrificing customer satisfaction. In this piece, Vanessa Edmonds, Founder and Advisor at Appos Advisors & Utility 2030 Collaborative offers some solution-based predictions for the coming year. They include understanding new demands posed by EVs and DERs, recognizing the business case for cloud solutions, and focusing on the customer-centricity imperative. This item is part of the Power Industry 2022 Trends & Predictions Special Issue.

Trends for 2022: Digital Innovation, Revenue Enhancements, and Operational Improvements

Mark Wilkinson 

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/cc/trends-2022-digital-innovation-revenue-enhancements-and-operational-improvements

A lot has shifted in the past two years but one thing that has stayed the same is the need for utilities to manage change from many directions.  In this article, Mark Wilkinson, SVP Products at Ibex Digital shares some trends that will help them to do so: beyond-the-meter programs, digital self-service, and marketplaces that fund themselves. This item is part of the Power Industry 2022 Trends & Predictions Special Issue.

Technology Picks Up Where Customer Empathy Wanes

Nevelyn Black

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/cc/11322-cc-article-pending

Like consumers of other types of services, utility customers expect a high quality of customer service. Yet, due to various reasons related to the pandemic, many businesses, including utilities, are having problems meeting those expectations. That’s understandable but there are ways to address these difficulties. Here, Nevelyn Black, Independent Writer lists predictions for customer care actions that can help meet customer care needs: the rise of digital contact centers, self-service, and AI augmentation; more unified customer service, sales, and marketing; and more focus on managing complaints.

Regulators Soften Their Stance on Prepay Billing as Customer Interest Grows

Bethany Farchione

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/o/questline/regulators-soften-their-stance-prepay-billing-customer-interest-grows

In this post, Bethany Farchione, Marketing Director at Questline Inc. discusses the current state of utility prepay programs. She notes that, although such programs can help lower energy consumption, lessen consumer debt, and improve customer satisfaction, only 5% of energy utilities use them. However, as consumer interest grows, so does utility participation. Part of what has changed is the image of prepay programs, which used to be considered something for customers with debt or in need of payment assistance. They are now viewed as a powerful tool that can help people balance their budgets and better understand their energy use.

Thanks again for reading this edition of Customer Corner! The authors listed above are eager to hear your thoughts and questions, so don’t hesitate to engage them. And if you want your content to be featured in this spot in future issues, be sure to publish your posts within the Customer Care Community.

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