Phoenix-based Salt River Project (SRP) won in the customer service category and Progress Energy, Raleigh, N.C., was named the marketing winner by a panel of Chartwell research analysts who cover customer relations in the utility industry. The report’s comprehensive case studies on their efforts are based on award entry materials and in-depth interviews with program leaders.

 

Progress Energy was recognized for its innovative Product Expansion Program (PEP). The campaign is a sales-based program where call center agents use customer information to promote revenue-generating or cost-reducing energy efficient products on all applicable calls. Additionally, Progress Energy promotes these products without increasing average call handle time. PEP generated more than $1.5 million of non-regulated annualized revenue in 2007.

 

SRP was honored for its Smart Meter Initiatives. The utility has installed more than 283,000 smart meters as of May 2008 under its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) initiative. Participation in time-of-use (TOU) rates is 20% higher among customers with smart meters. SRP also is receiving high customer satisfaction marks with M-Power, a pre-pay program that has evolved over the years into a vital part of SRP’s smart metering program. M-Power customers have reduced energy consumption by an average of 12%, while SRP has collected $20 million of outstanding bad debt.

 

The runners-up featured in The Best of Customer Service and Marketing 2008 report include:

·        Alliant Energy’s Instant Payment Options

·        Florida Power & Light’s ASSIST Web portal

·        SCE&G WebPledge portal

·        Commonwealth Edison Energy Doctor

·        SRP Annual Account Summary

·        Toronto Hydro-Electric System Summer Challenge for Business

 

The award winners and runners up were announced in October during EMACS 2008 – The Customer Experience Conference, held in Austin, Texas.

 

Utilities that enter projects or programs for consideration in the award competition must submit an entry form and supporting materials. The entries are judged by Chartwell researchers who are subject matter experts in the areas under consideration. There were 35 entries from North American utilities for consideration in 2008 – 16 in marketing and 19 in customer service.

 

 

Based in Atlanta, Chartwell Inc. is a specialized information provider that facilitates knowledge exchange among utility professionals responsible for management practices and technology solutions. Chartwell publishes best practices case studies, quantitative research and electronic newsletters, and hosts conferences and other events for utility professionals. For more information, visit www.chartwellinc.com.