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Southern California Edison wins Chartwell Best Practices Award for Fostering Relationships with Mid-Size Businesses
ATLANTA – May 20, 2008 – The 2008 Chartwell Best Practices Award for Fostering Relationships with Mid-Size Businesses was presented to Southern California Edison (SCE) at Chartwell’s annual Best Practices Summit on Fostering Relationships with Mid-Size Businesses in Milwaukee. Chartwell is an independent information services and best practices research company in the utility industry.
The award – one of several Chartwell Best Practice Awards – honors the most innovative utility customer service, marketing and/or communications initiatives aimed at building goodwill, improving customer satisfaction and increasing loyalty among business customers.
SCE introduced its Mid Market customer service program in 2005 with two goals in mind: enhancing customer satisfaction among this customer group and generating participation in the utility's energy efficiency and demand response programs. Through the effort, SCE contacts each mid-size business customer proactively about six times a year. Contacts are via email or phone, or in person with walk-through energy audits.
A panel of Chartwell research analysts chose SCE’s Mid Market Program as the award winner for its innovation, execution and results. SCE’s effectiveness in engaging and educating business customers and helping them make well-informed decisions regarding their energy-related needs catapulted the utility into the top spot.
“Our winner this year had a thorough, well-thought-out effort to reach and form relationships with mid-size business customers. SCE was willing to tweak its program to continually improve it and had great results in helping businesses achieve energy efficiency,” said Jennifer Allen, Chartwell senior research analyst. “This initiative is the epitome of what we look for in the award process.”
The award was presented at The Chartwell Summit on Fostering Relationships with Mid-Size Businesses. More than 45 utility professionals attended the two-day Summit that featured presentations by J.D. Power & Associates and customer service and marketing professionals from some of the nation’s top-ranked and most innovative utilities. Steven Tilk, SCE Mid Market Manager, accepted the award on behalf of the utility.
“SCE is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to help our business customers save energy, save money, and save the environment,” said Lisa Cagnolatti, SCE vice president, Business Customer Division. “We’re thrilled to be recognized for our efforts.”
Other Chartwell Best Practice Awards focus on residential customer service, utility marketing, energy efficiency programs and other areas of utility operations. Chartwell holds a number of Best Practice Summits on various topics throughout the year as well, including Advanced Metering, Outage Communication and Customer Self-Service.
For more information on the awards, summits or Chartwell research, contact Jennifer Allen, senior research analyst, at jallen@chartwellinc.com or 404-237-9099.
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.
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is the largest electric utility in California, serving a population of more than 13 million via 4.8 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
