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Advanced Metering Infrastructure
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The Real World of Advanced Metering
Rodney Johnson, Meter Operations Manager, Detroit Water & Sewerage Department
Tony Dergham, Program Manager, EDS
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Detroit Water & Sewerage Department is the third largest municipal water utility in the US. Detroit is implementing a state-of-the-art AMI/MDM system in a four-year, $150 million project. This session presents a progress update on this project which has already received national attention among utility executives. DWSD has fully integrated the advanced metering infrastructure with their other operational systems. Attendees have an opportunity to learn from Detroit's experiences in network selection, integration into the utility's operations and systems, and methods for accelerating customer adoption. A description of anticipated and realized benefits 18 months into the project will also be included.
Workshop Objectives
* AMR network decisions - fixed versus mobile;
* Systems integration with the utility's operations;
* Driving customer acceptance to accelerate adoption, customer satisfaction and return on investment.
Who Should Attend?
* Business staff associated with AMI;
* IT staff associated with AMI;
* IT management;
* Meter ops management;
* CIS management.
Rodney Johnson is manager of meter operations for DWSD. He has more than 25 years experience as a meter reader, meter repairman and supervisor of more than 30 crews. He has been team lead for: the design and implementation of a SCADA meter reading system for meters feeding DWSD wholesale customers; implementation of the EnQuesta billing system; and the implementation of the Empac asset maintenance system. He developed a preventive maintenance program for testing/calibrating and inspecting the 300 meters used to feed other cities purchasing water from Detroit. Mr. Johnson has a BS degree from Wayne State University and is an S-1 licensed water system operator.
Tony Dergham manages and directs the retail AMR program at DWSD. He has over 15 years experience in engineering, information technology, strategic planning, consulting and program management. He has initiated and directed numerous large projects, programs and proposals in the energy, process, government and manufacturing sectors. Tony earned an MBA and is a graduate of the Manufacturing Enterprise Leadership Program which prepares participants for running a successful enterprise.
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Revenue Protection: Success through Planning and Innovation
Jeffery Todd Wilcox, Meter Services Supervisor, Austin Energy
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Theft affects every utility. A recent Arizona public utility study found 1-3% of an electric utility's profits are lost to energy theft, with nationwide losses estimated at $6 billion. Nearly all utilities fund a revenue protection department to combat this growing concern. Special consideration should be given to municipalities where theft impacts every taxpayer. This presentation outlines how Austin Energy, the tenth largest municipally owned utility, created a successful revenue protection program with consideration to the impact it would have on billing, collection, the legal department and, most importantly, its customers. Austin Energy gained the respect of local law enforcement, and cooperated with the county and district attorney's office to get cases prosecuted plus integrated third party vendors to combat energy theft.
Workshop Objectives
* How to integrate analytical, field and third-party research into a successful revenue protection program;
* Best practices of key departments/agencies to help participants successfully implement their own program;
* How to assess their current revenue protection program.
Who Should Attend?
* Customer service executives and management;
* Revenue assurance/revenue protection staff;
* IT executives and managers;
* IT staff supporting these programs and CIS.
Todd Wilcox, manager of Austin Energy's Revenue Protection Group, has 19 years experience in the electrical field. He is a Licensed Journeyman electrician, meter services investigator and served as a nuclear electrician with the US Navy prior to joining Austin Energy as a manager. He has been instrumental in advancing Austin Energy's Revenue Protection program through the recruitment of uniquely qualified employees and the integration of third-party vendors.
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Impact of Full Meter Change Out
Alain Erdozaincy, Director, IS and Technology Services, Pacific Gas & Electric Company
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A challenge for all utilities working on an AMI or AMR project is how to change out tens of thousands of meters in a relatively short time. As part of the current project, PG&E is changing out 9.3 million residential and commercial meters, as many as 15,000 meters a day. The speaker will discuss strategies for scheduling, handling hard to reach customers, interaction at the premises and resolving customer claims. PG&E's initial decision making and reasons for selecting the products they are implementing will be discussed, as will the customer benefits expected, the systems they chose and the progress toward their 2011 completion.
Workshop Objectives
* Explore the challenges of a meter roll-out to all customers, how PG&E handled the scheduling, communicated the need to customers and resolved issues;
* Examine various smart metering software components from multiple vendors;
* Discuss lessons learned on the project.
Who Should Attend?
* Meters and devices management and staff;
* Business staff associated with AMI projects;
* IT managers and supervisors;
* IT staff supporting AMI projects.
Alain Erdozaincy is director of customer information systems at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). During 26 years at PG&E, Alain has worked both business and information technology positions. He oversaw the implementation/operation of a meter information tracking and support system to support industry restructuring, was business architect for the 2002 CIS replacement and has been customer care and billing project lead since 2004 for legacy system enhancements supporting the SmartMeter initiative. He holds a BS in mechanical engineering and an MBA from Santa Clara University.
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Electricity Prepay the High Tech Way! Optimizing AMI Technology with a New Payment Option Technology
Terry Gifford, Engineer, Tacoma Power
Francine Artis, Project Supervisor, Tacoma Public Utilities
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Tacoma Power is taking electricity prepay to a different level using AMI and its fiber optic network. Discover the options consumers have to add credit to their account without ever having to purchase or swipe a pre-paid card. Learn the benefits of communicating through the meter to send information and receive up-to-the minute reads. Other utilities are exploring prepay, but Tacoma Power is doing it today. Attend this workshop to hear how this program is a growing success with Tacoma Power's customers.
Workshop Objectives
* Understand the importance of a multiple channel communications strategy;
* View implementation from conceptual model to field testing and rollout;
* Use documentation for enrollment trends, delinquencies and improved conservation measures.
Who Should Attend?
* Customer service executives, managers and supervisors;
* Credit and collections management and staff;
* AMI and metering management and staff;
* IT;
* Treasury/CFO positions.
Terry Gifford has been with Tacoma Power since 1994, most recently as a lead developer on the utility's AMI initiative. As systems integration architect for the Meter Data Management (MDM) system developed by Tacoma, Terry has led the technical design and development of the utility's unique approach to pre-payment programs leveraging the power of SAP and AMI.
Francine Artis is project manager for Tacoma Power's pre-payment program which leverages the utility's investment in SAP and AMI. With a degree in business and more than twenty years of experience in the utility industry, she has had experience in and responsibilities for numerous positions, primarily in the areas of energy conservation and customer service.
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The Case for AMI
Ted Reguly, Director, Smart Meter Program, San Diego Gas & Electric
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The total cost of an AMI project would upset any and all senior executives. How can the costs that are bandied about be justified? In this session, San Diego Gas & Electric will discuss how they justified the cost of their AMI project, how they presented it to customers, advocates, regulatory authorities, media, union labor groups and employees. They will also discuss the various aspects of the project other than the collection of interval data such as the impact on revenue assurance/protection and its importance in justifying the project, as well as the critical role of employee engagement in making such a company-wide project successful.
Workshop Objectives
* Business case support for AMI projects;
* How San Diego Gas & Electric was able to promote their AMI project to several diverse groups.
Who Should Attend?
* Meters and devices management and staff;
* Business staff associated with prospective AMI projects;
* IT managers and supervisors as well as IT staff supporting AMI projects.
Ted Reguly has been director of the Smart Meter Program Office at San Diego Gas & Electric since 2005 and with SDG&E since 1981. His primary responsibility is to oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive smart meter solution for SDG&E's service territory. He received a BS in mechanical engineering from California State University, Long Beach, and an MBA from San Diego State University. Ted is a registered California Mechanical Engineer. He is an active member of UtilityAMI, OpenAMI and the ZigBee Alliance.
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Awards
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Awards Workshop 3: Innovation in Customer Service
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Awards Workshop 2: Innovation in Extending a Legacy System
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Awards Workshop 1: Best CIS Implementation
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Billing
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CIS Goes Solar. Renewable Energy Net Metering
Thomas Brandt, IT Manager, APS
Beth Pope, Solar Partners Incentive Operations Lead, APS
Dinesh A. Rajan, Project Manager, Wipro Technologies
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Arizona's renewable energy standard requires utilities to generate 15 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2025, one third from customer-owned generation systems. With 300 customers already on solar, APS offers attractive incentives, a net-billing rate and a pilot net-metering rate to encourage residential and commercial customers to go solar. When the manual billing spreadsheets stuffed into envelopes couldn't keep up with the rate of growth, APS looked for an automated system to process bi-directional meter reads to bill "Co-Gen" customers. Instead, APS leveraged the strengths of its existing CIS application suite to extend current services to "Co-Gen" customers. Bi-directional meters are modeled on regular meters, allowing the reuse of key processes including meter read validation, usage and invoice calculation, and statement generation through low cost modifications.
Workshop Objectives
* Meet renewable energy standards with bi-directional meters, net-metering and net-billing in an existing CIS system;
* Understand the interlinked evolution of rates and metering devices, identify feasible solutions;
* How APS explored its current meter read processing and billing capabilities to pick a cost-effective solution;
* Compare manual versus automated business process.
Who Should Attend?
* Rate managers and analysts;
* DSM, distributed generation and energy efficiency staff;
* Asset management staff;
* Complex billing staff, supervisors and management;
* IT staff supporting these functions.
As IT manager of customer services systems at Arizona Public Service (APS), Tom Brandt supports a wide suite of systems including the call center application, meter reading, billing, payment processing, field services and credit and collections. The CIS system he installed in 1997 handles more than one million customers. Other positions at APS include lead systems analyst, lead architect and IT manager. He earned his BS in computer information systems from Purdue University. He worked for Eastman Kodak, US Steel, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, NIPSCO and Salt River Project.
Beth Pope is the Solar Partners operations lead for Arizona Public Service (APS). Prior to joining the company, she specialized in developing automated solutions for legal compliance. She continued her legal connection working in the APS law and risk management areas. Her extensive compliance background helped Beth understand the operational needs of the renewables program. Since 2005, Beth's primary focus has been the operational implementation of APS' Solar Partners incentive program, a program that facilitates the growth of solar technologies installed at the customer site.
Dinesh is a mechanical engineer, trained in software development processes, and holds a certificate from the Project Management Institute. He has seven years experience with CIS, working on several projects targeting evolving business needs of electric utilities. These include telephony integration, deregulation, statement redesign, rate classes and regular maintenance. He was the manager of the co-gen billing project at Arizona Public Service that implemented renewable energy net metering.
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Better Bill Formats Are Key to Great Customer Service
Jeffrey P. Martin, Director, Billing & Systems, National Grid
Melissa Clay, Principal Analyst, National Grid
Joe Harper, President, Total Billings, Inc.
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There is a direct correlation between customer satisfaction and call center volumes and properly designed bill formats. Companies performing root cause analysis can point to specific cause-and-effect of bill formats. Industry experts have proven that ease of understanding and usefulness of information on bills are among the top concerns for consumers. Utility bill formats are being modified to serve various purposes. Key changes over the past five years include: personalized bills with customer specific messages, enhanced demographic data such as like-kind residential usage and improved web self-service. Panelists will share their experiences in optimizing bill formats to effect better customer satisfaction as well as future directions for their bill formats and the toolsets they use to accomplish their results.
Workshop Objectives
* Learn correlations of customer satisfaction ratings with bill presentment;
* Learn utility experiences with bill presentment;
* Learn optimal bill presentment techniques.
Who Should Attend?
* Business staff working with bill statement formats;
* IT staff associated with statement formats.
Jeff is an experienced customer system and information manager with a background in manufacturing, utility and IT application delivery. He has participated in and managed components of two major customer system integration projects at National Grid, the most recent involving a complete billing statement redesign and retooling. He currently manages a team of professionals responsible for maintaining five customer service systems in the company's vast northeastern U.S. service territory. These systems provide service to nearly five million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island.
Melissa has worked at National Grid for the past 15 years, beginning in the procurement department as purchasing agent for several steam stations. She managed National Grid's print-to-mail operation for several years, then was responsible for outsourcing the operation and becoming the liaison between National Grid and the outsourcer. She was project manager for the redesign of the customer bill for a total of five operating companies that had merged. She is currently responsible for incorporating the new customer bill for the continual addition of new mergers. She earned a BS from Fredonia State University.
Biography for Joe Harper not available
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Will We Drown? Quantifying "Go Live" Readiness
Robert M. Arnett, VP, Technology Services, Cobb EMC
Tim D. Jarrell, Manager, IS Programs, Cobb EMC
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How sure are you that you are ready to go live? With billing system-related implementations, there is never a clear answer. In the imperfect world in which we live, business and budget pressures force us to make that decision with some ambiguity. How do you determine when to "flip the switch?" Review one utility's implementation illustrating potential methods and techniques to measure go live readiness. Discussing the establishment of stakeholder readiness criteria and critical success factors, it will detail the quantifiable metrics used to measure readiness and how to calculate them. With established metrics and work performed, the utility can go live with a certain level of confidence.
Workshop Objectives
* Identify key risks in system implementations;
* Establish quantifiable metrics to measure and forecast implementation success;
* Tie metrics to the business' ability to support the new application.
Who Should Attend?
* CIS related IT staff;
* CIS related business staff;
* Companies starting/conducting CIS projects.
Cobb Energy hired Bob in 2003 to replace a number of legacy systems. His team has successfully replaced the CIS, financials, work management and human resources/payroll systems and completely overhauled the IT infrastructure to AIX and Oracle. The project team consisted of 100+ people, half being consultants and contractors from seven different firms. Bob was recently named the "2007 CIO of the Year" for utilities with less than a million customers by EnergyBiz magazine and the Sierra Energy Group division of Energy Central.
Tim Jarrell is currently the manager of IS programs for Cobb Energy in Marietta, Georgia. He is responsible for the program management office, enterprise integration and business intelligence related efforts. Mr. Jarrell is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a certified sigma black belt. He earned a BS in marketing management and a masters degree in organizational management plus additional graduate work in accounting and financial management.
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Smartsourcing Your Bill Production and Distribution
Tom Long, IT Manager, Billing Applications, EPCOR Utilities, Inc.
Jordan Khamra, CSF Strategic Sales Manager, Metavante Corporation
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Is there a more effective way to communicate with your customers and improve customer service while simultaneously reducing costs and cycle times? Smartsourcing is a new approach in the arena of customer communications. EPCOR Energy Alberta, Canada used the CSF Designer from Metavante to bring design and production of their customer bills, notices and correspondence in-house while continuing to outsource their print and mail operations. The strategy enables EPCOR to control bill content, reduce cycle time for communicating new programs and produce print and EBPP documents from a single design template. They also have the flexibility to choose print and mail outsourcers to meet cost and distribution guidelines.
Workshop Objectives
* Examine the considerations and trade-offs of employing a smartsourcing strategy for bill design and production;
* Explore the advantages of insourcing your bill design and production while outsourcing print and mail;
* Hear first-hand lessons learned on the operational challenges of insourcing your bill design and production.
Who Should Attend?
* Business staff associated with bill formats;
* IT staff associated with bill formats;
* Managers of outsourcing relationships.
Tom Long has experience that spans continents and includes many jobs in the IT world since he entered the industry in 1968. He is currently IT manager of billing applications, responsible for six IT teams supporting a suite of customer service and business intelligence systems for EPCOR Utilities, Inc., a $6.5 billion a year company operating in a de-regulated environment.
Jordan Khamra is the Metavante CSF strategic sales manager, responsible for managing relationships with clients and prospective clients, and recognizing joint opportunities to improve communications with their customers. This effective communication can lead to cost reduction, cost avoidance, increased revenue through cross-sales, a greater 'share of wallet' and stronger customer relationships. Prior to sales management, he was an implementation consultant helping lead utilities with billing implementation and billing strategies. He has covered various customer facing positions with Metavante since 1996.
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IT and Business Challenges of New Rate Offerings
Jacqueline Kirwin, Dir, Business Systems Services, NSTAR
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Demand response programs are forcing electric utilities to offer new rates to improve energy efficiency and lessen the impact of demand on the environment. This session will look at the business and technology implications of new rate designs on CIS, including: net metering, feed or tariff, fixed price, critical peak pricing, on-bill financing, DSM and green power.
Workshop Objectives
* The impact of the expanding pool of technologies;
* Corresponding variations on rate design;
* Ramifications of new rate designs on your business processes.
Who Should Attend?
* Customer service executives and managers;
* Rate managers and analysts;
* DSM, distributed generation and energy efficiency staff;
* Complex billing staff, supervisors and management;
* IT staff supporting these functions;
* Staff working with carbon credit programs.
Jackie Kirwin, NSTAR director of business systems services, is primary liaison between IT and business directors, developing strategic plans to support business objectives. With 20 years of utility services experience, she has focused on pre/post-implementation risk assessments of business information systems. Prior to NSTAR, she worked with various consulting firms. Also, she had responsibilities in regulatory operations and with a major CIS implementation during her 12 years with Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
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Ensuring Bill Print Quality through Strategic Changes
Greg Witkowski, Team Leader, Applications, We Energies
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In the past three years, We Energies developed two business cases that identified significant corporate cost savings. Both had noteworthy implications for the bill print/mail processes. The first was a mainframe retirement (statement composition, address validation, mail sorting functionality) followed by a bill print/insertion service provider change. While both changes had strategic and financial benefits, ensuring the quality of the billing process during the change was essential. This presentation will cover the rationale for mainframe retirement, the alternatives considered and associated risks as well as the implementation of the selected retirement approach. The presentation also reviews the due diligence report that We Energies took when developing the bill print/insertion RFP and completing vendor evaluation and selection, wrapping up with the lessons learned during implementation of a new service provider.
Workshop Objectives
* Managing changes in technical platform and software for bill rendering and mail sorting;
* Evaluating/selecting outsource options for bill print/mail operation;
* Managing the implementation of an outsourced bill print/mail operation.
Who Should Attend?
* Business staff associated with bill statement formats;
* IT staff associated with bill statement formats;
* IT staff considering mainframe alternatives;
* Managers of outsourcing relationships.
Greg Witkowski is an applications team leader for We Energies in Milwaukee. He is responsible for a team of developers that support and enhance We Energies CSS and several other applications ( i.e., Lodestar, Bill Print, Enerlink, etc.). He has worked in the utility industry for 30 years, the majority of that time installing and supporting CIS systems for Wisconsin Gas and We Energies on several different platforms (i.e., Mainframe, Client Server, AS400). He attended the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and is a graduate of Manpower Business Training Institute.
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Complex Billing Methodologies in a Deregulated Market: ENMAX Energy Marketing
Paul Gelleta, Manager, C & I Billing Operations, ENMAX Energy Corporation
Frank Hoogendoorn, Sr. Director, Business Solutions, Cognera Corp
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ENMAX provides electricity and natural gas to 411,000 residential and 1,800 large commercial and industrial (C&I) customers across Alberta, Canada. This presentation examines how complex business requirements and personalized customer needs for C&I are supported by a flexible CIS and billing system/service model via an outsource software/service provider, to gain competitive advantage in a deregulated market. The requirements include facilitating management of and billing for complex customer contract structures and tax reporting requirements. Enmax's web-based self-reporting capabilities will show the importance of reporting tools to meet customer business needs.
Workshop Objectives
* Identify the unique business needs/requirements for a competitive retailer in a deregulated market;
* Use complex contract rate structures and billing methodologies to gain competitive advantage;
* Satisfy the end customer's business need for information through web-based business intelligence/reporting tools.
Who Should Attend?
* IT managers and supervisors;
* CIS support staff;
* Business staff supporting complex billing for C&I customers;
* Rate and tax managers and staff.
Paul Gelleta is the manager of C&I billing operations for ENMAX Energy Corp., responsible for C&I billings including change management and quality, revenue and cost assurance accountabilities. Previously, he managed the business systems capital budget, business acquisition integration, systems migration/development/ configuration, market interface and business process automation projects. He spent 18 years in the OEM and contract electronics manufacturing with Northern Telecom, NovAtel Communications, Ltd., JRC Canada, Inc. and Electronics Manufacturing Group, Inc.
Frank Hoogendoorn is senior director of business solutions for Cognera Corp. in Calgary, Alberta. In addition to leading all systems architecture, design and development, he has a key role in discovering how to best utilize systems to solve customer needs. He worked for Enron Canada Corp., building tactical systems to support ongoing operations of Enron Direct, and was lead analyst developing Enron's energy retailing systems. He holds a BS in finance and management information systems from the University of Lethbridge and a business administration diploma in accounting.
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Power of Three: Successful Billing, Composition, and Archive Integration
Maryann Wolff, CIS Project Manager, Las Vegas Valley Water District
Alisa Mann, Customer Services Manager, Las Vegas Valley Water District
David Kudlata, Alliance Director, Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software
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If you are planning a new CC&B Platform migration soon, you won't want to miss this session presented by Las Vegas Water. The presentation will help you understand the business and information technology benefits of integrating the billing system with document composition and document archiving solutions. The presenters will describe some of the features the Las Vegas Valley Water District has taken advantage of such as one-click viewing of exact replicas of bills and other customer correspondence.
Workshop Objectives
* Uncover the hidden value in tightly integrated billing, document composition and archive systems;
* Explore the technology options to achieve faster service response and easier application changes.
Who Should Attend?
* Customer service managers and supervisors;
* IT managers, supervisors and technicians;
* Remittance processing supervisors.
Maryann Wolff has been an executive consultant and project director for call center and customer information system technologies for more than ten years. She is currently overseeing the customer care and billing system implementation at Las Vegas Valley Water District. Mrs. Wolff has a BSEE and MSEE and has led multiple software and consulting firms during her 25 year career. Most recently, she founded ProMark Solutions Inc. where she is president.
Alisa Mann has worked in large customer service organizations for the past 17 years, managing inbound and outbound call centers with as many as 500 employees, focused on technical support and customer service. Her background includes experience in industries ranging from utilities to telecommunications, computer software/hardware, newspapers, travel clubs and cable television. She is currently the customer services manager for the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Alisa is a member of the American Water Works Association. She earned her BA in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Stockton State College. She recently received her MBA from Regis University.
David Kudlata is an alliance director for Pitney Bowes Software (Formerly Group 1 Software) with 15 years experience with billing efficiency applications. David has worked with applications for composition, data quality, insuring postal discounts and location intelligence as well as efficiencies in customer service and customer self service.
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Credit and Collections
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Emerging Trends in Credit and Collections
Bill Van Dam, Director, Credit, Collections & Revenue Assistance, NSTAR
Karen LeBack, Asst. Director, Utility Customer Service, City of Houston Public Works Department
Leslie Temmen, Director, IT Governance, Orlando Utilities Commission
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This panel will discuss the emerging trends in credit and collection in the utility industry. The current economic issues compounded by a credit crunch and increasing energy prices have created new challenges and methods for dealing with late payments and aging receivables. New methods discussed include: full credit reporting; arrears forgiveness; selling bad debt; behavioral based scoring; and the handling of protected accounts, including seniors, deceased account holders and medical alerts.
Workshop Objectives
* Learn tried and tested new methods used at other utilities to reduce exposure to late receivables and bad debt write-offs;
* See the differences between strategies utilized at larger, investor-owned utilities and smaller municipalities;
* Learn trends and obstacles that are making the reduction of bad debt a greater challenge for many utilities.
Who Should Attend?
* Business staff associated with credit and collections;
* Revenue and rates-associated staff;
* IT staff supporting credit and collections or rates;
* Treasurer and CFO responsibilities.
Bill Van Dam is the director of credit, collections and revenue assurance for NSTAR Electric and Gas Corporation. He is responsible for the development and implementation of all credit and collections strategies related to NSTAR's $3.4 billion in annual revenues. He has worked at NSTAR for more than 15 years, holding various leadership positions in both electric operations and customer care. He graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and an MBA from the University of New Haven.
Karen Leback has been manager of utility customer service (UCS) for the City of Houston Department of Public Works and Engineering since 2004. She and her staff of 375 maintain 465,000 water/wastewater accounts including residential, commercial, industrial and contract treated and untreated water customers in the greater Houston area, generating over $600,000,000 annually. UCS sustains an average collection rate in excess of 99%. Karen is an attorney, a graduate of Suffolk University Law School and Franklin and Marshall College. She has more than 16 years experience in public works.
Leslie Temmen has 30 years experience in many areas of utility management including collections, billing, metering, field service and payments. As the director of customer information systems, her division was responsible for all applications used to support customer services, including implementation of a new CIS in May, 2007. At this time, she is director of IT, governance and quality management for Orlando Utilities Commission.
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Pay Me Now; Pay Me Later; Pay Me Often; But Just Pay Me
Julie Young, Systems Analyst, Citizens Gas
Eric Boothe, Manager, Customer Billing Services, Citizens Gas
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Although payment arrangements are an accepted business practice, determining eligibility, payment requirements, terms and accounting for future charges are challenges for a utility to consider. The theme of this workshop is "Pay Me Now; Pay Me Later; Pay Me Often; but Just Pay Me" and focuses on how to create mutually agreeable payment arrangements. Included are discussions of understanding the functionality/limitations of your CIS platform; determining in-house or outside vendor development path; analyzing financial and customer satisfaction; providing a tool for CSRs to assist in consistent arrangement decisions; creating an easy to use and understand arrangement form; mitigating financial risk; and improved ability for CSRs to communicate why a payment arrangement failed.
Workshop Objectives
* The presenters will demonstrate how to improve customer satisfaction by providing a payment plan designed to increase successful completion as well as the benefit of including projected future charges in long term payment arrangements;
* The workshop will also illustrate the value CSRs gain and the favorable impact on first call resolution.
Who Should Attend?
* Credit and collections management and staff;
* Billing management and staff;
* IT staff supporting credit and collections;
* Treasurer/CFO positions.
Julie Young is a systems analyst with ten years experience at Citizens Gas, currently providing support for the customer billing system. During her decade with Citizens, she has served as developer, analyst and project lead on a variety of projects including energy assistance programs, low income programs, weather normalization charges, payment arrangements and reporting.
Eric Boothe is manager of customer billing services for Citizens Gas in Indianapolis. He is responsible for the monthly billing of 265,000 customers, payment plans, third party payment vendor relationships and low income program financial reconciliation. During his 36 years with Citizens, he has managed collections, conducted training, supervised call center, interview and cashiers activities and been a part time CSR. He previously taught fifth grade in the Indianapolis Public School System.
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Risk Scoring to Manage Your Disconnect Strategy
Ozgur Tuzcu, Risk Manager, DTE Energy Company
Catherine Gibson, Principal Analyst, DTE Energy
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Detroit Edison has developed a scoring model to manage their non-payment disconnect strategy. In this workshop, Detroit Edison will present their detailed scoring model and describe the criteria that drives this process. Using this risk scoring model helps the utility focus on using their resources effectively and get the "biggest bang for the buck."
Workshop Objectives
* Demonstrate the benefit of using a scoring model to manage non-payment disconnects;
* Improve effective use of the field work force under varying circumstances;
* Illustrate the "biggest bang for the buck" theory.
Who Should Attend?
* Business staff associated with credit and collections;
* Field operations staff associated with disconnection for non-pay;
* IT staff supporting credit and collections or rates;
* Treasury and CFO responsibilities.
Ozgur Tuzcu heads the risk management initiative in the customer service organization at DTE Energy. His responsibilities include implementing predictive analytics for customer service, developing and implementing scoring models and integrating models with operations. He is also responsible for leading a team of analysts which manages risk across all customer segments. Ozgur holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA in finance. He is also an expert in Lean Sigma.
Catherine Gibson is a principal analyst in the risk management group within the revenue management and protection organization at DTE Energy. Her responsibilities include risk-based strategy development and implementation, predictive model design, statistical and financial analysis and operational integration. She holds a BS in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University and an MS in administration from Central Michigan University. She is a registered professional engineer with the State of Michigan.
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Making Debt Sales a Part of Your Recovery Strategy
Cynthia M. Henry, Director, Collections, Orlando Utilities Commission
Deborah Everly, SVP & Chief Acquisitions Officer, Asset Acceptance Capital Corporation
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Businesses in all industries use the sale of delinquent debt to positively impact the bottom line. This workshop provides an overview on the sale of non-performing accounts receivable. Learn the benefits, process and expectations to understand when selling charged-off debt. Selling can be complex, but armed with knowledge, the process is streamlined. Orlando Utilities Commission will show older receivables as an untapped source of cash, provide a unique liquidation strategy, the debt sales process and how pricing is determined. View the sales of debt as a solution after traditional collection methods are exhausted while adding an immediate influx of cash to the bottom line.
Workshop Objectives
* How companies benefit from selling their debt;
* A primer on the debt selling process;
* Getting the right price when selling your debt.
Who Should Attend?
* Customer service executives and managers;
* Credit and collections management and staff;
* Billing management and staff;
* IT staff supporting credit and collections;
* Treasurer/CFO positions.
Cynthia Henry is director of collections at Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), Orlando, FL. She has 27 years of experience in the utility industry with both municipal and investor-owned utilities, including positions in customer service, collections, marketing, conservation, builder/ architect liaison and demand-side management programs. She holds a BS in business administration from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from Webster University.
Ms. Everly has been in the debt buying industry for 17 years. Joining Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. in 1995, she has held a number of positions, most recently being promoted to chief acquisitions officer. Ms. Everly is an industry leader in the debt buying industry with experience buying from many different debt types including Visa and MasterCard, private label credit cards, installment loans, health club debt and utility debt. In 2006, she led the company to purchase over $5.6 billion worth of receivables.
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Customer Contact Center
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Call Quality Research: Results of a Utilities Mystery Shopper
Kimberly King, President, InterWeave
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Are you completely WOWed when you listen to your phone calls? Find out how WOW your call center is with the results of the first comprehensive utility call center mystery shopping research. This session details the results of research compiled by customer contact expert Kimberly King. After making five random phone calls into 100 utility companies, she compiled a comprehensive study of specific behaviors that impact the success of your contact center. This research reveals details of what is really happening in call centers and identifies solutions to exceed your business goals. How do you compare to other utilities? How do you conduct mystery shopping for your own call center? What can you do to decrease costs, increase efficiency and create WOW customer experience?
Workshop Objectives
* The process of mystery shopping;
* Lessons learned from results;
* The impact of these behaviors on your success;
* Solutions for your implementation.
Who Should Attend?
* Call center managers;
* Customer service executives;
* IT staff supporting call center functions;
* IVR specialists.
Kimberly is the founder and president of InterWeave, a training and consulting firm based in Tampa, FL. Her mission is to assist organizations worldwide in creating WOW relationships with their customers. She facilitates more than 200 workshops annually to inspire organizations to focus on the details that will achieve bottom-line results. Her clients are in the utility, telecommunications, financial services and insurance markets. Her books and tools are available on her website at www.interweavecorp.com.
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First Contact Resolution (FCR) Measured through Customer Surveys and Customer Contacts
Jane Bergen, Manager, Customer Contact, PSE&G
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PSE&G will demonstrate their first contact resolution (FCR) measurement system designed to improve customer satisfaction and reduce unwanted repeat calls. Their robust transaction measurement approach utilizing Epiphany CRM software identifies the reasons for all incoming and repeat calls, the CSR who spoke to the customer, and whether there was an unwanted repeat call from the original inquiry. Listening to recorded repeat calls improves CSR performance to positively influence customer satisfaction and prevent repeat calls. CSRs with good FCR results are placed in the appropriate call channel, resulting in documented improvements and reduced repeat call volume. PSE&G's FCR transaction results compare favorably with their FCR customer satisfaction survey results.
Workshop Objectives
* How to influence customer satisfaction using FCR as a key contact center performance metric;
* How to measure FCR through the voice of the customer and by measuring all customer repeat calls;
* How to expand FCR measurement for "first visit resolution" and "fix it right the first time."
Who Should Attend?
* Call center managers, supervisors and staff;
* Customer service executives;
* IT staff supporting call center functions;
* IT managers and supervisors.
Jane is the manager of customer contact for Public Service Electric and Gas Company. PSE&G serves 2.4 million combined electric and/or gas customers in New Jersey. Prior to her current responsibilities for customer contact, Jane has managed customer service, billing, construction and field operational areas in the utility industry. Jane holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from New York University.
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Selecting, Engaging and Retaining Call Center Talent: Strategies That Work
Deirdre A. Brown, VP, Customer Service & Regulatory Affairs, Tampa Electric Company
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The selection and retention of call center talent is critical, but what strategies work when today's workforce consists of four generations? How do you attract and motivate Gen X and "millennial" employees and retain the 50 percent retiring within 15 years who hold a wealth of information? How do you adjust to ever-changing processes and continual need for employee training? How do you know the training leads to satisfied customers? How do you reward CSRs for their efforts? Two industry leaders will address these questions and more. Learn call center strategies employed by Tampa Electric and Lee County Electric Cooperative in this crucial entry-level department and the difference that selecting the right CSR has on call center operations and customer satisfaction.
Workshop Objectives
* How to use the voice of the customer to improve customer service and contact center efficiency;
* How to effectively track incoming and outgoing customer communications;
* The value of feedback in change-oriented organizations;
* Leading technologies supporting the acquisition of VOC data.
Who Should Attend?
* Customer service executives and management;
* Call center managers and supervisors;
* Trainers working in customer service.
Dee Brown was named vice president of customer service and regulatory affairs in 2006. She is responsible for all aspects of customer service for Tampa Electric including its call center, billing and collections, corporate credit, account management and energy management services. She also leads and manages TECO Energy's regulatory activities for Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Florida Public Service Commission. Brown earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Florida State University and an MBA in management summa cum laude from the University of South Florida.
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Tools for Resolving High Bill Inquiries
Bridget Wallace, Manager, Residential Marketing, Atmos Energy Corporation
Paul E. Conlan, President & CEO, Enercom
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Atmos Energy and Enercom designed and implemented a web-based self-service software solution (ClearBill) providing customers with a clear understanding of why their energy bills change. It is also designed as a tool for utility CSRs to use with customers on the phone. The results at Atmos being presented include: issues and solutions for integrating ClearBill with Atmos' systems and website; integration of Atmos' customer online registration; import of billing data from two billing systems; first year call center results for improved call efficiency, first call resolution; CSR survey results; software usage statistics; customer service software usage statistics; and planned software enhancements.
Workshop Objectives
* Understand software design objectives including providing one solution for operational units in 12 states;
* Key implementation factors for web-based call center and customer self-service software;
* Specific results and lessons learned during the first year of call center and customer use.
Who Should Attend?
* Business staff responsible for billing;
* Call center managers and supervisors;
* Business staff responsible for customer contact channels and customer satisfaction programs;
* IT staff supporting CIS;
* IT staff supporting customer contact channels and customer satisfaction programs.
Bridget Wallace has spent nine of her 18 years of utility marketing and public relations as manager of residential marketing for Atmos Energy in the Dallas office. Her responsibilities include developing marketing strategies and implementing natural gas marketing programs targeted at builders, developers, other trade allies and end-use customers. She is involved in the Texas Gas Association, Southern Gas Association and American Gas Association. She holds a BA in communications from Stephen F. Austin University.
Paul Conlan is president and CEO of Atlanta-based Enercom®. Enercom's clients represent more than 400 energy utilities which use Enercom's web-based software. Paul speaks extensively at conferences on the value of online energy information tools and has taught energy auditing throughout the United States. He holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech and has been CEM since 1984.
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To Be the Employer of Choice - Hiring, Retaining, and Rewarding Employees
Fred O. Angel, Administrator, Customer Operations, Chesterfield County Department of Utilities
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Chesterfield County Department of Utilities' success in achieving its strategic goals ultimately depends on the abilities and performance of its greatest asset, its employees. Selecting, developing, retaining and rewarding employees is a major challenge for all organizations. We strive to be the employer of choice in our community by retaining and rewarding an exceptional and diverse workforce. Establishing a hiring and selection process that identifies and matches business requirements to employee needs and competencies is crucial for success. Employees have development opportunities to facilitate their advancement within the utility. The county and utility benefit from an environment that encourages innovative employee ideas on how to better serve customers.
Workshop Objectives
* Attracting and retaining an exceptional and diverse workforce;
* Ensuring a competitive compensation, benefits, rewards system and fostering a high level of employee satisfaction and well-being;
* Focusing on continuous employee learning and career development, and encouraging and recognizing team and individual innovation.
Who Should Attend?
* Customer service executives, management and supervisors;
* IT executives, management and supervisors.
Fred Angel is customer operations administrator for Chesterfield County Department of Utilities in Richmond, VA. He is responsible for all billing/customer service, field services and new construction activities. Prior to joining the department, he spent three years in banking and 19 years in the electric utility industry. He is currently a member of the CS Week Conference and CS Week College committees.
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Web Client Call Center at Mobile Gas
Melanie Berry, Manager, System Implementation, Mobile Gas Service Corporation
Robert Straubinger, Solution Management, SAP Labs
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Mobile Gas, a subsidiary of Energy South, Inc., is a natural gas utility in Alabama serving 95,000 customers. During the implementation of SAP's CCS system, it was decided to use the web-based call center solution IC WebClient instead of the traditional CCS user interface. In this session, Mobile Gas will discuss the decision criteria for this fairly new solution, the implementation process and the user experience after go-live. They will also discuss the integration, technology and enhancement capabilities of this new web-based solution.
Workshop Objectives
* How Mobile Gas evaluated the thin-client web based call center solution;
* Implementation and go-live experience;
* How CRM integrates with CIS in SAP.
Who Should Attend?
* Call center managers and supervisors;
* Business staff responsible for customer contact channels;
* IT staff supporting CIS;
* IT staff supporting web based applications.
Ms. Berry is manager of systems implementation for Mobile Gas Service Corporation in Mobile, AL. She spent the majority of her career as an IT professional in the paper industry, including SAP experience in both technical and functional areas. Her career in the utility industry began when Mobile Gas tapped her to head their CIS replacement project, which ultimately led to the selection and implementation of the IS-U/CCS product. She also served as the project manager for the SAP implementation of IS-U/CSS and Web IC.
Mr. Straubinger is a software engineer who specializes in the SAP Solution for the Utilities industry. In his role as part of the product and technology unit, he focuses on CRM and billing, supporting the North American field. He has been with SAP for ten years in a number of different roles. His background is most pronounced in product demonstration, product management, implementation and training. Mr. Straubinger holds the equivalent of an MBA in business administration and engineering.
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Effective Design Results in Increased Acceptance of IVR
Joseph L. Kitchel Jr., Supervisor, Call Center Technical Support, Southern Company Services, Inc.
Joel Collis, Manager, Customer Satisfaction Project, Georgia Power Company
Vincent Lovoy, Call Center Manager, Alabama Power Company
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Interactive Voice Response applications have made huge advances in the past several years. Panelists from three utilities will discuss customizing their IVR systems and how their designs have led to increased adoption. Additionally, this session will examine technologies that allow utility customer contact centers to measure and increase call containment rates.
Workshop Objectives
* Design of effective IVR paths and menus;
* Effective design and integration of IVR with other self-serve channels (e.g. WEB) as well as CIS;
* Leverage of contact center technology for optimized cost effectiveness.
Who Should Attend?
* IT staff supporting IVR and other customer channels;
* Business staff supporting IVR and other customer channels.
Joseph Kitchel currently supervises a group supporting the systems used by seven call centers within the Southern Company. These systems include the ACD's, VRU's, CTI, call monitoring and workforce management. Joe has been with the Southern Company for 28 years with the last 12 in support of the call centers.
Joel Collis has been in his current role as customer satisfaction project manager with Georgia Power Company for the past three years. He serves as a customer advocate and helps integrate customers' expectations with Georgia Power's business objectives. Joel also provides process improvement support for services associated with customer satisfaction. Prior to this assignment, Joel served as customer service manager for more than 20 years in various business units of the company.
Vince Lovoy has been call center manager at Alabama Power Company for the past 14 years. During his 34 year career with Alabama Power, he spent the first 13 years in distribution engineering and construction, the last seven as district manager of operations. Vince is a graduate of the University of Alabama-Birmingham with a BS in electrical engineering.
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Exhibitor Showcase
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Creating the Green Utility Through Application Integration
Guerry Waters, Vice President, Industry Strategy, Oracle
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The media and customers have increasingly focused on the connection between energy consumption, global warming and anticipated associated water shortages. Regulators and environmental groups are turning to utilities to help all customers reduce energy and water use without materially affecting the GDP or standards of living. As a result, industry leaders are advocating programs that reimburse utilities that help customers "save a watt" and "save a drop." But conservation requires more than rate changes. It challenges utilities to rethink their business processes, including: Ways to reduce utility fuel costs by integrating customer information with applications that handle meter data, outage restoration, field crews and asset maintenance; How integration helps turn costly advanced metering into cost-effective customer programs-even without customer participation in demand-response initiatives; Ways integrated utility applications positively affect commercial property owners and local businesses while also creating new opportunities for utility cost-cutting and outsourcing.
Workshop Objectives
* Better understand the connection between cross-utility business processes and helping customers control energy costs;
* Be prepared to assess and lower the cost of business process design and helping customers control energy costs;
* Understand the role of application integration in designing "green" business processes.
Guerry Waters has more than 30 years experience in global information technology strategy, organization, architecture and business-driven IT solutions. Waters joined SPL WorldGroup - now Oracle Utilities Global Business Unit - in 2000 as executive vice president and chief technology officer. He had previously been vice president of energy information strategy at META Group where he focused on customer management and the alignment of information technology with energy lines of business. He also worked for Southern Company as CTO and director of technology strategy and engineering.
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Building Your Roadmap to AMI Enablement
Maureen Coveney, Industry Principal, Utilities, SAP
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The adoption of automated meter infrastructure (AMI) is sweeping the utility landscape and has the potential to change the way utilities operate. The shift from solid state meters to Smart Meters is the basis of the intelligent grid of the future. What does it take to harness the new operational efficiencies of the grid of the future? Learn how the AMI@SAP solution is breaking down the integration barriers, paving the way to the intelligent grid and delivering the business processes that assure a return on investment in communications architecture.
Workshop Objectives
* How to select and implement the components of a robust AMI communications architecture;
* How to plan for effective, efficient front and back office business processes;
* How to offer the right programs at the right time to the mass market.
Who Should Attend?
* Enterprise architects;
* Directors of customer programs;
* Directors of technology.
Working with utility customers and industry stakeholders, Ms. Coveney leads industry-focused initiatives and promotes SAP's utility solutions through thought leadership activities. Prior to joining SAP, she served as vice president of product management and marketing for OSIsoft, where she was responsible for the overall product lifecycle, corporate communications, development of marketing campaigns and related business strategy, and OSIsoft's strategic influence group.
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CIS: Exploring Different Business Models Employed at Municipal Utilities
Kay Fuhrman, VP, Business Development, Alliance Data
Tim Wiley, Director, Customer Services, Pinellas County Utilities
Kim Mazeres, Director, Customer Relations, Truckee Meadows Water Authority
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With increasing demands and a drive to reduce operational costs, municipal utilities have been driven to explore different business models in support of their customer service and billing systems and operations. In this panel discussion, municipal utilities will discuss the business models they've employed and why they were chosen. Attendees will gain insight into alternative support models and benefit from the experiences of their peers.
Workshop Objectives
* Learn about different customer service and billing support models leveraged at municipal utilities;
* Understand the benefits of alternative CIS support models;
* Gain firsthand insight from utility representatives on why their chosen model has worked for them.
Who Should Attend?
* Utility customer services directors and executives;
* Utility IT directors and executives;
* Industry consultants.
Kay Fuhrman is vice president of business development for Alliance Data's utility services division, supporting sales and business development activities for the company. Kay brings nearly 20 years of utility and energy experience that includes leading large-scale sales negotiations with tier-one utility clients.
Tim Wiley is the director of customer services for Pinellas County Utilities. Tim leads all customer service support and billing operations for Pinellas County's 110,000 water and wastewater customers. During his 33 year career, Tim has worked in all areas of utility operations.
Kim Mazeres joined Truckee Meadows Water Authority shortly after its formation in 2001. With more than 25 years of utility experience in customer care, billing/branch operations, marketing and information technology, Kim oversees all direct interactions for over 93,000 customers as customer relations director. She also handles customer outreach, public relations, advertising and marketing. Ms. Mazeres holds an associate degree in business and is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree at the University of Nevada, Reno.
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Survey of Challenging New Rates and Tariffs with Creative Billing Approaches
Charles R. Porter, VP, Strategic Product Development, ista North America, Inc.
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What tariffs, rates and energy products are industry innovators now offering their residential and commercial customers? Variable? Real-time? Demand response/time of use? Green/renewable? Percentage or volume blends? Your customers and your commissioners are requiring these options. How can you offer these to shape customer behavior AND increase your customer satisfaction? What CHALLENGES have others OVERCOME to invoice these energy products in VOLUME? This session provides billing managers and executives with a sampling of exciting new energy products and tariffs, a guide on the required data and logic to invoice them, and creative and practical approaches to use today.
Workshop Objectives
* Develop awareness of new rates, tariffs and energy products;
* Learn what data and logic are required to invoice these new rates and tariffs;
* Learn creative and practical approaches to billing customers on these rates and tariffs.
Who Should Attend?
* Billing managers;
* Utility executives;
* Regulatory managers.
After a short, disappointing career as a kazoo player (no sense of rhythm), Charles implemented his "fall back" plan working as an engineer at a public utility. Progressing through several years at TECO followed by stints of object-oriented programming and training, Charles came to lead the team creating the istanet billing platform. Currently, as VP of strategic product development, Charles provides passionate leadership to a talented development team crafting innovative solutions for ista's clients.
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An Overview of the CIS Market
Greg Galluzzi, CEO, TMG Consulting
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An overview of trends in the CIS market and a review of a number of projects which have occurred in the past year. A discussion of issues facing the market and what can be expected in the coming year.
Workshop Objectives
* Understand what is going on in the CIS market;
* What approach are utilities taking to their CIS solution?;
* What can you expect in the coming year?
Who Should Attend?
* Individuals tasked with replacing their CIS system;
* Project team members;
* Executives and managers.
Greg Galluzzi is the CEO and a senior consultant with TMG Consulting. Greg has 28 years of experience working in the utility industry with more than 150 clients across 200 CIS projects.
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The Customer Focused Utility
Robert Brnilovich, Partner, IBM Global Business Services, IBM
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This showcase will focus on how new technologies such as advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and intelligent utility network (IUN), paired with changing utility and consumer needs, may be redefining how utility companies need to interact with customers. The showcase will discuss techniques that will help utility companies get ahead of the customer experience curve, drive more value to the bottom line and, ultimately, become a "customer focused utility".
Workshop Objectives
* Gain an understanding of the changing dynamics of customer relationships in the utilities industry;
* Outline how differently utilities should begin thinking about customers;
* Understand approaches for integrating the voice of the customer into AMI technology roadmaps.
Who Should Attend?
* Customer service management;
* AMI program management.
As the leader of IBM's customer operations transformation, Robert Brnilovich is responsible for meeting our client's needs with tailored solutions. In this role, he develops IBM's industry/solution point-of-view - and delivery capabilities - on how utilities are leveraging customer technologies within their customer service/retail functions to create a customer focused utility in light of recent advances in intelligent utility networks. In addition, Robert actively manages engagements involving customer strategies, contact center optimizations, meter data management and CIS.
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Escaping the CIS Replacement Treadmill
Fiona Taylor, Senior VP, Product Strategy, First Data Utilities
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While hardware and software costs have reduced significantly over the past decade, the cost of implementation still remains high. Furthermore, as market, regulatory and business requirements change, utilities find themselves struggling to change systems and business processes. Often, the only solution is another costly implementation or upgrade. First Data Utilities' model for outsourcing changes the business case for customer systems, enabling utilities to get onto the latest systems and avoid the replacement/upgrade cyclical trap. This presentation will discuss the evolution of the CIS software market and reveal how latest trends in architecture and delivery models are driving next-generation CIS solutions.
Workshop Objectives
* Discuss the evolution of the CIS software market;
* Discuss the impact of trends in architecture and delivery models on the traditional CIS business case;
* Highlight the benefits of escaping the CIS replacement/upgrade trap.
Who Should Attend?
* Those who want to reduce CIS technology complexity;
* Those wanting to improve long-term flexibility;
* Those wanting to reduce cost and improve productivity.
Fiona Taylor, senior vice president, product strategy at First Data Utilities has 20 years experience in the utilities sector. She is currently responsible for product strategies to enable the company's service-with-software outsourcing model. Ms. Taylor previously headed the sales and professional services group. Prior to joining First Data Utilities, she was director of customer services at Terasen Gas, responsible for call centers, billing, collections and customer systems. After completing her MBA, Ms. Taylor worked with Accenture consulting in utility distribution and customer projects.
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Improving Inefficiencies. It's Time to Revisit Your Your Business Processes!
Steven Hammond, Executive Vice President, Advanced Business Unit, Harris Computer Systems
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Utilities today often become accustomed to the way they conduct business and are hesitant to change. Frequently, change is derived as a result of a larger action - such as a CIS implementation - which acts as a catalyst for an organization to revisit existing inefficiencies. CIS providers, such as Harris Computer Systems, are routinely exposed to a common problem: utilities that have modeled their business process based on the limitations of an antiquated CIS system. This session will explore traditional business process inefficiencies and introduce new, streamlined processes aided through CIS functionality. Mr. Hammond's presentation is of value to all looking for a refreshing take on improving business practice.
Workshop Objectives
* Revisit traditional business processes - there might be a better way!
* New approaches/business process techniques;
* Creating value-added efficiencies through IS/improving and revisiting existing business processes.
Who Should Attend?
* Senior management;
* Customer service/CIS end-users;
* Finance.
Steve Hammond is responsible for overall sales, customer service, product delivery and development of the Advanced Utility Systems division. He joined the Harris team in 2006 with the acquisition of Advanced Utility Systems. As a founding partner of Advanced, Steve was involved in the initial design and development of CIS Infinity as well as serving as CIO. For 20 years, he has worked with hundreds of utilities in software development and delivery. Steve's entrepreneurial approach, experience with utilities and technical ability inspire excellence in the delivery of software solutions to the utility industry.
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Field Customer Service
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Field and Customer Service Integration Panel
John J. Simmins, Applications Manager, Engineering & Operations, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Sylvia T. Welch, Applications Manager, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Steve Halloran, NextGen Program Director, Aquarion Water Company
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This workshop is a panel discussion focused on the strategies for integrating field service operations with customer service. The session starts with identification of key technologies and business processes to bring excellence in customer service to field operations. It will discuss the processes used to integrate mobile dispatch, schedule optimization, outage management applications and their corresponding field service data collection with the utility's customer service system.
Workshop Objectives
* How utilities should approach integrating customer services with field operations;
* Technologies utilities should consider;
* Reducing operational costs while improving customer satisfaction.
Who Should Attend?
* Field customer service staff;
* Dispatch and work planning staff;
* Outage management staff;
* IT staff supporting mobile dispatch, outage and work scheduling systems.
John J. Simmins is Applications Manager for all engineering and operations applications at Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) as well as the Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) platform. Simmins has been the architect of the EAI effort at SMECO. In addition, he has been project manager for the larger software implementations at SMECO, including setting up the SMECO Project Management Office. Dr. Simmins holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in engineering.
Sylvia Welch is applications manager for all customer service, financial and economic services applications at Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative as well as the electric bill presentment and payment platforms. Sylvia spent many years in the customer service area of SMECO before joining the IT department. The experience provided her with an excellent foundation for managing the customer service and financial applications. Most recently, she was technical lead for SMECO's successful 18-month CIS project upgrade.
Steve Halloran is a recognized leader in using technology to drive positive change in organizations - from both IT and business perspectives. He has been a management consultant for the past 14 years, most recently leading an enterprise business transformation program for a US utility (including a 12-month 'big bang' implementation of SAP ERP 2005). He has spoken at numerous industry events on how to drive change and benefits with technology. Steve earned a BA in history from Middlebury College and completed graduate work in management and technology at George Washington University.
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Using Multiple Communication Channels to Communicate Outage Information
John H. Raftery, Manager, Customer System Support & Training, SCANA Corporation
John A. McCormick, Business Systems Group Manager, Florida Power & Light Company
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Outage communications using e-mail, pagers, text messages, cell phones and other communication channels is becoming an essential element of good customer service. This workshop will outline various methods, customer expectations, techniques and technology used to meet growing customer demand.
Workshop Objectives
Following this presentation, attendees will understand the methods, techniques and technology used to communicate outage information to their customers.
Who Should Attend?
* Field service managers and staff;
* Call center managers, supervisors and staff;
* IT staff supporting field service, call centers and communications.
John Raftery works for South Carolina Electric and Gas as a manager of the customer systems support organization and training groups. He has more than 14 years of leadership experience building ERP, CRM and eBusiness solutions. At SCE&G, John has successfully reduced costs and increased customer satisfaction through several online web service offerings. With a focus on process improvement and measured accountability, his initiatives are showcased within SCANA subsidiaries.
John McCormick is a systems program manager with an extensive background in the delivery of solutions that span multiple business lines. His most recent achievement was the implementation of an outage communication system that delivers timely and consistent outage information, including geographical information on restoration, for 4.3 million customers and over 1,000 customer care specialists. John holds a BS in electrical engineering from Auburn University and has 23 years of utility industry experience.
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Connecting the Field with the Office
George Chauvin, Director, Software Development, Systems & Software, Inc.
Julia Hunt, Director, Water Utilities, City of Arlington
Jeff Kleban, Executive VP, Syclo
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Mobile Work Management for today's utilities brings a new perspective for field service productivity and efficiency. More and more utilities are benefiting from mobile workforce automation offered by enQuesta Mobile™. It allows utilities to add visibility to field operations by replacing outdated paper-based processes. While enabling "customer service excellence" versus "only getting the job done," it streamlines field service operations by taking enQuesta out of the office and into the field, managing work when and where it happens.
Workshop Objectives
* Learn how to improve field service productivity and efficiency;
* Add visibility to field operations by replacing paper-based processes;
* Streamline your utility's field service operations by taking enQuesta into the field, managing work where and when it happens.
Who Should Attend?
* Field managers;
* Customer service managers.
George Chauvin is the software development director at Systems and Software. His main responsibility is to take utility industry business requirements and translate them into usable, easy-to-learn software. George is responsible for ensuring that Systems and Software's products benefit from the iterative development philosophy - where the usability testing is performed from the beginning, the prototyping phase, through to the software general release. George has been at Systems and Software for six years.
Ms. Hunt is the director of water utilities for the city of Arlington,Texas. Her responsibilities include planning and directing the operation of the water utilities department. Arlington Water Utilities operates two water treatment plants, a distribution system and a collection system. She previously managed the water information services division. Ms. Hunt serves on the American Water Works Association Research Foundation Board of Trustees. She earned a BS in civil engineering, cum laude, from Texas A&M University.
Jeff is the founder and executive vice president of Syclo, a mobile workforce specialty company which helps utilities and other organizations with mobile workforces streamline workflow and improve productivity. Established 12 years ago, the firm has served more than 700 customers. Jeff is a noted writer and speaker on mobile and wireless computing capabilities, having been involved in their evolution over the last decade. He holds a BS in computer science from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
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Impact of Mobile Dispatch on the Workforce
Sam D. Turner, VP, Business Analysis, Jackson Energy Authority
Mike Hirst, Mobile Services Manager, Montana-Dakota Utilities Company
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The installation of computers in the field and their control by a mobile dispatch system are not necessarily welcomed by some utility field personnel. Field service technicians respond differently to the implementation of the mobile computers and the idea of mobile dispatching. Learn how Jackson Energy Authority dealt with three district deployments of mobile dispatching and the lessons learned.
Workshop Objectives
* Impacts of mobile data dispatch and GPS on the field service techs;
* Preparing your workforce for innovation;
* Business change management with these systems;
* Levels of acceptance throughout the organization.
Who Should Attend?
* Field operations staff;
* Field dispatch;
* Manager of field operations;
* IT staff supporting field operations systems;
* Companies initiating a new mobile dispatch project.
Sam Turner is vice president of business analysis for Jackson Energy Authority which |