CS Week Conference 36

CS Week Conference workshop presentations will be available online soon!

Registered attendees, watch your e-mail for announcement and access instructions.

Conference 36 Workshops

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Smart Infrastructure

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 9:30 - 10:30 am | Texas 1

Serving Unique Multi-Family Electric Vehicle Needs

Janos Kakuk, Sr Manager, Electric Vehicle Operations, Southern California Edison

Utilities face a broad spectrum of issues to support their electric vehicle (EV) customers, including customer education and outreach, rate design, streamlining internal operations and collaboration with external stakeholders. Increasingly, this means addressing the needs of multi-family residential and commercial customers for whom there is no such thing as a standard solution. Southern California Edison focused early on these more complex customer segments.

Workshop Objectives:

Provide an overview of challenges related to serving electric vehicle customers living in multi-family dwellings;
Share potential solutions to address these challenges;
Share best practices identified by Southern California Edison.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service operations managers;
Marketing, billing and PR staff;
Business customer account managers.

Janos Kakuk is senior manager of electric vehicle operations at Southern California Edison, responsible for overseeing the end-to-end processes to get customers EV ready. Among many others, Mr. Kakuk co-led the development of SCE’s overall five-year corporate strategy as well as the electric transportation strategy. He was previously an engagement manager at McKinsey and Company. He graduated from Harvard Law School.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | Texas 1

A Smart Grid Benefits Case Study: CenterPoint Energy’s InSight

Mary Rich, Manager, AMS Systems, CenterPoint Energy

Energy InSight is much more than the installation of 2 million-plus smart electric meters by CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric. This technology integrates the meters, through a robust communications infrastructure, to back-office systems and then to a public portal called Smart Meter Texas. CNP has avoided more than 1 million truck dispatches for reconnections, disconnections and ad-hoc readings, using automation to reduce field service costs.

Workshop Objectives:

How automation can streamline business operations and reduce costs;
How customer-facing applications (portals, HAN devices) empower consumers;
How a communications infrastructure integrated meters to back-office systems.

Who Should Attend:

Meter deployment managers;
Customer service managers and representatives;
HAN managers;
Communications network designers;
Operations managers, business analysts;
IT systems managers.

Mary Rich is AMI/Smart Grid systems manager for CenterPoint Energy. For the last 12 year, she has focused on implementing CNP projects for outage management, graphical switching, mobile data, and EAI as well as led and managed the CNP IT implementation of the transaction management hub for the de-regulation of the Texas electric market. She is a member of the management team with overall responsibility for implementation and deployment of AMI/Smart Grid Systems.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | Texas 1

Using an AMI System Information to Improve Customer Service

Joe Alongi, AMI Coordinator, City of Kansas City, MO Water Services Department

This presentation highlights how to get the greatest benefit from information in your AMI system, including best practice creation of work orders, identifying inactive accounts, leak detection and information to assist in AMI installation and upkeep. The relationship between IT staff and the customer service unit enables any staff with knowledge of Microsoft Access query function to obtain the specific information they need for their job.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service managers and staff;
IT managers and staff.

Joe Alongi has worked for the City of Kansas City in the water utility field for 22 years, managing meter reading and field and customer service operations the entire time. He has a BS degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and is the head of the AWWA Large Compound & Fire Flow Meter Standard Committee. Joe currently oversees the operation and maintenance of the $36M fixed base AMI system recently installed at his utility.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 3:00 - 4:00/4:30 | Texas 1

Architecting a Stakeholder-Embraced Smart Consumer Program

Daniel Martin, Account Management Consultant, Integrys Energy Group - Wisconsin Public Service

Rand Warsaw, Managing Director, Analytics, UtiliPoint International, Inc.

This session takes the quest for a successful Smart Grid rollout deeper than the standard education and building trust to get to know the "parties" better. How do consumers think? How should we segment our consumers? How should the value proposition be communicated? How can the program rollout be tested?

Workshop Objectives:

Identify key Smart Grid stakeholders and gain understanding of their roles, and motivations;
Understand methods for consideration of integral rollout elements and mitigation of risk;
Learn how to develop and present an effective implementation plan that will meet key stakeholder needs.

Who Should Attend:

Smart Grid program managers;
Smart Grid project managers;
Rates and regulatory personnel;
Business development managers.

Daniel Martin is program manager for all of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation’s demand response and the natural gas fixed bill programs. He also provides technical support and training for all account management customer representatives on commodity issues, rates, new process technologies, energy supply, demand controls, consumption, and other programs, products, and services. He holds a BS in business management and an MBA.

Rand Warsaw has 30 years of energy industry experience. He spearheaded cutting-edge efforts in the measurement of energy efficiency, data modeling/reduction and multi-state power grid simulations. Rand directed corporate planning for Equitable Gas Company and held a variety of nuclear-related positions at Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Rand is also co-inventor of the fixed bill and weather derivative trading. In 2009, he was named one of the 50 Most Influential People by Managing IP magazine.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 9:15 - 10:15 am | Texas 1

Protecting Your AMI/MDM Data from Cyber Attacks

Bob Arnett, SVP, Technology Systems, Cobb EMC

Tim Jarrell, Associate VP, IS Programs, Cobb EMC

Utilities must be vigilant against vicious cyber-attacks that may compromise confidential customer information. Cobb EMC implemented significant prevention methods to protect AMI and MDM data. Everyone at the utility is now involved in the prevention process plan that clearly lays out the steps and resources required to offer the best protection of sensitive data.

Workshop Objectives:

The importance of creating a cyber-security plan for your organization;
How to maintain and be consistent with following your corporate cyber security plan;
How to promote and enforce cyber security standards enterprise-wide.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service managers;
Meter data management staff;
IT managers;
Network/security experts.

Bob Arnett is SVP, technology systems, charged with transforming the IT infrastructure and support processes. He led a multi-year project replacing all legacy systems with Oracle and Lawson enterprise applications, integrated with Open Source EAI architecture. Bob was named “Utilities CIO of the Year” in 2007. In 2008, Cobb EMC won the EEA “Best CIS Implementation” award. Georgia CIO Leaders Association named Bob “CIO of the Year” in the enterprise category in 2010.

Tim joined Cobb EMC in 2006 to create an enterprise project management office with accompanying processes and procedures centered around project management methods, IS governance, and change management. Since its inception, IS has achieved a 100% project delivery. Cobb received the “Project of the Year” award in 2010 from the Atlanta Chapter of PMI. Tim is a project management professional (PMP) and six sigma black belt.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 9:15 - 10:15 am | Dallas 1

Engagement, Empowerment, Efficiency: A Demand-Side Strategy for an Energy Smart Customer

Rebecca Meyer, Sr Program Administrator-Evaluator, Connecticut Light & Power

The demand-side resource often overlooked is the most valuable—the customer. Customers don’t use electricity—they use washing machines, dishwashers and refrigerators. Making this connection to their electric bill is key to empowering behavioral changes. An information-enabled, energy efficiency pilot deployed by Connecticut Light & Power/Energy Efficiency Fund showed that comparing customers to energy-saving neighbors compels them to make behavioral changes and participate in home retrofits.

Workshop Objectives:

Engaging the customer is a demand-side strategy;
An empowered customer is smart infrastructure;
Connecting a customer’s electric bill to their electrical gadgets and appliances promotes energy efficiency.

Who Should Attend:

Customer experience managers & staff;
Marketing, billing and PR staff;
Managers, project managers.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 10:30 -11:30 am | Texas 1

Funding Your Smart Grid for Water Installation

Jason Bethke, VP FATHOM, Global Water FATHOM

Utilities need to monetize every drop of water - water lost is simply revenue lost. As a consumable commodity, once the opportunity to measure water consumption has passed, it’s impossible to recover this lost revenue. Adoption of a Smart Grid for water philosophy is essential. The challenge in the current fiscal environment is finding the funds to invest in these services. In reality, the funds are there, waiting for the utility to access, to finance these systems.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand one company’s vision of how to do more with less;
Gather methods to find the money to save time and water;
Understand the potential opportunity in "found money."

Who Should Attend:

Public works directors;
Business case developers.

Jason Bethke currently serves as the vice president of FATHOM. He previously served as the director of engineering and construction. Jason joined Global Water in 2007 and has over 15 years of management and engineering experience related to water resources in the Southwest United States. He holds a master’s degrees in business and engineering from Arizona State University and a degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois - Urbana.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 2:30 - 3:30 pm | Texas 1

How Do You Control a Smart Grid?

Jay Hoffman, Audit Services, American Electric Power

Alan Conkle, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Dennis Curtis, Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers

As Smart Grid projects evolve into fully-deployed solutions, operational, financial and compliance-related internal controls are critical. Smart Grid systems are subject to additional scrutiny and the need for strong internal controls whether cyber security, data privacy requirements from utility commissions, the debate whether NERC-CIP requirements will apply, concerns over meter accuracy and the accuracy of billing with dynamic peak pricing, or requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley.

Workshop Objectives:

Recognize key compliance/control considerations associated with SG technologies, laws & regulations;
Perform high level assessment of controls, identify deployment gaps;
Recommend controls enhancements to strengthen controls environment.

Who Should Attend:

Managers, project managers;
Smart Grid project staff;
Auditing managers.

Jay Hoffman is the IT audit director for AEP. He has overseen several projects impacting AEP’s grid SMART deployment, including reviews of device security and MDM system implementations. His professional presentations to internal and external audiences include continuous auditing, application controls assessments, and internal audit methodology. He was previously a senior IT auditor with Ernst & Young. Jay earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University.

Alan is a partner with PwC’s utility practice based in Detroit, MI. In addition to his Detroit leadership role, he is also in charge of PwC’s US Utility Risk Assurance practice. He has more than 17 years of experience in information systems controls and security and related consulting service. Alan is currently assisting numerous clients by assessing the progress of their AMI programs relative to their strategies, conducting periodic project reviews of key risk areas, and assessing controls and information security risks.

Dennis is a director with PwC’s risk assurance practice based in Detroit, MI and is a member of PwC’s national power & utilities practice. He is responsible for co-developing PwC’s Smart Grid assessment and risk evaluation methodology and approach and is a member of PwC’s national smart grid strategy and services deployment team. Dennis has recently co-authored thought leadership pieces which include Smart Grid Growing Pains and Utility CIS Implementation Risks and Considerations.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 3:45 - 5:00 pm | Texas 1

Achieving AMI Benefits: A San Francisco Water, Power, Sewer Case Study

Brian Barry, Jr Engineer, San Francisco Water Power Sewer

Marge Vizcarra, Supervisor, Customer Service, San Francisco Water Power Sewer

Tim Schrag, Consultant, ProMark Solutions LLC

An AMI project incorporates numerous interfaces, processes and manual procedures with footprints that can be felt by the utility and employees for years after the project ends. This workshop will detail the best practices utilized, and efficiencies implemented, during San Francisco Water, Power Sewer’s Automated Water Meter Program (AWMP) including process automation, data and read validations, and reducing employee’s workload.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn how to build automated processes and data validations into an AMI project;
Understand how a peer utility successfully reduced manual procedures and workflows;
Learn successful ways parallel read testing has been accomplished.

Who Should Attend:

AMI project managers and staff;
Customer service managers and staff;
IT management and staff.

Brian Barry is a project engineer for San Francisco Water, Power & Sewer’s automated water meter program, responsible for contractor oversight of day-to-day meter installation operations, quality assurance testing, large meter replacement program and AMI network administration. Brian graduated from University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering.

Marge Vizcarra has been customer services director of the San Francisco Water, Power & Sewer for the past 11 years. Her responsibilities include the billing and collections for water, municipal power and sewer services, including water resale to other public and private utilities in the Bay Area, customer contact, meter reading and field services operations.

Tim Schrag is a consultant at ProMark Solutions with over 16 years of expertise in project oversight, project management, business process analysis and redesign, and testing/QA in complex information systems application projects. He is currently a project lead at SFPUC overseeing projects such as an AMI implementation, mobile fieldwork, and an upgrade to CC&B 2.3. His experience in utility IS components covers everything from meters to cash and all services including water, wastewater, electric, and gas.

Friday, May 4, 2012 | 8:15 - 9:15 am | Texas 1

Protecting Customer Privacy in Smart Grid

Efrain Gonzalez, Cyber Security Architect, Southern California Edison

Mere encryption of the data will not solve the problem of the vulnerability of Smart Grid intelligent devices to burglars, marketers, insurance companies, etc. Smart Grid communication channels may also be vulnerable to hacking. Some researchers have proposed sending anonymous data (that excludes user-information), but this solution restricts the ability to analyze the data used to advise individual consumers regarding their energy usage habits.

Workshop Objectives:

Providing a cost effective, scalable cryptographic solution to preserve privacy of the utility customers.
Protecting the privacy of the utility customers’ power usage habits by preventing it from being accessed by hackers or rogue utility employees.
Allowing individual usage-data analysis after getting digital approval of the customer or the regulator.

Who Should Attend:

Smart Grid managers;
Customer service managers;
IT managers.

Efrain Gonzalez is an information security professional with over 25 years of IT experience. He works for Southern California Edison. He is a member of SCE’s Smart Grid engineering team where he is the lead cyber security architect for Smart Grid projects. Efrain is a certified information systems security professional and holds a BS in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Customer Engagement

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | Texas 3

Work-from-Home: Delivering Exceptional Customer Service in Your Pajamas

Cory Waddell, Supervisor, Customer Service, Des Moines Water Works

Considering a work-from-home program? Learn how Des Moines Water Works built the business case for a work-from-home program for their customer service contact center. Review their program from design to implementation, including the program evaluation one year later. Learn about the challenges, technology required for success, how they got buy-in from both front-line CSR’s and upper management, and how CSRs’ ideas were incorporated into the project.

Workshop Objectives:

Design and implementation of a work-from-home project;
Benefits and challenges of CSR’s working from home;
Statistical productivity of work from home agents.

Who Should Attend:

Directors, managers;
Supervisors, team leads, staff.

Cory Waddell is the supervisor of customer service for Des Moines Water Works. He has been with DMWW for 11 years and in customer service nearly 20 years, primarily in the call center environment. This is Cory’s 5th CS Week and 1st as a presenter.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 9:15 - 10:15 am | Texas 3

Enabling Customer Web Self-Service by Automating Complex CSR Decisions

Theresa McDonough, Service Delivery Manager, Application, NSTAR

Learn how NSTAR progressed from enabling customer web self-service for the start or transfer of service through basic automation to fully automating the complex CSRs’ decision process. This workshop discusses the business drivers that made the case to fully automate these complex rules for start service. Learn about project challenges, the keys to a successful implementation, and benefits realized.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn how to capture complex human decision processes and translate into business rules for automation;
Learn about NSTAR’s existing CRM platform and how it was enhanced to implement these transactions.

Who Should Attend:

IT managers;
Customer service managers, directors and supervisors;
Customer contact center managers.

Theresa McDonough is application service delivery manager for NSTAR, responsible for the effective delivery of services related to the architecture, design, development and maintenance of customer care business applications and services. She has worked in NSTAR’s IT department for 10 years. Prior positions at NSTAR include service delivery manager for HR, financial, she previously worked as a consultant for PwC and held technical positions at the MITRE Corporation and TRW. Theresa holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a Master’s from Boston University.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 10:30 - 11:30 am | Texas 3

Connecting Our Customers to a Smart Energy Future

Mark Podorsky, Manager, SmartConnect Business Design, Southern California Edison

Edison SmartConnect’s Interim HAN (Home Area Network) solution supports SCE’s commitment to HAN functionality by providing near real-time energy usage information to customers. Edison SmartConnect developed a framework of flexible and scalable IT systems and processes to support SCE’s long-term HAN functionality goals. Project objectives include facilitating customer education and engagement related to the HAN to help customers realize the potential benefits of this functionality.

Workshop Objectives:

Empowers customers to more effectively manage their electricity use;

Helping customers save energy, money, and the environment;

The challenges of implementing SmartConnect.

Who Should Attend:

IT managers, applications support staff;
Customer service directors;
Managers and supervisors.

Mark Podorsky is the manager of SmartConnect Business Design in Business Integration for Edison SmartConnect, Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) award-winning program to replace the company’s 5 million electricity meters with “smart” meters that will enable customers to better manage their energy use and allow SCE to better manage its electricity grid. Mark’s responsibilities include managing the overall design and integration of Edison SmartConnect products and services as well as business processes. Mark joined SCE in 2009. He is an accomplished executive with 20 years of business operations and systems experience within the energy industry, most recently as VP, operations for Commerce Energy, Inc.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 3:45 - 5:00 pm | Texas 3

Best Practices in Quality Management

Penny Tootle, Supervisor, Customer Service, Las Vegas Valley Water District

Quality is essential to contact center success, but real improvement is no simple task. A plan using technology and processes can ensure that your center continually measures and improves quality. This session discusses full circle recordings, scorecards and calibrating with your customer via interaction feedback. Each element helps you better understand the true performance in your center.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn to measure real performance in your center and give valuable guidance to agents and supervisors;
Share best practices for leveraging recordings in the contact center;
Improve scorecards, scaling and calibration through appropriate assessment sources.

Who Should Attend:

Contact center managers;
Customer service.

Penny Tootle is a customer services supervisor with the Las Vegas Valley Water District. She has taken a lead role for integrating technology with processes through several major system implementations over 17 years. Her team was responsible for the redesign of both the quality and training programs, and focuses heavily on developing strategies to address vulnerabilities and improve efficiencies in business systems and processes. She is also a published author.

Friday, May 4, 2012 | 8:15 - 9:15 am | Texas 3

Flexible Scheduling - What All Call Center Agents Ask For

Kerri Pfau, Supervisor, Contact Center Performance Assurance, Citizens Energy Group

Greg Sawyers, Director, Customer Service, Citizens Energy Group

For utility contact centers, incoming call volumes can vary dramatically by time, day, month, even by season. The traditional staffing model of full-time employees working 8 hour days results in varied performance – whether over- or under-staffed. Citizens Energy Group developed creative scheduling solutions to allow staffing to fluctuate with the peaks and valleys of call volumes.

Workshop Objectives:

Offer unique staffing options to reduce burn-out, increase engagement and employee morale;
Improve overall staffing including peak periods to achieve overall performance goals;
Control costs while balancing the needs of the customers.

Who Should Attend:

Contact center managers and supervisors;
Workforce managers with variable staffing demands.

Kerri Pfau has 18 years of experience with Citizens Energy Group in the customer services and HR departments. Currently contact center performance assurance supervisor, she leads operational activities including queue forecasting and monitoring, resource allocation, scheduling, reporting and call router design. She is also involved in departmental improvement opportunities and the analysis, research, design and implementation of related improvement initiatives.

Greg has worked in accounting, finance and customer service at Citizens Gas for the past 23 years. Additionally, he serves as president of the board for the Warm Heart Warm Home Foundation. In his dual role with the utility and Warm Heart Warm Home, he creates an environment in which the associates demonstrate a commitment to outstanding customer service, support conservation programs and affordable heat efforts for all customers.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Payments

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 9:30 - 10:30 am | Texas 4

Cashless Offices through Convenient Kiosks

Glenn Traasdahl, Technology Services, Salt River Project

What are the benefits to the utility and customers when considering the use of kiosks. Learn the different types of kiosk functionality in the utility industry and discuss the customer benefits of kiosk self service. Also, compare deployment strategies.

Workshop Objectives:

Reduce lobby traffic;
Focus on most difficult transaction by pushing easy payment transactions to the kiosk;
Cost savings benefit human resources, transaction processing, reduce calls.

Who Should Attend:

Call center staff;
Finance staff.

Glen Traasdahl is the Director of Technology Services at Salt River Project. Mr. Traasdahl has the responsibility for maintaining the nation’s largest pre-pay metering program, which includes a network of Pay Centers designed to receive electric payments and vend pre-pay smart cards. Mr. Traasdahl received his MBA from Arizona State University and also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from ASU.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | Texas 4

Mobilizing the New Customer

Ray Bond, Director, Systems Integration, Cobb EMC

Debbie Miglaw, Director, eSolutions Operations, DST Output

Utilities are constantly developing strategies to increase customer awareness and simplify access to account information and online payments. It is critical for utilities to consider mobilizing their websites, driving customers away from traditional communications toward mobile solutions. This workshop introduces strategies to create a mobile version of your website and how to drive customers to it.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn how utilities can increase visibility through the use of a mobile website;
Explore strategies for allowing payments and invoice presentation through mobile devices;
Learn how you can deliver "Best in Class" mobile web results.

Who Should Attend:

Marketing representatives;
Directors of web development and web strategies.

Ray Bond is the director of systems integration at Cobb EMC in Marietta, GA. He has 10+ years working in regulated and de-regulated utility markets and oversaw the project that mobilized Cobb’s corporate website. Ray has a BS in computer science from the University of Nebraska.

Debbie Miglaw, director, eSolutions operations for DST Output, is responsible for oversight of the eSolutions business unit, including profitability, pricing, and strategy. Debbie manages the client services team that supports eSolutions clients regarding their existing electronic services, as well as implementing new products and features. She is also in charge of technical sales for eSolutions. She was previously responsible for product management. Prior to joining DST Output, Debbie was site manager with Banta Corporation’s Global Turnkey division, and purchasing and account manager with Logistix. She also worked at Bank of America in various branch operations and operations positions. She holds a MBA degree and a BS degree from the University of California at Davis.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | Texas 4

Real Time and Unified CS & Payment Expectations

Steve Phillips, Sr Manager, Office Services, PG&E

Steve Barha, EVP, Mobile and Web, Tio Networks, Inc.

The transformative mobile generation brings new expectations of their service providers. They not only switch, but let their virtual friends hear about the experience. They communicate via Twitter; may not have a bank account. Their interface with providers, payment channels and customer service is far different. Utility interaction with this user needs to be well connected, real time and singular. This highly visual presentation recaps lessons that TIO Networks has learned in providing unified payments and customer service to consumers.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand the evolving needs of the connected consumer and the need for a unified billing experience;
How to deliver a single customer service and bill payment solution.

Who Should Attend:

Billing & payments – managers and executives

Steve Phillips is senior manager of office services at Pacific Gas and Electric Company. He has responsibility for PG&E’s 75 customer service offices, including kiosk payment options and 600 third-party biller sites located throughout northern and central California, handling the processing of approximately 8 million payments per year. Phillips has over 38 years at PG&E with management experience including contact center operations, internet services, marketing and engineering. He holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Wyoming and is a registered professional engineer.

Steve Barha is the EVP of mobile & web payments for TIO Networks. Prior to his role at TIO Networks, he founded and served as the CEO of Santra Technology. Prior to founding Santra, he served in senior and executive roles at SABA Learning Solutions, TELUS Enterprise Solutions, AOL and Microsoft. He graduated a B.Sc. in computer science from University of British Columbia.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 3:00 - 4:00/4:30 | Texas 4

Prepayment Solutions

Jim Hunter, VP, Marketing & Member Services, GreyStone Power

Michael Mendonca, Sr Director, Salt River Project

Explore the benefits of prepay opportunities for your customers, including how consumers pay for electric service prior to delivery. Discuss the positive financial impacts of prepay solutions, including increased collection of outstanding balances, specific benefits to customers and the capabilities of the AMI platform and automatic meters.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand customer and utility benefits of prepay;
Understand prepay customer satisfaction;
Improve collection efforts and better manage write offs;
How prepaid improves cash flow and reduces write offs.

Who Should Attend:

Credit & collections supervisors and managers;
Customer service supervisors and managers;
IT staff supporting customer service and collections;
Metering/AMI staff, finance personnel.

Jim is VP, marketing and member service with GreyStone Power Corp., an electric membership cooperative in Douglasville, GA with 104k members. He has a background in engineering, marketing/sales and customer service, with 44 years in utilities. Jim earned a B.S. in industrial technology from Tennessee Tech and MBA from Georgia State.

Michael Mendonca is senior director of SRP’s revenue cycles services which includes AMI services, commercial and residential billing, M-Power (prepay) operations, customer and revenue accounting and customer programs. During his 14 years with SRP, he has held management positions in customer billing, residential contact center, and technical support. He holds bachelor’s degrees in computer information systems and marketing as well as an MBA in marketing.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 10:30 -11:30 am | Texas 4

"SMS"ing for Payments

Randy Sparks, Principal Analyst, KCP&L

Randy Vance, Program Manager, eServices, KCP&L

Learn how using two-way texting for initiating payments can assist customers and improve your business operations. SMS text messaging enhances the timeliness of important messages to customers and allows them to respond quickly. Understand the distinct advantages and limitations of SMS as compared to other forms of communication. Discover which customers are using text for business purposes.

Workshop Objectives:

Reaching out to your customers via the #1 communication channel;
Lessons learned using SMS to notify customers of billing events;
Reducing collection efforts through SMS messaging;
Designing & implementing SMS services for customers;
Interface techniques with legacy systems.

Who Should Attend:

Credit & Collections managers;
Billing, payments, IT, mobile communications;
eBusiness/eService, corporate communications.

Randy Sparks is the principal analyst for the customer automation and self-service team at KCP&L. He supervises the team responsible for the development of customer information service interfaces and self-service applications, including solutions in meter reading, external customer web portals, eBill, Smart Grid, and SMS communications. He holds a Master of Science in computer science from Azusa Pacific University and has worked at KCP&L for 10 years.

Randy Vance is responsible for customer-facing eBusiness at KCP&L. His eService experience dates to 1995 with the design of one of the industry’s first sites to provide customers billing and metering information over the Web. He has overseen the launch of electronic billing and payment options, e-communication services and Web portals dedicated to specific customer segments. He is a member of the Energy eBusiness Consortium.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Credit & Collections

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 9:30 - 10:30 am | Texas 5

Managing Collections in Tough Economic Times

Judith Blair, Director II, Operations, Dayton Power & Light

Dayton Power implemented a number of initiatives to achieve "Best in Class" practices in Ohio. Learn how DP&L upgraded customer service processes, reduced bad debt expense and implemented new programs to minimize the impact of tough economic times. Learn how a core team of collection agents in our new business call center handles collections and improves customer satisfaction.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn how utilities are constantly improving their collections processes to enhance the customer revenue cycle;
Explore strategies for the recovery of bad debt in challenging times;
Learn how you can deliver "Best in Class" results.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service and operations senior management;
Directors of credit and collections/revenue services;
Credit managers and staff.

Judith Blair has been with Dayton Power & Light for the past 32 years. As director of revenue services, she is responsible for the 24/7 customer solution center, business call center, fraud and theft, meter reading, non-construction service and storm operations. She earned her Bachelors in business administration from Wright State University and an MBA from Xavier.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | Texas 5

Assisting Your Low Income Customers in an Already Challenging Economy

Patrick Boland, Manager, Customer Policy & Assistance, Xcel Energy

How can your utility better assist your low income customers? Learn about the possible federal/state funds available for this program. Hear strategies used to communicate with the customer and agencies. Understand how to train your staff to handle these customer situations.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn how your utility can create a low income housing energy assistance program;
How to balance the needs for collection with diminishing federal resources.

Who Should Attend:

Finance, call center;
Credit & collections.

Pat is a 28 year employee of Xcel Energy and is based out of Roseville, MN. He is currently manager of Customer Policy and Assistance; with responsibilities across all eight states the company does business. Pat is active in state and national policy discussions specific to consumer protections and is a frequent representative of the company in regulatory and legislative proceedings. Pat leads a team of 30 employees that are solely focused on serving low-income customers, energy assistance organizations, and those with special medical needs.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 3:00 - 4:00/4:30 | Texas 5

AMI Tampering – Effects on Credit & Collections

Sarah Sperry, Manager, Customer Service Compliance, Piedmont Natural Gas

Curtis Melton, Manager, Revenue Security, ONCOR

This presentation on challenges with AMI meters relates to customer tampering issues. Hear various methods of using AMI to determine meter tampering and usage theft as well as using AMI data to deter meter tampering. Learn ways to process and protect tampering evidence obtained from customer premises along with ways to audit post-AMI implementation.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand customer actions in an attempt to circumvent the AMI technology;
Processing and storage of tampering evidence;
Auditing customer premises post-AMI deployment (verification & audit process).

Who Should Attend:

Field staff and managers;
Credit & collections professionals.

Sarah Sperry is responsible for theft prevention, administration of the identity theft prevention program and provides compliance oversight for Piedmont’s customer service. Since joining Piedmont in 1974, she has helped the company to implement centralized call centers, mobile dispatching for field service personnel, and enterprise telephony and technology programs.

Curtis Melton is responsible for investigation and prevention of energy theft and diversion for 3.2 million customers within Oncor’s service area. He manages the development, implementation and monitoring of the Oncor Revenue Security Plan. He oversees the process that assures customers premises are safe and secure for delivery of electrical service. Since joining Oncor in 1982, he has held various positions in field operations, call center, stores and numerous supervisory positions.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 10:30 -11:30 am | Texas 5

Methods for Reducing Delinquency and Collections

Alycia Tretta, Collections Supervisor, San Antonio Water System

Better understand the terms used in credit & collections by clarifying the differences in delinquent accounts vs. collection accounts and payment arrangements vs. extensions. Learn numerous successful methods utilized by San Antonio Water System to collect on these accounts, including automated and manual outbound dialing, telephone collection "blitzes", various types of account invoices and the actual disconnection of services.

Workshop Objectives:

Clarify and understand various terms used when discussing collection accounts;
Discuss different methods utilized to collect on delinquent and/or collections accounts;
Report on successfulness of the different methods.

Who Should Attend:

Collections supervisors and managers;
Billing, accounting, finance, supervisors and managers;
Contact center supervisors and managers.

Alycia Tretta is supervisor of the telephone collections department for San Antonio Water System, managing both inbound and outbound collections groups. She has worked in the collection industry for over a decade. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration/management from TLU, a Master of Arts in legal studies from Texas State/San Marcos. She is a Certified Public Manager for the State of Texas.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 2:30 - 3:30 pm | Texas 5

Getting a Little Help from My Friends

Leon Broughton, Director, Revenue Assurance, Citizens Energy Group

Discover a new tool to recover write offs by sharing data with utilities across the country. By participating with large national companies such as AT&T, Comcast, Duke Energy, Verizon, etc., write-off customers ultimately surface outside your service area. When they do, you have their new address and contact information. Citizens Energy Group recovered over 25% of its annual bad debt expense in the first six months.

Workshop Objectives:

Show how sharing data with telecommunications, utilities and cable TV companies can reduce write offs;
Share CEG’s cost benefit analysis;
Share CEG’s results to date.

Who Should Attend:

Credit and call center executives and managers.

Leon is director of revenue assurance for Citizens Energy Group, responsible for managing credit, recoveries, theft, fraud, and field crews for gas, water and wastewater utility services. He’s managed credit in the commercial, industrial, retail and consumer credit markets, appeared in numerous business magazines and is a frequent guest lecturer. Leon is a graduate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and is a CPA and CIA.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 3:45 - 5:00 pm | Texas 5

Dialing Out

Canda Henry, Manager, Credit & Collections, Xcel Energy
Kelly Bergeron, Manager, Credit & Collections, Xcel Energy
Andy Frost, Information Analyst, Xcel Energy

How can your utility use outbound dialing to improve customer satisfaction and reduce bad debt? Learn how to make the business case for connecting with customers in an automated fashion. Listen to strategies on how to connect with your customer on first contact. The speakers will review various strategies used and lessons learned from their implementations.

Workshop Objectives:

Explore the use of an outbound dialer to improve customer collections;
Reach out to customers to proactively assist them in making payment before disconnect;
Reduce truck rolls and improve collection efforts. Improve customer satisfaction through notification.

Who Should Attend:

Credit & collections professionals and call center executives.

Canda Henry is credit and collections manager at Xcel Energy where her primary functions include commercial and industrial collection strategies to reduce DSO and skip tracing techniques to reduce bad debt. She has worked as a call center representative, residential credit representative, residential credit specialist, commercial and industrial credit representative, commercial and industrial/final accounts supervisor. credit and collections manager.

Kelly Bergeron and Andy Frost are responsible for Xcel Energy’s credit dialing technology and dialing campaigns. Their dialing technology and strategies played a large part in achieving a decrease in DSO from 30.1 days in 2005 to 24.4 days in 2011. Kelly has worked as a call center representative, resource management scheduling analyst, call center supervisor, field collections manager and credit & collections manager, where her primary functions include dialing technology and strategy.

Andy started with Xcel Energy as a credit outbound call center representative, then team lead, and credit outbound team supervisor. He is currently an information analyst, assisting in the maintenance and development around dialers and dialing strategies.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Field Customer Service

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 9:30 - 10:30 am | Dallas 1

Mobile Workforce Optimization - California Water Service Phase II

Bryan Webster, Manager, Applications, California Water Service Company

Ben Seward, Consulting Practice Director, Oracle

Phase I of California Water Service Company’s mobile workforce roll out was popular at CS Week 34. Two years later, they return to discuss the scheduling complexities of adding 63 field activity types, 5 dispatch CSRs and 16 field crews. Phase II results, including routing efficiency, increased productivity and improved on-time appointments, will be demonstrated using real time analytics. Learn how CWSC optimized their field services management system.

Workshop Objectives:

Challenges of prioritizing appointments, emergency response and routine field activities;
Benefits of real-time integrations with billing system;
Effective training strategies to get end user buy-in.

Who Should Attend:

IT, operations and customer service managers.

Bryan Webster is the business applications manager for California Water Service Company and was the Cal Water project manager for the phase II mobile workforce project. He holds an MBA from Santa Clara University and is a certified PMI Project Management Professional. Bryan manages a team of 12 developers supporting various business applications including the CIS billing system, PeopleSoft financials and PeopleSoft HRMS systems.

Ben is a practice director in Oracle’s Tax and Utilities Global Business Unit. He has responsibility for leading implementation consulting services engagements for all utilities customers in the southwestern US. Ben has worked at Oracle for five years and has over 15 years of large-scale systems implementation experience, enabling the field workforce using mobile technology. Prior to Oracle, Ben worked in the natural gas business, implementing a portfolio of service delivery improvement projects.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | Dallas 1

Integrating Customer, Mobile Workforce, and GIS Systems

Dana Drysdale, VP, Information Systems, San Jose Water Company

San Jose Water Company (SJWC) generated unexpected benefits as part of implementing Oracle’s CCB, MWM and AIA integration solutions. SJWC also used this opportunity to eliminate other "islands of information" through its own integrations to many other systems. Enthusiasm quickly expanded integrations from 10 to over 30 due to the observed benefits. This workshop explores the benefits of system integration and lessons learned.

Workshop Objectives:

Discuss and share significant benefits of full integration of customer systems with mobile computing, geographic systems, and other applicable utility systems - example - finance and work and asset management;
Explore one model of skill development and ownership used to successfully change over half the jobs in a utility simultaneously;
Share lessons learned from simultaneously implementing and/or integrating customer, mobile, geographic, financial, work and XConnect.

Who Should Attend:

IT managers & supervisors;
Customer service & operations managers and supervisors

Dana Drysdale is VP, information systems with San Jose Water Company. He is responsible for technology strategy and management, HR development and team building, project management, design, implementation and problem solving. His experience includes study with the UC and U of IL., leadership development with ZengerMiller and work as a CPA and IT auditor.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | Dallas 1

Get Smart with Outage Communications - Implementing Mobile Device Apps at PHI

Walter Stefy, Senior Project Manager, Pepco Holdings, Inc.

Brad Sileo, VP, Business Development, iFactor Consulting

Two years later, evaluate PHI’s innovative project to implement apps for iPhone, Android and Blackberry platforms to improve customer satisfaction in Washington, DC. From the initial project, through roadblocks, challenges and successes along the way, assess the real-world experience of implementing utility transactions on these platforms, including testing apps within the utility, security and scalability considerations, app store updates and project results.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand options for offering information to customers with mobile devices;
Learn about technical hurdles to deploying native apps for utility customer service;
Gain an understanding of customer preferences and feedback on mobile apps.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service directors and managers;
Corporate communications managers.

Walter joined PHI in 1999 and is responsible for customer self-service and business improvement projects for its three regulated utilities: Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power and Pepco. In this capacity he has lead the implementation of PHI’s self-service apps, multiple internet redesign projects and the development of My Account, PHI’s secure internet self-service tool. Walter has a B.A in Finance from Stockton College of New Jersey, is a member of the Energy eBusiness Consortium and a volunteer soccer coach.

Brad Sileo provides strategic vision and sales leadership at iFactor Consulting, helping maintain alignment between the company and customers through innovative technologies and solutions. He has worked with utilities for 15 years in roles from developer to architect and has a computer engineering degree from Pennsylvania State University.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 3:00 - 4:00/4:30 | Dallas 1

Harnessing Social Media to Enhance Field Service Response

Andy Maimoni, Deputy Director, 311 Customer Service Center, City of San Francisco

Don Stickney, Director, Minneapolis 311

Steve Carter, Director, Public Sector Accounts, KANA

A new generation of social media tools, centered around third party web-based maps, allow citizens to report non-emergency issues to local government as a form of community activism. Learn how government and utilities are accessing Open 311 applications such as SeeClickFix.com to integrate this information into their service order systems, streamline the work order management process and manage call center volume more efficiently.

Workshop Objectives:

Lessons learned in developing innovative crowd-sourcing solutions for mobile applications;
Using mobile and social media apps to create new communities of interest and foster active engagement improving quality of life;
An overview of progress across North America in implementing the Open 311 standard and benefits realized, including City and County of San Francisco;
Social media and mobile apps as utilized support.

Who Should Attend:

Contact center managers;
Customer service managers;
Social media IT managers for utilities and municipalities

Andy Maimoni is the deputy director of San Francisco’s 311 customer service center and manages the technology used by 76 CSRs and the public. Whenever the city adds services to the traditional channels, he has focused on making them available through “new” channels such as social and mobile as well. Before 311, Andy was a Navy pilot and software customer support manager. He has an MBA from St. Mary’s College of California.

Don Stickney is the director of Minneapolis 311. He has over 30 years of experience in customer service, contact center operations and project management. Previously, Don was the project manager for the Minneapolis One Call project, responsible for the implementation of Minneapolis 311. Deliverables included implementation of an integrated CRM system, installation of contact center technologies, contact center build-out, communications planning and staff hiring and training.

Steve Carter is responsible for the solutions marketing efforts of KANA Software in North America and exclusively covers the public sector products from KANA for customer service and service delivery management. After 23-plus years in the state and local government field, he works closely with key customers on product direction and future inputs to the KANA products for citizen interaction using social media, government customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise case management (ECM) product solutions offered by KANA.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 10:30 -11:30 am | Dallas 1

Optimizing Meter Reading Route Management

DeDe Pullen, Sr Meter Data Analyst, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative

Sean Carroll, Business Development - Utilities, RouteSmart Technologies, Inc.

A panel discussion of various techniques to optimize meter reading route management via technology software and process changes. See how utilities planned and implemented this technology to increase productivity as service areas expand/contract, but budgets and FTEs remain static or reduced. Even as utilities transition to remote meter reading, this technology remains a critical tool for streamlining the migration to AMI implementation.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn the importance of meter reading route management;
See how to best position your utility for a successful transition to AMI;
Appreciate how utilities are managing resources and budgets with this technology.

Who Should Attend:

Meter reading managers and supervisors;
Utility managers and supervisors;
IT managers and supervisors.

DeDe Pullen is senior meter data analyst at Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, currently spearheading the route optimization project. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the electric utility industry including meter operations, customer service, financial services, and project management. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in business administration from the University of Maryland.

Sean Carroll has been responsible for growing RouteSmart’s business opportunities in the electric, gas and water utility markets for the past five years. Prior to joining RouteSmart, he was a co-founder and principal with Pathfinder Logistics Solutions, Inc., a boutique consultancy focused on providing route optimization solutions for small to mid-size delivery businesses.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 3:45 - 5:00 pm | Dallas 1

Best Practices on Outage Communications Management

Bryan Davis, Supervisor, Outage Management Operations Support, WE Energies

Randy Green, Customer Service Leader, Idaho Power

Utilities are required to communicate service outages, but some truly excel at providing real-time, value-driven information to their customers. Hear how three recognized leaders in outage communications manage their outage programs depending upon the event type, duration and customer expectations. Learn about the tools and best practices developed by these top utilities to address both operational challenges and customer satisfaction.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn how to accurately estimate restoration times;
Learn best practices of large utilities faced with both storm and day to day events.

Who Should Attend:

Utilities’ IT and contact center managers and supervisors.

Bryan’s current responsibilities include providing support for We Energies’ field operations and overseeing the electric outage management process. His continuous focus resides in restoring electric power quickly and safely to his customers while improving customer satisfaction through increased communication with the customer during the outage management process. He has been with We Energies over 13 years and holds a BS in management information systems and marketing.

Randy Green is the customer service leader of the customer account management center at Idaho Power. The majority of his 15 year career has been in customer service and billing. He has held several positions including meter reading and collections, customer service and customer service support, and four years as a supervisor in the customer service department. His current responsibilities include managing back-office operations related to customer billing and collections, customer service after-hours, outage communication and recovery of delinquent accounts.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Billing

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 9:30 - 10:30 am | Texas 2

Reduced Mailing Costs Using Digital Mail

Tim Jarrell, Associate VP, IS Programs, Cobb EMC

Randy Dean, SVP/GM, Digital Postal Mail and Commerce, Zumbox

Digital mail is having a dramatic impact on paper suppression rates for mailers across the U.S. In the Twin Cities, 37% of consumers that signed up for Zumbox chose to go paperless after viewing their first bills; 46% went paperless by the second billing cycle. Review a detailed case study of other ways digital postal mail creates cost savings and revenue opportunities for your organization.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn to dramatically cut mailing costs of customer communications by using digital postal mail;
Learn how other cost savings can be realized by letting digital postal mail drive customers to lowest cost payment and support options;
Discover new revenue opportunities through a dynamic communication channel.

Who Should Attend:

Billing managers and specialists;
IT executives;
Utility financial officers.

Randy is SVP/GM, digital postal mail and commerce, and manages key operations including sales, alliances and business development. He brings more than 20 years of entrepreneurial success with a particular focus on the consumer internet at companies such as AOL, The Active Network and LivingSocial. He has extensive experience in the development, management and distribution of online content, as well as business development, marketing, sales and operations.

Tim joined Cobb EMC in 2006 to create an enterprise project management office with accompanying processes and procedures centered around project management methods, IS governance, and change management. Since its inception, IS has achieved a 100% project delivery. Cobb received the “Project of the Year” award in 2010 from the Atlanta Chapter of PMI. Tim is a project management professional (PMP) and six sigma black belt.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | Texas 2

How Nashville Electric Achieved Above-market Adoption Rates with a Complete e-Billing Solution

Victor Hatridge, VP, CIO, Nashville Electric Service

Rick Huff, SVP, Sales, Marketing & Client Relations, KUBRA

Nashville Electric Service is the first US utility to deploy all four e-billing channels: biller-direct, multiple e-bill consolidators, secure email delivery and payment, and mobile e-billing (mobile browser, app and SMS). Customers can choose to view and pay their e-bills on NES’s website, over 4,000 bank/credit union sites, in their in-box or on their mobile device. Learn how the various e-billing options can meet your needs.

Workshop Objectives:

How each e-billing model works and considerations for utilities looking to implement a similar solution;
Review how each channel was implemented, how it integrates with their billing platform and other online tools;
A full review of the benefits.

Who Should Attend:

CS billing supervisors;
Call center supervisors;
CS collections supervisors.

Vic Hatridge is VP/CIO for Nashville Electric Services in Nashville, TN, responsible for all commercial computer and telecommunication systems, including this year’s SmartGrid implementation coming online in mid-2012 with a focus on peak load reduction. Under his leadership, NES has implemented enterprise solutions for GIS, asset management and solutions for e-billing/e-payment on cost-effective computing technology. He is an active member of the American Public Power Association information technology committee. He holds a BS in industrial engineering and an MBA, both from Oklahoma State University.

Rick Huff is the SVP of sales, marketing and client relations for KUBRA. He is responsible for branding and marketing functions company-wide as well as the acquisition and maintenance of all client relations. Rick has been with KUBRA for 17 years and sits on the executive committee and product development teams.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | Texas 2

Revenue Loss from Undelivered Bills

Lisa Carloni, Director, Billing, MDM & Business Planning, NSTAR

Rich Schurfeld, CEO, REDSSON

This best-in-class case study will highlight the issues and opportunities that all utility companies face regarding the hidden revenue leaks related to undelivered bills. Workflow processes and "at risk" customers will be identified in ensuring that all undelivered bills are accounted for and revenue identified.

Workshop Objectives:

Assess the current situation of undelivered bills in the utility industry;
How to identify, quantify and resolve undelivered bills and "at risk" accounts;
How to implement automated, actionable and measurable workflow processes.

Who Should Attend:

Customer care and revenue management;
Billing and payment management;
IT and business process management.

Lisa Carloni is the director of billing, meter reading management and business planning at NSTAR. She has been with the company for over 25 years, first at the gas company as director of marketing, then director of energy efficiency at NSTAR and director of business planning. Her current role has added billing and metering. Lisa received her undergraduate degree from Brown University and her master’s from the University of Lowell.

Rich Schurfeld is the CEO of REDSSON, a company specializing in customized solutions for verifying consumer identity, delivery of billing statements electronically or via print & mail, online/electronic payment acceptance, locating consumers and stopping the profit leaks from at-risk accounts hidden in returned mail. Prior to founding REDSSON, Rich attended the US Air Force Academy and was director, web services at BusinessVoice, Inc.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 9:15 - 10:15 am | Texas 2

Minimize Your Electronic Billing De-Enrollments

Rene Villa, Manager, Electronic Billing & Payment, Florida Power & Light

Follow this 2011 case study into why customers were opting out of the electronic bill payment program, its root causes, and the development of specific countermeasures. The team’s goal was to reduce the rate at which FPL customers opt out of their electronic bill payment program by 20 percent.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand and minimize why your customers are dropping out of your electronic bill payment process.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service billing managers;
Collections supervisors;
Directors of Customer Service.

Rene Villa has served in many roles across several areas during his 12 years with Florida Power & Light, including call center, distribution, and program management. He is currently responsible for managing FPL’s entire portfolio of billing and payment options (BPOs) and leads a corporate cross functional team charged with ownership of all processes and systems in support of BPOs. The team also conducts campaigns that move customers away from paper to electronic BPOs.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 10:30 -11:30 am | Texas 2

Implementing Bill Presentment and Redesign

Sarah Nicholson, Supervisor, Customer Systems Services, American Electric Power

Kris Britton, Consultant, Centric Consulting

AEP’s customer operations CIS strategy team needed a new bill presentment solution to provide more flexible and effective bill formatting. The team selected a packaged bill print/presentment software solution that produces a more user friendly bill, including energy management information to assist customers. The new format also enables differentiation for individual operating companies while supporting a standardized brand image.

Workshop Objectives:

Tips in selecting a bill print vendor;
Managing the interest of multiple stakeholders and operating companies during the bill redesign process;
Incorporating operational efficiencies in the bill redesign process.

Who Should Attend:

CS managers and supervisors;
Billing executives;
CIS partners.

Sarah Nicholson is a supervisor at American Electric Power, responsible for the functional support of the customer information system. An accomplished project manager, she has led many project teams to performance success in the areas of billing and systems support. Sarah was responsible for leading a team of over 100 people in the successful implementation of a new billing and correspondence software package. This $4 million project was implemented in May 2011.

Kris Britton is an experienced leader with over 23 years' experience in the utility industry optimizing business performance. Most recently she supported AEP with their bill presentment project. Kris specializes in business process management, driving organizational efficiencies and implementing business management systems. She has also served as an examiner for the Colorado Performance Excellence Organization in awarding that states Malcolm Baldrige Quality Business award. A consultant through Centric Consultant, Kris is currently assigned to gridSMART projects at AEP.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 3:45 - 5:00 pm | Texas 2

Offering Customers Comprehensive Bill Payment Options

John Sutphin, Director, Finance, Piedmont Natural Gas

Lauren Mesch, Business Development, Western Union Payments

Piedmont Natural Gas is one of the first energy companies to pursue a comprehensive electronic billing and payment strategy that harnesses multiple electronic and mobile channels into one system. PNG combined electronic billing, pay-by-text, website access and customized mobile payment applications to provide enhanced payment options. Learn how they envisioned the project and planned for changing trends in communications.

Workshop Objectives:

How to harness electronic and mobile options that deliver customer value while increasing payments;

How to use payment technologies to improve marketing and customer communications;

How to successfully deliver mobile payment options to the crucial customer segment that needs them.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service managers;

Finance and IT specialists.

John Sutphin is the finance director at Piedmont Natural Gas, responsible for cash management, treasury operations, supply chain, procurement, fleet, and counter-party credit. He has extensive experience in utility operations, including investor relations, planning and rates, and business development. John holds a BS in finance from Virginia Tech, and earned his MBA at Wake Forest University.

Lauren Mesch has spent the past 20 of her 25 years in the payments industry, working with utility clients to optimize electronic billing and payment solution offerings. Specializing in operations management, client relations and sales, she has a proven track record in assisting utilities to optimize payment solutions in a real-time environment and increase consumer use of automated billing and payment channels.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Strategies and Management

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 9:30 - 10:30 am | Texas 6

Analytics Now: Creating Value in Utility Customer Service Operations

Christine Richards, Sr Research Analyst, Utility Analytics Institute, A Division of Energy Central

Mike Smith, VP, Utility Analytics Institute, A Division of Energy Central

From simply managing masses of data to creating valuable insights and intelligence from the data, CS professionals are now actively creating tangible value via analytics. This session will provide preliminary research results from a new customer analytics study (TBP May, 2012), along with examples and insights from actual projects that are successfully leveraging analytics to drive value from the new volume of data.

Workshop Objectives:

Provide information on how utilities are using analytics to improve customer service operations;
Provide examples of challenges, lessons learned and success stories in the use of analytics in customer service operations;
Provide results of a market study focused on the customer analytics market.

Who Should Attend:

Utility customer service executives and managers;
Utility analytics professionals;
Solution providers and consultants active in data management and analytics.

Christine Richards is a researcher and writer whose expertise includes the utility industry, smart grid, utility analytics, renewable energy, economic development, regional planning and landscape architecture. Prior to her current role, Christine worked at Energy Central in the company’s Intelligent Utility division. Her work on the magazine earned a coveted Eddie Award for editorial excellence and an Ozzie Award for innovative design. Prior to her roles at Energy Central, Christine served as the lead analyst for the intelligent grid practice at IDC Energy Insights.

Mike Smith is a 22-year veteran of the utility ‘smart grid’/IT/automation, information services and media business. He has served in a variety of leadership, research, sales, marketing, and positions throughout his career. In his current position he is responsible for all research, content, events, and profitability of the Utility Analytics Institute, A Division of Energy Central.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | Texas 6

Creating a Corporate Culture of Coaching

Candy Riem, Manager, Marketing & Member Services, Midwest Energy Cooperative

Kimberly Mitchell, President, InterWeave, Inc.

Making the commitment to coach your employees means thinking differently, reacting differently, documenting differently and leading with a new direction that has significant implications for your culture. Midwest Energy Cooperative partnered with InterWeave to guide them through this process. Follow the journey Midwest Energy embarked upon, the lessons they learned and the advances they have made with their employees, their members and their business.

Workshop Objectives:

Develop a coaching process that truly drives change;
Explore the specific steps that promote a complete learning environment and how this changes your culture;
Understand the challenges and how to be successful in this culture change.

Who Should Attend:

Senior management;
Front line leaders.

Candy Reim is manager of marketing and customer services for Midwest Energy Cooperative. She develops and implements new product and service lines; comprehensive sales/marketing programs for cooperative and subsidiary products and services; and oversees and supports customer care and dispatch supervisory staff; and supports information systems staff and contractors.

Kimberly (King) Mitchell founded InterWeave in April 2000 to assist companies in changing their cultures and results by focusing on the right behaviors. Her transformational leadership principles guide utilities through the process of holding everyone accountable to the behaviors that will drive optimal success. Kimberly earned her Master’s Degree from Gonzaga University in organizational leadership.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | Texas 6

Driving Customer Service Excellence through a Strategic Customer Service Plan

David McKendry, Director, Customer Service, Hydro Ottawa Ltd.

Learn what led Hydro Ottawa to develop a strategic customer service plan, the steps that were taken and the results achieved to date. Learn how a strategic customer service plan can align your entire company in the delivery of customer service excellence.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand the elements to be considered when developing a strategic customer service plan;
Understand the results that can be achieved through the implementation of a strategic customer service plan;
Understand why a strategic customer service plan is important.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service executives, directors, managers and supervisors.

Hydro Ottawa’s director of customer service, David McKendry, is a customer-focused leader. With over 25 years of domestic and international utility experience in electricity, telephone and cable sectors, he possesses broad strengths in customer service, sales, marketing and business development. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University and a Master’s certificate in energy sector leadership from York University.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 3:00 - 4:00/4:30 | Texas 6

CIS Implementation Case Studies

Brian Doherty, Manager, Strategic Projects, Toronto Hydro

Jay Stowe, COO, Huntsville Utilities

Installing a new customer information system (CIS) is costly and time-consuming. In addition to executing this huge change effort without disrupting daily operations, a new CIS can spur change in the IT support model, change business process support needs and provide new opportunities to both the utility and its customers. These case studies highlight the challenges with executing large-scale projects as well as the benefits and organizational change management related to CIS implementations.

Workshop Objectives:

Value of building on a new CIS package;
What worked; where problems were;
Changing roles and relationship between the business and the IT organizations;
Support of new services through the new CIS.

Who Should Attend:

IT executives, management and staff supporting CIS business decisions;
Business executives and management;
Business staff supporting the meter to cash lifecycle.

Brian Doherty has worked for Toronto Hydro for nearly 30 years. He began his career as water engineer with Scarborough Utilities before moving into IT projects. Scarborough Utilities was amalgamated into Toronto Hydro in 1998. He has led several high profile projects including an ERP upgrade and most recently a CIS implementation. He holds a degree in civil engineering and an MBA, both from University of Toronto.

Jay Stowe is the COO at Huntsville Utilities, an electric, water and natural gas, publically owned, not for profit utility. Huntsville Utilities serves approximately 165K electric customers, 85K water customers and 47K natural gas customers in Madison County, AL. Jay is a Professional Engineer. He previously worked for two municipal utilities and two consulting firms. He is a graduate of NC State University.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 9:15 - 10:15 am | Texas 6

Should You Rip and Replace Your CIS?

Dr. Zarko Sumic, VP, Distinguished Analyst, Gartner

Replacing CIS resembles heart replacement surgery due to its central position in utility IT application portfolios, high cost, long recovery time and associated risk of failure. Business plans using traditional financial models rarely provide business justification for CIS. Energy security and sustainability concerns challenge existing utility business models and create a volatile environment. New requirements regarding supporting big data coming from smart metering and a new billing paradigm created by energy efficiency initiatives and the emergence of prosumers.

Workshop Objectives:

Identify key characteristics that make CIS replacement a costly and risky endeavor and explore business models from CIS replacements;
Explore emerging requirements in utility M2C process and the capability of incumbent providers to address emerging needs;
Provide recommendation to address emerging M2C needs in the short term and in the future.

Who Should Attend:

IT execs and management;
IT staff supporting CIS business decisions;
Business execs and management;
Business staff supporting the meter to cash lifecycle.

With 35 years of academic, IT and business experience, Dr. Sumic is an established leader in applying information technology in the energy industry. Before joining Gartner in 2001, he was a CTO of ConneXt responsible for development of CIS, GIS and OMS solutions and products. Dr. Sumic received a BS from University of Split, an MS from University of Zagreb, Croatia; a PhD from University of Washington (UW); and executive training from Caltech.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 10:30 - 11:30 am | Texas 6

The Upswing of Modular Approach to CIS Deployment

Retha Hunsicker, GM, Smart Energy Systems & Processes, Duke Energy

Kit Hagen, Head of Global Solutions, Utilities, Convergys Corporation

A new modular approach to CIS deployment may point to a crossroads for utility and energy providers, not just for modular deployment. Architectural shifts to SOA-based systems are being taken, pressure to contract deployment schedules now favors configuration over customization, new CIS are increasingly client server vs. mainframe-based. Join Duke Energy and Convergys discussing the indicator trends and Duke’s architectural changes to address imperatives in a changing market.

Workshop Objectives:

Characteristics of a next gen system, e.g., open integration architecture, modularity;
Business process re-engineering: streamlining legacy processes;
Re-tooling billing and customer care systems;
Migrating from premise-based to customer-based systems, SOA-based systems, and modular (vs. monolithic) system upgrades.

Who Should Attend:

Operations, customer service and IT departments charged with selecting, implementing, and operating a customer care and billing system. (CIS)

Retha is responsible for the delivery of tactical and strategic customer projects enabled by two-way data. She has been with Duke Energy for 30 years. She received her degree from Indiana Wesleyan University and has multiple certifications in call center operations, project management, training and strategic leadership.

Kit Hagen is responsible for the growth of Convergys' smart utility solutions. Prior to Convergys, he was co-founder of Voce Wireless, the world's first premium wireless carrier. He has more than 20 years of new business and product development experience, working for such world-class companies as Best Buy, AT&T, and Cincinnati Bell. Kit holds a Bachelor's Degree in international relations from the University of Minnesota.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 2:30 -3:30 pm | Texas 6

Extracting More Value through Advanced Meter Data Analytics

Rick Littmann, Meter Reading Services Analyst, Laclede Gas Company

Jim West, Superintendent, Meter Services, Ameren Missouri

This presentation shows how two utilities, Ameren UE (Electric) and Laclede Gas, used advanced MDA to achieve novel efficiencies beyond those of traditional metering and MDMS. Sharing non-sensitive client information through a meter data analytics company, the two St. Louis utilities have achieved impressive benefits and improvements in targeted customer touches. This presentation advocates improving the earliest stages of the customer experience lifecycle and covers project design and implementation.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand benefits of implementing meter data analytics as a hosted service;
Leverage shared meter data from multiple utilities to benefit both customers and utilities;
Utilize meter data analytics to drive improved customer experience.

Who Should Attend:

Anyone looking to leverage AMR/AMI data through advanced meter data analytics;
Customer experience managers;
Operations management, business and IT analysts

Rick Littmann is a meter reading analyst at Laclede Gas Company in St. Louis, a natural gas distribution company with 680,000 automated meter reading (AMR) endpoints. He has over 30 years’ experience at Laclede primarily in meter reading services and credit & collection. He was AMR project manager of the task team to determine the optimum AMR solution for Laclede. Rick was involved with the AMR vendor contract negotiations and the complete AMR deployment at Laclede to replace manual meter readers. Rick is currently co-chair of the executive user group steering committee representing AMR users with their vendor, Landis & Gyr.

Jim West is the superintendent of meter services for Ameren Missouri, responsible for all meter engineering and electric and gas field and shop operations for Ameren.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 2:30 - 3:30 pm | Texas 3

Is It Time for CRM?

Greg Galluzzi, Sr. Vice President, Five Point Partners

Bart Thielbar, VP, Five Point Partners

A recent survey, conducted at CS Week 2011, indicates that it’s time CRM reached critical mass in utilities. What do utility and energy providers need to do to keep the customer at the center? Does the exodus of Microsoft, Google, Cisco from the customer-facing software and device market have an impact? Or, is it just a sign that serving the customer belongs, more than ever, with the utility?

Workshop Objectives:

Changes in the market mean new challenges - keeping customers at the center is a critical success factor;
What does CRM bring to the table for utilities? Utilities might want to consider re-vamping customer care systems in favor of more progressive CRM systems, replacing existing CIS that focus on customer management.

Who Should Attend:

Operations, customer service/customer care organizations;
CIS-related organizations.

Greg Galluzzi, is an SVP at Five Point Partners with overall responsibility for the company’s solution procurement business. He has over 29 years of utility industry and IT project experience. He is a recognized CIS and utility industry expert and has participated in over 200 projects.

Bart Thielbar is a VP and a principal of Five Point Partner’s strategy, research and analysis division. A former utility CIO and past chair of the EEI/AGA technology advisory council, he knows well the opportunities and challenges facing the industry today. He is a published author and frequent speaker on issues of utility automation. He holds the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 3:45 - 5:00 pm | Texas 6

Best Practices in CIS Implementations

Martha Segal, Assistant Director, Metro Water Nashville

Joellen Thompson, Manager, Water System, City of Grand Rapids

Implementing a new CIS is a challenge from picking the right product and partners, to maintaining customer satisfaction and smooth daily operations during implementation, to leveraging the new system to improve business processes. This panel includes a variety of utilities illustrating how they successfully tackled the challenge. Panelists will address multiple perspectives including selection strategy, project management, change management, conversion activities and business process improvement.

Workshop Objectives:

Considerations for selecting a CIS product for CIS implementations;
Key project management practices for CIS implementations;
How to adapt new, best practice business processes through the CIS implementation process.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service managers;
Project managers and IT staff;
Billing managers and implementation teams.

Martha Segal is assistant director with Metro Water Services in Nashville, responsible for customer services, including payment processing, billing & collections, phone center/dispatch and meter reading/field activities. She successfully implemented CIS, IVR, EBPP, mobile dispatching and AMR/AMI systems at public utilities. Martha earned her BSBA and MBA degrees at Old Dominion University and is a member of the American Water Works Association and past chair of the KY/TN AWWA section.

Joellen Thompson is manager of water services for the City of Grand Rapids, providing service to over 300,000 customers. The second largest utility provider in Michigan, Grand Rapids serves 10 other communities. A licensed professional engineer, she has worked over 25 years in utilities, holds a Michigan S1 operator license and has a BS degree in engineering from Michigan State University.

Friday, May 4, 2012 | 8:15 - 9:15 am | Texas 6

Think Big, Start Small: A Practical Approach to Business Intelligence

Sylvia Welch, Manager, IT Applications, SMECO

Jeremy Oosthuizen, Principal, Origin Consulting, LLC

Southern Maryland Electric Co-op (SMECO) has made great progress implementing an enterprise-wide data warehouse and business intelligence system. Learn how they started the project, how far they’ve come, how they use what they have built so far and the next steps for moving forward. Attendees will walk away with knowledge they can use immediately to secure funding and start working on their utility’s BI initiative.

Workshop Objectives:

Develop a shared BI vision championed by senior management;
Gain ideas and requirements to secure funding for a DW/BI project;
Receive tips on how to decide on BI vision and approach;
Think big, but start small.

Who Should Attend:

Executives;
Senior and middle managers;
IT professionals, technical analysts.

Sylvia Welch is the IT applications manager at Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative. She has been with the cooperative for 24 years and worked various positions throughout the organization. Her team of 10 employees is responsible for implementing and supporting over 40 highly integrated business applications. She is currently working towards her Bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Jeremy Oosthuizen has worked on utility customer information systems for 15 years. For the past 7 years, he has specialized in business intelligence for utilities. He was previously product manager for Oracle’s OUBI product suite and currently runs the business intelligence practice for Origin, Inc. He wants to make BI pervasive in utilities.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Expanding Excellence Awards

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | Texas 5

Best CIS Implementation

Listen as the 2012 winners - one with revenues over $400 million and one with revenues less than $400 million - discuss the winning elements of their highly successful CIS project implementations.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 9:15 - 10:15 am | Texas 5

Best Smart Infrastructure Project

Awards are presented to one large and one small utility that successfully completed a pilot or large-scale implementation during 2010 or 2011 that optimized AMI/MDM technologies.

Friday, May 4, 2012 | 8:15 - 9:15 am | Texas 5

Innovation in Customer Service

Explore with this year’s winning utility teams why and how they developed innovative approaches to improving a particular aspect of the customer relationship within the meter-to-cash Customer Experience Lifecycle.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

Exhibitor Showcases

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 9:30 - 10:30 am | San Antonio 5

Doing More with Less: Gearing MDM for the Uphill Journey

Tim Berson, Director, Product Management, MeterSense Solutions, A Division of Harris Computer Systems

Miqdad Jaffer, Product Manager, MeterSense Solutions, A Division of Harris Computer Systems

MeterSense Solutions presents the end to end process from the initial onset of data delivery from meters to the engagement practice with customers. While historically MDM has been seen as a mechanism for long term data store and VEE, it also introduces the capability to enhance utility business practices and make better decisions through analytics. We will explore processes that need to be implemented at the utility level as well as those processes that can be automated to reduce strain on CSR and utility personnel. The session will follow the journey of meter data from the meter to the customer and discuss the systems and processes to put in place to maximize overall return.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand the application of an advanced Meter Data Management system in automating smart grid processes;
Review use cases where MeterSense is used to empower utility personnel with greater efficiency;
Define automated workflows that deliver the value of smart infrastructure investments to the utility enterprise..

Who Should Attend:

Customer service managers & representatives;
Engineering/distribution operations;
Smart Grid strategy and planning personnel.

Tim Berson is the director of product management for MeterSense Solutions. Prior to joining the MeterSense team, he delivered value to utilities and large energy users in the fields of AMI, demand response and energy management. Tim earned a Bachelor of Science (Honors) degree in physics at the University of York in England.

Miqdad Jaffer is a product manager at MeterSense Solutions. He previously worked as a software engineer with MeterSense, working on products for the utility market including customer information systems, meter data management and various consumer facing applications. He holds a Bachelor of Science in software engineering from the University of Ottawa in Canada.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | San Antonio 5

Efficiencies Realized – Not Just Theorized

Steven Murphy, Sr Director, Industry Strategy, Oracle

Efficiencies promised during the sales cycle may go unrealized for a variety of reasons, leaving the utility to wonder what happened to the gains and associated cost savings they thought they would achieve. This session will discuss real, tangible efficiencies realized by utilities that have deployed Oracle Utilities customer care and billing.

Workshop Objectives:

Discuss the link between "technology enablement" and available operational efficiencies;
Investigate common traps during implementation that prevent utilities from achieving the full potential of a new system;
Learn from customers who have been through the process and exceeded their own expectations.

Who Should Attend:

Utility representatives responsible for shopping/recommending a new CIS, building a business case for a new CIS, or deploying a new CIS.

Steve Murphy is senior director of industry strategy for the utilities global business unit at Oracle. Steve has over 23 years of experience in the utilities industry – 12 spent delivering and managing customer-oriented solutions at various utilities in the northeastern US. These solutions focused primarily on rates, billing, conservation and demand-side management, as well as full CIS replacement. Steve also has experience in managing the full meter-to-cash cycle for both regulated and unregulated utilities. Steve is currently a member of the industry strategy team for Oracle Utilities’ global business unit where he leverages his vast and varied experiences to define how Oracle’s utilities solutions can meet current and future needs of customers in this rapidly changing industry. He was previously responsible for deploying complex customer solutions for Oracle utilities.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | San Antonio 5

Itron’s MDUS: Our Meter Data Management System for Use with SAP

Ty Roberts, Sr Product Mgr, Itron, Inc.

Patty Seifert, Product Mgr, Itron, Inc.

Itron has developed a meter data management system for use with SAP® for Utilities solutions, Itron Enterprise Edition™ MDUS, which is now an SAP-qualified business solution. The software, integrated with SAP solutions, provides utilities with a seamless, end-to-end business process, thereby reducing implementation time and risks and lowering total cost of ownership. Find out how this unified smart grid platform is delivering benefits to utilities around the globe.

Workshop Objectives:

Learn how Itron’s SAP-certified MDUS solution reduces implementation time and improves operational efficiency;

Learn about the newest SAP version that this MDUS solution is certified for Enhancement Pack 5;

Learn how this new solution enables utilities to employ new energy conservation and customer engagement strategies.

Ty Roberts is a senior product manager with Itron, with a focus on meter data management in the advanced metering market. He has been with Itron for 13 years as a software developer, solution consultant, project manager and product manager.

Patty Seifert is responsible for the designing and leading the development of the MDM platform to 3rd party CIS system (SAP). She is also in charge of revenue protection software and knowledge application sitting on a Meter Data Management platform. She previously worked as an energy industry analyst and consultant at Frost & Sullivan, a product manager at Schlumberger and a strategic management consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 3:00 - 4:00 pm | San Antonio 5

How Is Real-time Data Changing Our Business?

Todd Arnold, Managing Principal, Smart Customer Insights, Moderator
Jim Andrus, VP Americas, Echelon Corporation
eMeter, representative TBD

Jon Brock, President, Desert Sky Group
Kit Hagen, Head of Solution Development and Market Strategy, Convergys Corporation

Convergys Corporation will host a panel of industry experts who will discuss the impact of real-time transactions and data on energy and utility providers. The panel will be moderated by Todd Arnold. He will contribute his insights including a customer-centric view of what real-time does to customer expectations. The panelists will speak to the escalating impact of real-time on the utility, how it's being used and how it's changing the business. The bulk of the session will be dedicated to questions from the audience.

Workshop Objectives:

Identify key paradigm shifts in the meter-to-cash process that stem from the evolution of smart grid;
Understand the impact and opportunity of real-time data on the consumer, the network and the utility;
Share learnings and ideas on how real-time data will drive significant changes in IT operations, customer care and on the business side of utilities.

Who Should Attend:

Executive and management level utility employees.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | 3:00 - 4:00 pm | Texas 3

Customer Understanding, Enablement and Intimacy in a Smart World

Mark Griffin, National Practice Leader, Tata Consultancy Services

To realize full value from smart grid investments, each organization must overcome a variety of issues and roadblocks. These challenges range from concerns of privacy infringement to fears of complex, indecipherable pricing formulas. Such concerns are complicated by the vast data generated from smart meters and related line sensors. In short, most customers are either overwhelmed or have limited interest in these developments.

This workshop will focus on the same consumer challenges and how utilities can overcome these impediments. We will offer smart grid program case experiences, as well as primary and secondary research data, to throw light on consumer behaviors and implications.

Workshop Objectives:

Analysis of key customer concerns with smart grid;
Review of smart grid case studies – what worked and what did not;
Identification of techniques that will influence consumer understanding and acceptance.

Who Should Attend:

CXOs
Directors & managers for customer service/customer experience;
IT directors, managers & others with an interest in customer enablement.

Mark Griffin is the lead for TCS's energy, resources and utilities business in North America. Prior to this role, he was VP of business operations for Energy Future Holdings, responsible for the restructuring of EFH's (previously TXU) outsourced business functions. He has also served as VP and officer at the Midwest ISO, the nation’s first federally approved regional oversight organization for the electric transmission and utility industry. While there, he served as the executive-in-charge and program officer for the development and launch of the nation’s largest wholesale energy market. Mark was previously a partner with Deloitte Consulting where he provided oversight for engagements with clients such as AEP, Boston Gas and Dayton Power & Light.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 9:15 – 10:15 am | San Antonio 5

Social Energy: Can Social Media Play a Big Role in Helping People Save Energy?

Wayne Lin, Product Management Director, Opower

Kim Friebel, Energy Efficiency Program Manager, ComEd

Social media offers a new and unique communications opportunity for utilities. Users spend over 6 hours a month on Facebook compared to 6 minutes a year thinking about their energy use. In this session, you’ll learn about how social media can be used to engage your customers. You’ll see a demo of the recently launched Social Energy app by Facebook, NRDC, and Opower. Finally we’ll have a discussion on how ComEd uses social media and how they’ve used the Opower Social app to drive energy conversations with their customers.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand the importance of social media and its adoption within utilities;
Learn about the Facebook, NRDC, Opower Social Energy app;
Discuss how utilities can use social media and the Opower Social Energy app.

Who Should Attend:

Utility customer service, marketing, and IT executives;
Marketing and social media communications managers;
Energy efficiency program managers;
Project managers;
Finance directors, city managers, public utility officials.

Wayne Lin is a Product Management Director at Opower and is responsible for the company's suite of web products, including Opower’s Social Energy app. Prior to Opower, Wayne worked at Google in product management and product marketing where he focused on developing online advertising technologies. Wayne also founded ecoLightbulbs, a company that sold CFL light bulbs at cost. He received his MBA from the Wharton School and his BA in economics and applied mathematics from Northwestern University.

Kim Friebel is an Energy Efficiency Program Manager for Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). She manages ComEd’s behavioral change energy efficiency program, Home Energy Reports, and was recently awarded a ComEd Excellence in Customer Service award for the personal care she has given to the customers enrolled in the program. In addition to managing this program, Kim is leading ComEd’s initiative with the Opower Facebook App as well as the design of a new customer web portal that will help customer’s find value with new Smart Meter technology.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 10:30 - 11:30 am | San Antonio 5

Moving Your Critical C&I Data Collection Systems into the 21st Century

Claude Godin, President, Elster EnergyICT, North America

Victor Sitton, VP Market Management, Elster Solutions

A large population of electric utilities today are still using legacy commercial and industrial (C&I) metering, data communication, and data collection systems designed in the early 1990s. Although AMI systems have moved residential and small C&I metering system into the 21st century, the larger C&I market segment is often still served by the legacy systems. This showcase discusses how to modernized these legacy systems.

Workshop Objectives:

Discuss options for updating legacy systems to meet new security, CIM, and SOX compliant standards.
Look at new technologies for point to point communication technologies.
How to fully integrate large C&I data collection and processing with billing systems using standard interfaces and modern IT architecture.

Who Should Attend:

Billing and CIS directors and managers;
Department heads and other personnel involved in handling large C&I billing activities;
Meter data collection department heads;
Utility IT executives.

Claude Godin has more than 37 years of experience in the electricity market. His career began at Manitoba Hydro initially in the line trades area, followed by assignments within Manitoba Hydro's System Operations Department, and concluded as Manager of Manitoba Hydro's Load Research Department. After that he worked as a Director for a major energy-consulting firm, leading teams of professional consultants and managers in designing and deploying complex meter data collection and analysis systems. His many projects include designing and implementing open access market operations systems involving retail settlement, real time pricing systems, and deploying demand response programs. More recently, Claude Godin was responsible for launching EnergyICT's North American Business Unit and now acts as EnergyICT's North American President under the Elster Group family of companies.

Victor Sitton is responsible for market management activities within Elster Solutions, including solutions and marketplace strategy, partners and alliances, competitive analysis, and customer outreach programs. Victor served as VP Product Marketing for Elster Integrated Solutions between 2006 and 2009. Victor has over 20 years of experience with smart grid solutions and electricity metering industry. During his time with Elster, he has held multiple roles in marketing, sales, product management and business development. Victor has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 2:30 - 3:30 pm | Dallas 1

Providing for “The New Customer Engagement”

Lisa Dalesandro, Senior Principal, Utilities Industry, SAP

The New Customer Engagement: It’s the focus of every utility’s customer service department. Social Media and mobile devices are two perfect examples of technology that are changing the game for all types of businesses. For utilities, these technologies, COS (customer online services), analytics and cloud computing can provide a holistic approach to how you engage your customer.

Workshop Objectives:

Hear a concise overview of the new technologies involved in “The New Customer Engagement” model;
See demonstrations of how you can harness the power of these technologies to transform your customer service department;
Learn what technologies are available now from SAP to take your customer service to the next level.

Who Should Attend:

Utility customer service and IT executives;
Customer service, IT and call/contact center managers, directors and supervisors;
IT managers and personnel, project managers;
Finance directors, city managers, public utility officials.

Lisa is the lead industry principal in the U.S. in the SAP IBS – Industry Business Solution, responsible for driving thought leadership and solution innovation and addressing key market initiatives. Current projects include SAP’s Mobility Roadmap, Customer Excellence and Utility Sustainability. Since joining SAP, Lisa has been instrumental in the field sales organization across multiple service industries. She brings a great deal of industry experience and understanding to customers to help them deliver on expectations today, while preparing for the future.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 2:30 - 3:30 pm | San Antonio 5

Leveraging Smart Grid Data to Improve Customer Service

Timothy McDougal, Sr Director, Cognizant Technology Solutions

Utilities have made a significant investment in the deployment of Smart Grid and AMI technology. This wave of investment has largely focused on the installation of the meter and associated infrastructure and integration to existing legacy systems. Once completed, utilities, some at the insistence of regulators, search for ways to extract additional value from these investments beyond real-time capture of usage and consumption. This workshop focuses on real-world examples of using Smart Grid and AMI events to enhance and improve customer service.

Who Should Attend:

Customer service directors and managers;
IT managers and others with an interest in mobility solutions.

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 3:45 - 5:00 pm | San Antonio 5

Five Point’s Annual CIS Roundup

Richard Charles, President, Five Point Partners

Greg Galluzzi, SVP, Five Point Partners

Five Point Partners draws upon recent experience at leading utilities involving CIS selection and implementation projects, highlighting challenges utilities are facing to justify CIS replacements and adequately staff implementations. Examine emerging best practices involving change management and data conversion, and review important CIS project metrics such as duration, cost and resource requirements using actual data drawn from our latest engagements. How will economic, technical and social trends affect the CIS landscape in coming years?

Workshop Objectives:

Understand important trends affecting the CIS landscape;
Understand how utilities are addressing CIS replacement concerns;
Review common project metrics and how they can improve your CIS implementation.

Who Should Attend:

CIS project sponsors and executives;
Directors, managers and core team members.

Rich Charles is president of Five Point Partners with primary responsibility for new business development. He has worked in the energy industry for over 20 years, beginning his professional career as an engineer at Commonwealth Edison in Chicago. He joined Capstone Consulting Partners, responsible for business development and led their strategy practice, followed by head of client services at Vertex Business Services and worked four years as SVP, client development at Alliance Data. Rich is a frequent speaker and author on topics that explore the interplay between consumer benefits and technology adoption. He holds a BSEE and an MBA in finance and decision sciences from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management.

Greg Galluzzi, is an SVP at Five Point Partners with overall responsibility for the company’s solution procurement business. He has over 29 years of utility industry and IT project experience. He is a recognized CIS and utility industry expert and has participated in over 200 projects.

Friday, May 4, 2012 | 8:15 - 9:15 am | San Antonio 5

The Customer Experience Journey: Identifying, Defining & Implementing Concepts to Enable Customer Delight

Jeanne Atkinson, CIS & Billing Manager, Minnesota Power
Colin Harrison, Customer Service Practice Lead, Utilities Practice, Infosys
Chinmoy Parida, Lead Consultant, Utilities Practice, Infosys

Many utilities are faced with the challenge of antiquated customer information systems, which limit their ability to take advantage of future metering, SmartGrid, and increasing customer care channels including social media. The journey of moving customers from being a ‘traditional rate payer’ to a ‘partner’ is a transformational one, and needs to be enabled by a variety of strategies. In this workshop, Infosys will explore business case components and will showcase enabling techniques/technologies employed by utility enterprises to deliver enhanced customer care capabilities across new/existing channels which include customer portals and social media solutions, among others.

Workshop Objectives:

Understand strategies for articulating business cases and value for defining your customer service strategy;
Understand techniques and tools that can be employed for enabling the strategy and enhancing your Customer Experience journey.

Who Should Attend:

Senior & mid-level executive across the business and IT function of utility enterprises which are considering legacy CIS replacement, enhanced customer self-service capabilities and social media use.

Jeanne Atkinson is the CIS & billing manager at Minnesota Power, in Duluth. During her 21 years in the utility industry, Jeanne has primarily focused on process redesign and system development efforts throughout MP’s organization, including implementation of the current legacy CIS system as well as Maximo and Oracle eBusiness suite implementations and upgrades. Most recently, Jeanne led a major business redesign effort of the organization’s supply chain.

Colin Harrison manages the utilities customer service practice at Infosys Limited and has more than 18 years of experience managing transformational initiatives in the utilities industry. Throughout his career, Colin has led both strategy formulation and development as well as transformation initiatives within customer service, focusing on customer care processes and enabling technologies. Colin has also led numerous initiatives within work and asset management.

Chinmoy Parida is a lead consultant with Infosys, Limited. He has more than nine years of IT application development and consulting experience across the global utility industry. Chinmoy has gained expertise in the areas of business process re-engineering and customer service and has successfully led design and delivery of projects across the utility value chain.

Smart Infrastructure | Customer Engagement | Payments | Credit & Collections | Field Customer Service

Billing | Strategies and Management | Expanding Excellence Awards | Exhibitor Showcases

4817 N Hwy 1417 | Sherman, TX 75092-6605 | 903-893-3214 tel | 903-893-6136 fax | contact us