Episode 4’s “Current and Near-Term Customer Wallet Share” features two industry thought leaders who are thousands of miles apart location-wise but closely aligned strategically. Listen as they discuss their utility’s services and programs to become trusted energy advisors for customers especially as energy bills are taking a larger slice from household and commercial budgets. Hear about partnerships they’ve cultivated to address a broader approach to community assistance.

Hosted by Hydro Ottawa’s Julie Lupinacci, CS Week Connect announces “Investing in the Future of Energy,” starring Spencer Gill and Kerry Hogan, respected utility executives who recently shared a strategically focused conversation about energy investments through the lens of the customer.

Gill and Hogan discuss how electric and gas utilities are managing:

• Energy planning and spend
• Consumer sentiment and expectations
• Investments in technology tools like next-generation AMI to gain more information for the capital investments utilities must make to meet and exceed changing expectations
• Effective, targeted messaging and communications

Julie Lupinacci interviews Dr. Forrest Morgeson to unpack his synthesis of ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index) research on the relationship between a utility’s financial performance and CSAT. Together, they discuss strategic implications plus the importance of utilities’ banking a “reservoir of goodwill” or “Love Miles” that they can use to weather the ups and downs of customer journeys, service disruptions and the rising costs needed to meet energy transition goals.

Join CS Week's Rod Litke, host Julie Lupinacci, and guests Lisa Cagnolatti and Gillian Wright as they discuss "A California View of Energy Resiliency." Energy resiliency for California utilities has taken on many weather-related issues such as wildfires, floods, droughts and heatwaves. Energy has also been affected by accidents, equipment failure and days where forecasted demand exceeds capacity. Their energy landscape is undergoing a radical transformation, including:

• Changing from large, centralized coal and gas plants to a decentralized energy format;
• Focusing on renewables and a greener grid while realizing those capabilities are wind and sunshine dependent;
• Planning aggressive EV and carbon neutrality goals; and
• Looking to other sources like advanced research on the future use of hydrogen.

The challenges that the growth of renewables brings to the grid in terms of intermittency means that transmission and distribution costs are set to consume varying amounts of wallet share. Executives from two large California utilities address these challenges and the solutions that lay ahead.

Oncor’s Debbie Dennis and Eversource’s Penni McLean-Conner recently sat down with CenterPoint Energy’s Gregg Knight to discuss, “The New and Engaged Workforce.” Listen as they describe today’s situation and share solutions from their utilities in this 30-minute podcast. Perhaps their strategic and boots-on-the-ground programs could answer your HR challenges too:

· Reimagining leadership and leader roles

· Workforce choices and workplace flexibility

· Business resource groups

· Partnerships with high schools, community colleges and vocational programs

· Job rotation, career development and cross-training assignments

· Diversity and identity councils

· Listening sessions and “Day of Understanding”

This episode features Kenny Coleman, SVP & CIO, Stephenie Howard, Dir, Performance Mgmt & Strategy and host Gregg Knight, EVP, Customer Transformation & Business Strategy. This panel trio regularly works together at CenterPoint Energy, a large multi-state gas and electric utility headquartered in Houston, TX.
They discuss how utilities recognize that they must digitally transform their CX. Many have substantially advanced this capability in the past two years during and post-pandemic. Companies are implementing digital business initiatives as a key component of their corporate strategy. There are many critical characteristics of these digital transformations including: the ability to scale to large volumes of interactions during a weather event, the delivery of a seamless and consistent CX across channels and strategic management of data across omnichannel contact points. Listen as the panel discusses on how the CenterPoint Energy’s team is strategizing, implementing and managing its digital evolution.

Brett Carter and Greg Knight discuss the burgeoning market, the tremendous opportunities this trend is presenting to progressive utilities, and other ways utilities are thinking outside traditional paradigms. Wins for the customer, utility and regulators are part of their spirited conversation.

In this second podcast episode, Knight and Seavers will discuss their utilities’ approaches to these events and adaptation strategies that support key objectives around promoting equity across customer demographics, protecting energy infrastructure, ensuring critical systems are functional and supporting communities during and after events.