1. technology and computing

How to Educate and Engage Customers
Floyd LeBlanc
VP Corporate Communications and Community Relations
CenterPoint Energy (CNP)







Headquartered in Houston, TX
Serving 5.5 million electric & gas customers
$22.8 billion in assets
$7.5 billion in revenue
More than 8,700 employees
Over 135 years of service to our
communities
Electric transmission and distribution
−
−
−
−
−
−
Electric Transmission
& Distribution
Interstate Pipelines
Field Services
Natural Gas Distribution
Competitive Natural Gas
Sales & Services
Over 2.2 million customers in Houston area
17.3 GW peak demand
80 GW hours delivered annually
232 substations
3,742 miles of transmission
48,733 miles of distribution
Consumer Education and Engagement
Goals and Strategy
Goals

Maximize consumer awareness of CNP’s smart grid program

Develop consumer understanding of the new technology

Build acceptance of costs and support for benefits

Facilitate consumer engagement as active participants in smart energy
management
Strategy

Initially target communications to consumers in deployment areas (2009)

Pursue mass advertising after deploying a critical mass of meters (2010-2014)

Collaborate with TDUs and REPs to motivate consumers to adopt technology
Target Audiences

End-use electric delivery customers
– English/Spanish

Audience segments
–
–
–
–
–





Value and savings-minded consumers
Technology enthusiasts and application developers
Environmental supporters
Comfort-minded consumers
Cautious conservatives, privacy resisters
News media and influential bloggers
Public officials
Retail Electric Providers
Utility industry and allied groups
Investors
Key Messages

CenterPoint Energy is at the forefront of deploying this leading smart
technology which will transform the purchase, delivery, and use of
electricity

Smart meters are accurate, secure, safe and designed to give consumers,
not utilities, more control over their energy use

Smart meters benefit consumers, the environment, and the economy

The intelligent grid will improve electric reliability and power restoration

PUCT authorized CNP to recover AMS project costs via monthly surcharge
– DOE grant has reduced duration of surcharge
– CNP is matching DOE funding of Intelligent Grid
Key Messages
Consumer benefits of CNP’s Advanced Metering System
Smart meters benefit consumers, the environment, and the economy as well as CNP operations:

Remote meter reading – more privacy for residents, fewer estimated reads, easy on-demand reads

Remote service connection/disconnection – faster service, lower cost to consumers to move/switch

Automatic outage notification – to help CNP restore power more quickly (and theft detection)

Environmental benefits – from remote service orders (fewer truck rolls), potential energy
conservation, and facilitation of distributed generation and electric vehicles (EVs)

Economic benefits – more than 500 jobs were created/retained to install and maintain meters,
communications infrastructure, and computer systems, and perform business analysis etc.

Energy efficiency and savings – if consumers translate more frequent, detailed consumption
information into energy-saving changes in consumption behavior such as making small adjustments to
their thermostat (70% or more of surveyed consumers change behavior when given more data)

New retail electric products and services – can now be offered by REPs, such as pre-paid service,
time-of-use rates, energy analysis tools, etc.

Home Area Networks – of the future will be facilitated by smart meters’ compatibility with ZigBeecompliant thermostats and smart appliances, allowing consumers to remotely monitor and operate
such devices
Key Messages
Consumer benefits of CNP’s Intelligent Grid
Initial benefits

More precise identification of outage
locations, resulting in faster restoration

Reduced time to perform circuit
switching to isolate fault
Long-term benefits


Improved reliability and faster
restoration, especially during major
weather events
Improved customer communications
Following Hurricane Ike in 2008, the Mayor’s Task Force
concluded that a smart grid “offers the best return-oninvestment for improving grid resilience and enabling
storm recovery system-wide” and that “[f]inding the
means to accelerate CenterPoint Energy’s deployment of
intelligent grid technology in the Houston area is the Task
Force’s strongest recommendation.”
Consumer Education Tactics
Advertising

Targeted Internet, billboards, in-store radio, and
movie theaters (2009 - 2010)

Mass television and radio, Internet, billboards, and
truck decals (2010 - )

Sponsorships (Houston Astros baseball)
Direct customer communications

Community events and speakers bureau
presentations

Energy InSight technology center tours

Biggest Energy Saver campaign and contest,
In-Home Display pilot program

Call center queue and on-hold messages,
dedicated email address

Employee ambassadors – more than 2,100 trained
to date
Internet

News, information, frequently asked questions
(FAQs), deployment maps, energy-saving tips

Meter installation schedule lookup tool and
registration for e-mail updates

Flash promos, videos, online chats, social media
postings
Media Relations

Press kits and press events

News releases and opinion pieces/editorials
Collateral materials

Door hangers (pre-installation, post-installation,
inaccessible)

Energy InSight brochure, Mythbusters brochure

Newsletters – quarterly InSights smart grid news,
monthly energy efficiency tip

Deployment maps, How to Read Your Meter, Smart
Grid grant facts, etc.
Radio

English and Spanish

Advertisements and studio interviews

“Shopping” – Smart Meter Texas web portal promotion
“After CenterPoint Energy installed our Energy InSight Smart Meter, I've been online
at smartmetertexas.com looking at our electricity usage. This made me think about
unplugging some things and adjust the AC.... which, as you can see here on the
screen, is helping us save electricity. And money.”

“Recycle” – environmental message
“Ever since CenterPoint Energy installed my new Energy InSight Smart Meter I’ve
been more aware of my electricity use and that helps me conserve energy.”

“Dinner” – automatic outage notification
“They have a new Smart Meter. It’s part of Energy InSight from CenterPoint Energy.
The new Smart Meters automatically notify CenterPoint about outages, which helps
them restore power more quickly.”
Cinema ads
Door hangers
Before installation
On installation
www.CenterPointEnergy.com/
energyinsight
www.CenterPointEnergy.com/
smartmeterschedule
InSights newsletter
Enroll – www.CenterPointEnergy.com/insights
View – www.CenterPointEnergy.com/insightsnews
Brochures
Community events
Energy InSight interactive traveling display
Employee ambassadors


Energy InSight day, “Town hall”
presentations, department/safety
meetings
Online Energy InSight ambassador
training program
– Advanced Metering System training
launched Nov. 2009
– Prepares employees to answer questions
from family, friends, neighbors
– Over 2,100 employees trained to date
– Energy InSight-branded apparel as
incentive
– Special ambassador events
– Intelligent Grid training launched Sept.
2011 – over 1,500 employees trained to
date

Dedicated Energy InSight intranet site
– News and announcements
– Toolkit of brochures, presentations, talking
points, FAQs etc
– Schedule lookup tool, deployment maps,
installation tracker
– Event calendar
– Photos
– Online suggestion form
– Related links
Television –
Giving You More Ways to Save
Successes

Deployment of smart meters, intelligent grid switches, substation automation has
been successful, on schedule, with few access issues

Independent third party (Navigant directed by PUCT) testing of CNP’s meters and
systems has validated the meters’ accuracy and CNP’s processes

Stakeholder reception of community events, Energy InSight Center tours has been
very positive among consumers, public officials, and industry peers

CNP customer surveys (2009-2012) show growing awareness and understanding and
strong support for smart grid program

CNP’s in-home display pilot shows high consumer satisfaction with IHDs
– Dozens of participants have offered testimonials recommending IHDs

CNP’s smart grid projects continue to receive positive public recognition
– GreenTech Media Top 10 Smart Grid utility – tied for 1st
– Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative Top 4 utility in consumer education
– Southeastern Electric Exchange award for risk management
Nov/Dec 2012 CNP consumer survey
Awareness of smart meters, smart grid continues to grow
% Aware
77%
84%
64%
40%
2009
2010
2011
2012
N=500
N=500
N=500
N=583
Most are favorable to our
smart meters
The more consumers understand, the more favorable they are
towards the technology
% Favorable (top two boxes)
76%
63%
33%
Somewhat favorable
43%
Very favorable
29%
34%
Smart Meter Technology (Unaided)
Smart Meter Technology (Aided)
(After reading product description)
Knowledge of Smart Meter Technology
Consumers rank energy savings, outage
improvement most important benefits
Improved outage response
61%
25%
Energy efficiency and savings
64%
20%
More control thru energy usage data
50%
30%
Automatic outage notification
52%
27%
Less electric generation / carbon
53%
25%
Faster connect / disconnect
51%
27%
Eliminate home meter reading
49%
28%
Self-healing grid
41%
33%
New products & services
33%
37%
Quicker changing of REPs
36%
33%
Home area networks
30%
Very important
4 out of 5 respondents
rate these as very or
somewhat important
34%
Somewhat important
Impact of smart meter advertising
Customers who recall CenterPoint Energy smart meter advertising or
messages are more favorable towards the technology
51%
40%
39%
29%
Very favorable to smart meter
technology (Unaided)
Very favorable to Smart Meter
Technology (Aided)
Seen/heard CNP messages in last 6 months
Not seen/heard
In-Home Display Pilot Survey results
300 random consumers tested IHDs in 90-day pilot


91% reported connecting the IHD to the smart meters was easy
71% took steps to lower their electricity use during the pilot
–
–
–
–

Turning of lights (83%)
Adjusting thermostat (51%)
Switched to energy saving bulbs (34%)
Installed a programmable thermostat (15%)
17% planned to take energy-saving measures
– Purchase ENERGY STAR appliances (40%)
– Seal air leaks (33%)
– Switch to energy saving bulbs (22%)



93% were satisfied with their In-Home Display
97% were likely to continue using their IHD after the pilot
80% would recommend an In-Home Display to friends and family
IHD customer testimonial
Ruth now says she’s saving $100 per month
Challenges

Industry coverage has focused on challenges of consumer education and engagement

National media has focused on controversial issues and dissenting voices

Local, state, and national detractors have organized against smart meters

REPs have generally been slow to offer AMS-enabled products & services
– Pre-paid services is gaining some traction, time-of-use rates have not

Registration rates to view detailed energy consumption directly in Smart Meter Texas
portal remain low
– 600,000+ consumers are getting SMT data directly or indirectly from their REP

HAN and smart appliance market is developing slowly

In-home displays (IHDs) are not widely available (6,425 in CNP service area)

CNP focus groups from spring 2009 identified high consumer interest in energy
savings potential and HAN (remote consumer control) that require availability of IHDs,
HAN, smart appliances, smart phone applications etc.
Keys to Success
Identify potential internal and external communication risks and develop,
implement, and track appropriate risk mitigation plans
Ensure a consensus among leadership of the project’s vision, mission, goals, and
objectives and develop and adhere to an approved communication plan that
supports positive goals and mitigates negative risks
Educate employees with a single unified message and give them the tools to
empower themselves as ambassadors within the community
Proactively and broadly communicate benefits and be prepared to quickly respond
to concerns and misinformation
Find ways to directly demonstrate benefits to consumers and key stakeholders such
as CNP’s pilot program to provide In-Home Displays to consumers and key
stakeholders as well as the Biggest Energy Saver campaign
Work to build advocates among key stakeholders and consumers who will spread
your message and correct misinformation on your behalf
Delivering Your Future
How to Transform the Business and Embrace the Future
John Slanina
VP Operations Support & Technology
Business Transformation?
Leaders in business transformation
U.S. Government/Military
Banking
Telecom
Where are we going?
Identify destination and then map it out
Don’t go to something unnatural for you
How complex is your vision?
Do you need a rope swing or a complex playground?
Or maybe something in between that scale.
Business Transformation?
Technology
Data
Driving Decision
Making
People
Process
Right Truck with the
Right Resources
Automatically Dispatch based on Data
(Identified Issue/Location of Issue/Crews nearby, etc.)
Business Transformation Planning
1. Agree on the Future State through Collaboration
2. Define a Strategic Plan that is Actionable
3. Divide the Strategic Plan into Capability Domains
4. Identify Gaps in Capabilities
5. Prioritize Initiatives using Strategic Plan as a Filter
6. Design and Implement an Organization that Supports the
Future State
The Smart Grid Strategic Plan
Objective (Why)
Stakeholder:
Shareholders
Qualifies as a good investment
 Earn authorized ROE
 Prolong asset life
 Improve operational efficiencies by
reducing operating expenses
Stakeholder:
Shareholders
Creates growth potential
 Create new products and services to
respond to competitive market
Stakeholder:
Regulators
Creates regulatory credibility
 Advance competitive market
 Improve grid reliability and infrastructure
security
 Ensure employee and public safety
Stakeholder:
Customers
Promotes customer satisfaction &
engagement
 Promote the adoption of new technology
 Enable active customer engagement
 Increase customer satisfaction
Strategy (What)
Actionable
Initiatives (How)
Metrics
Business Transformation
Team and Scope
Strategic Plan
Transformation Roadmap
Project Objectives

Confirm Smart Grid vision and perform gap
analysis

Develop prioritized road map of initiatives to
achieve the Smart Grid vision

Quantify the business value of each initiative

Design end-to-end processes for each
initiative and identify organizational
readiness and impacts

Establish governance to support the
processes implemented

Adopt methodology and assign leadership
and resources to begin the transformation
Technology Roadmap
Smart Grid Roadmap Methodology
Activities
Description
Vision & Capability
Assessment
Business
Transformation
Roadmap
Business Case &
NPV Analysis
Process Design &
Impact
Governance Framework
& Org Readiness
Assessment of
capabilities
Develop business
transformation
roadmap
Conduct NPV
analysis
Design priority
business processes
Develop governance
framework and
establish transition plan


Output

Describe the
desired set of
Smart Grid
capabilities and
identify gaps.

Place initiatives
on a time-based
road map
Use capabilities
and gaps to guide
the identification
of initiatives
Inventory of
initiatives

Business
Transformation
Roadmap

Identify cost
variables and
benefit drivers

Design or revise
business
processes

Build a DCF
model and
calculate NPV


Perform a
sensitivity
analysis
Identify
organizational
impacts of the
initiatives

Cost Benefit
analyses

Process Maps
and Change
Management
priorities.



Establish governance
plan most suitable for
the business
environment
Ensure the
organization is ready
for implementation
Governance model
Ideas on where to go
Began with thousands and eventually focused in on those we devised a road map for
Initiative Decision Criteria
and Prioritization Process
Initiative
i
Initiative
ii
Initiative
iii
Initiative
iv
Qualifies as a Good Investment
Creates Growth Potential
%
Promotes Customer
Satisfaction & Engagement
%
Creates Regulatory Credibility
%
Initiative
n
We applied the weighting of the guiding principles
to initiatives to determine the priority and timing
of our potential investments
%
2010-2015
2016-2020
Not
Considered
Initiative
iv
Initiative
i
Initiative
n
Initiative
ii
Initiative
iii
Grid Operations Domain
(Preliminary)
Program
2011
Grid
Automation
Demand
Response
Future
(2021+)
Legend
Must Do / Required
Should Do
In Flight
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Emerging Technologies Domain
(Preliminary)
Program
Program
PHEVs
Grid
Automation
Distributed
Energy
Resources
New
Business
Opportunities
Demand
Response
Future
(2021+)
Legend
Must Do / Required
Should Do
In Flight
Future
(2021+)
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Work & Asset Management
Domain (Preliminary)
Program
Program
Program
2011
PHEVs
Asset
Management
Grid
Automation
Distributed
Energy
Resources
Work
Management
New
Business
Opportunities
Demand
Response
Future
(2021+)
Legend
Must Do / Required
Should Do
In Flight
Field Worker
Programs
Future
(2021+)
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Customer Management &
Experience (Preliminary)
Program
Program
Program
2011
Program2012
PHEVs
Asset
Management
Grid
Automation
Customer
Products &
Services
Distributed
Energy
Resources
Work
Management
New
Business
Opportunities
Demand
Response
Future
(2021+)
Legend
Must Do / Required
Should Do
In Flight
Field Worker
Programs
Future
(2021+)
Customer
Engagement
& Care
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Foundation Domain
(Preliminary)
Program
Program
Program
Program
2011 Program
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
F1 – Negotiate Regulatory
and Legislative Changes
PHEVs
F2 – Develop Common Data
and Security Model
Asset
Management
Grid
Automation
F3 – Implement Data Audit and
Cleanup Processes and Algorithms
Customer
Products &
Services
Distributed
Energy
Resources
F4 – Smart Grid Curriculum
Development and Deployment
F5 – Build Common Processes Across Organization
Foundation
F6 – Implement Performance
Management Architecture
Work
Management
F8 – Smart Grid Change
Management Program
New
Business
Opportunities
Demand
Response
Future
(2021+)
Legend
Must Do / Required
Should Do
In Flight
Field Worker
Programs
Future
(2021+)
F7 – Investigate Smart Grid
Communications Bandwidth Requirements
Customer
Engagement
& Care
F9 – Smart Grid Governance
F10 – Marketing Campaign
to Establish CNP
as Innovation Leader (Establish
that as a Brand)
Organizational Change
Transformation began in January 2009

AMS project

Intelligent Grid project

Business Transformation initiatives

Customer Vision Platform project
We evolved the organization in late 2010 to ensure alignment with our
technology investment

Legacy organization was focused on delivery systems - transmission,
substation, distribution, resulting in duplicate roles across the business

New organization is aligned by processes and functions
CenterPoint Energy
Houston Electric
CEHE
President
Grid and
Market
Operations
Distribution
Power Delivery
Planning,
Reliability, and
Optimization
Operations
Support &
Technology
Compliance &
High Voltage
Power Delivery
High Voltage
Power Delivery
Electric Market
Operations
Service Center
Operations
Asset Planning
& Optimization
Electric
Technology
Policy
Transmission
Operations
Real-Time
Operations
Distribution
Project
Management
Electric
Engineering
Business
Transformation
Policy &
Compliance
Substation
Operations
EOP
Intelligent Grid
Deployment
Technical PMO
Environmental
Major
Underground
Operations
Distribution
Control
Control
Systems
Analytics
Safety and
Technical
Training
Land & Field
Services
Fleet Services
Telecomm
Services
Project
Engineering
Summary

Business Transformation requires COLLABORATION to agree on
Future State

Strategic Plan must be ACTIONABLE and aligned with Future
State

Domains allow Strategic Plan to be MANAGED

Identification of GAPS leads to list of Initiatives

Initiatives are FILTERED and PRIORITIZED based on Strategic
Plan alignment

Organizational STRUCTURE must be designed and implemented
to align with new technology and processes
Smart Meters/Intelligent Grid
Department of Energy Disclaimer
Per the DOE Grant Agreement,:
“If you publish or otherwise make publicly available the results of the work conducted under the
award, an acknowledgment of Federal Support and a disclaimer must appear in the publication of
any material, whether copyrighted or not, based on or developed under this project, as follows:”
Acknowledgment: “This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under
Award Number [DE-OE0000210]”
Disclaimer: “This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United
States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of
their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or
responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus,
product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.
Referenced herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name,
trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement,
recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views
and opinion of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United
States Government or any agency thereof.”
Questions?
Your feedback helps us to deliver quality programs.
Please return completed session surveys to the UTC session representative.
Floyd.LeBlanc@CenterPointEnergy.com
John.Slanina@CenterPointEnergy.com
Facebook.com/centerpointenergy
Twitter.com/energyinsights
Youtube.com/centerpointenergyvid
CenterPointEnergy.com