This Roundtable is one in a series of valuable meetings of demand-side management (DSM) program leaders who participate in the E Source Efficiency & Demand-Response Programs Service. The gathering is designed to enhance your DSM strategies and your professional network. This agenda provides some background information that will assist you and us in getting the most out of the meeting. Please review it and come to the meeting ready to talk, share experiences, and to challenge others, as well as yourself.

Please come prepared to share the following information in two minutes:

• Your name, role, and company
• General status of your energy-efficiency and demand-response programs
• One top question or pressing issue that your department is facing

The agenda is flexible and mixes preset themes with discussion on topics of interest to participants. We can modify the agenda as the group desires.

Participation is limited to current members of the E Source DSM Executive Council and special invitees.

One of the best ways to ensure a successful smart grid program is to learn from others' successes—and failures. That’s why we're convening this Intelligent Grid Council. E Source utility members involved in advanced-metering or smart-grid programs are invited to share their experiences and challenges. This informal peer exchange will be a unique opportunity for frank dialogue, as it is open only to utilities. Vendors will not be participating. We’ll focus on issues of concern to our members, such as how to build a credible business case, what advanced functionality is most useful, and the best implementation strategies and tactics. The session will also provide an opportunity for attendees to influence the research agenda for the newly launched E Source Intelligent Grid Service.

Gary Fauth, Independent Consultant, Harvard University
Stephen S. George, Principal Consultant, Freeman, Sullivan & Co.
Sandy Goodwin, Director, Intelligent Grid Service, E Source
Larsh Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, eMeter

This full-day event for utility communication professionals provides an unparalleled opportunity to share your insights and best practices, as well as to present your most pressing problems for input from your peers. We engage in a series of facilitated discussions designed to help you solve problems together, look at strategic planning and process design, and provide tactical hands-on learning through several group advertising and strategy critique exercises. Hot topics and emerging issues are tackled in the context of communicating with major stakeholder groups, including employees, customers, communities, and the media. Join us for this highly interactive event and, if you're not already a member, you'll become part of the growing peer network community we've established for utility communicators. You'll also come away with ideas you can immediately put to use to make your team more productive and your communications more effective.

Participation is limited to members of the E Source Utility Communicators Service or by special invitation to other utility representatives. This session is not open to vendors.

Doug Karl, Director, Mass-Market Services, E Source
John Egan, Research Director, E Source
Matthew Joyce, Associate Research Director, E Source
Matthew Burks, Manager, Mass-Market Services, E Source

Everyone wants to get the most value from their investments, but sometimes it’s not obvious how to go about it. We’ll offer dozens of practical tips and suggestions for maximizing the benefit of your E Source membership. For example, we’ll explain how you can maximize the return from your Member Inquiry privileges, how to use information from our reports to enhance your newsletters and customer information pamphlets, and how to get access to E Source speakers for your meetings and conferences. We’ll also provide brief overviews of all the E Source services. Existing and potential members are welcome to join us for this session.

E Source Staff

Must register in advance.

Change is in the air. Spending on energy efficiency is soaring. States are stepping up to address carbon emissions. Renewable portfolio standards are getting more aggressive. Join us for an interactive session that hits on some of the most important themes of the conference and provides a snapshot of the best practices in demand-side management (DSM) programs, the latest technologies of interest, and new marketing initiatives and methods. We'll also look at how politics may further change our landscape for energy.

Moderator: Bill LeBlanc, Senior Advisor, E Source
Sandy Goodwin, Director, Intelligent Grid Service, E Source
Andrew Heath, Director, Customer Satisfaction Services, E Source
Doug Karl, Director, Mass-Market Services, E Source
Leland Keller, Member Inquiry Honcho, E Source
Jessica Rivas, Research Associate, E Source

Give a rebate, get compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) installed—it used to seem that simple. Now a long list of technical and market factors complicates the design and operation of CFL programs: mercury fears, incandescent bans, falling prices, big-box vs. small-scale retail, and consumer resistance, to name a few. Our panelists will unwind the issues and help you figure out whether and how CFL programs should still command a place in your DSM portfolio.

Tom Eckman, Conservation Manager, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Tom Hines, Program Manager, Arizona Public Service Company
Linda Latham, Project Manager, Energy Star, D&R International, Ltd.
Adam Perry, Energy Services Specialist, Platte River Power Authority

Not enough time or money in your budget to recruit customers into your energy-efficiency programs? Learn how to work with contractors and other trade allies—who already have relationships with your commercial and industrial customers—to help market programs and track results. Our panelists will discuss how to develop and make use of these networks to increase the market penetration of your C&I DSM program offerings.

Roseann Brusco, Program Manager, C&I Energy Efficiency, NSTAR Electric & Gas Corporation
Francine Collette, Manager, Power Smart Alliance, British Columbia Hydro & Power Authority

What do residential customers want in terms of self-service from their energy provider? Are they satisfied with their utility’s interactive voice-response system (IVR)? Are online offerings meeting their needs? Come hear the results from the recent E Source market research survey on self-service customer care and gain insight on aligning your self-service options with customer needs. We’ll consider such issues as bill payment, speech recognition, paperless billing, and phone and web options.

Moderator: Andrew Heath, Director, Customer Satisfaction Services, E Source
Florence Connally, Research Manager, E Source
Richard Goodwin, Manager, Utility Customer Care Service, E Source

Building automation systems are becoming more sophisticated and are therefore drawing renewed interest as a means of effectively reducing energy consumption and shaving peak demand. Join us for discussion of the benefits, drawbacks, and best applications for this evolving technology.

Greg Bradshaw, President, Bradshaw Building Solutions
Dr. Srinivas Katipamula, Staff Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Kevin McKinnon, Vice President of Business Development, Franklin Energy Services

If you’re a key account manager, the supervisor of an account management team, or are interested in the challenges of providing top-notch service to large commercial, industrial, and institutional customers, please join us for an open discussion during a separate lunch gathering. Bring your questions and we’ll tap into the wisdom and experience of your peers. You do not need to be a current member of the E Source Managed Accounts Service to attend this lunch.

Some people can sell ice to Eskimos, but why do things the hard way? Getting the right message to the right customer will take your marketing to the next level. Find out how marketing segmentation can help you determine which customers are the best candidates for your programs and what specific messages you should send their way.

Amy Hebard, Chief Research Officer, Earthsense
Jan Moore, President, Direct Options
Lorrie Maggio, Marketing Services Manager, Progress Energy Inc.

Have you been given the directive to double your DSM results? Wish you could tap into a network of people who have tried it all before? Here’s your chance! Our panel of DSM experts will include representatives from several American and Canadian electric and gas utilities who know exactly what you’re going through. Whether you’re a DSM rookie or an experienced veteran, bring your questions for the panel. We’ll also look at when it makes sense to use third-party program providers, which types of programs can be launched most quickly and obtain the best results, how to expand market penetration of DSM programs, and what to consider if you’ve already picked all the low-hanging fruit.

Rebecca Craft, Director, Energy Efficiency Programs, Consolidated Edison Company, Inc.
Mark Gaines, Director, Customer Programs, San Diego Gas & Electric Company/SoCal Gas
Blair Hamilton, Policy Director, Vermont Energy Investment Corp.
Tom Lienhard, DSM Lead Engineer, Avista Utilities
Deb Sundin, Director, Energy Efficiency Marketing, Xcel Energy
Sarah Van Der Paelt, Director, Energy Conservation, Union Gas Limited

Electric-drive vehicles, including plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles, simultaneously represent a tremendous potential opportunity and a potential problem for electric utilities. We’ll review the technology, economics, and potential market for plug-in hybrids; describe the vehicle-to-grid concept and its potential benefits; and discuss one or more of the ongoing field trials that are testing the vehicles and their ability to interact with the grid.

Michael Brylawski, Vice President, Mobility & Vehicle Efficiency, Rocky Mountain Institute
Sandy Simon, Director, Xcel Energy
Sven Thesen, Director, Utilities and Sustainability Strategies, Project Better Place

The operational benefits of advanced metering in the areas of energy theft and outage management are widely misunderstood. Business cases tend to misstate the true value of the technologies. In many instances, they don’t fully account for all the implications of using advanced metering. Many of the utilities that have mature advanced metering systems have learned to make optimal use of the functionality of those systems to help prevent theft and to manage outages. Find out how they’ve been able to reap benefits in operational savings, improved reliability, and increased revenue.

Glenn Pritchard, Senior Project Manager, Meter Reading Technology, Peco Energy
Michael Wiebe, President, MW Consulting

Employees are a critical stakeholder group for utilities, but they are often overlooked, underinformed, and underutilized. Using a high-energy, interactive town-hall format, we'll query a panel of utility communicators to get answers to a host of pressing questions, including: What's the most effective way to communicate with field employees who aren’t reachable via e-mail or who lack access to the corporate intranet? What are the benefits of employee satisfaction surveys? How can employees become message carriers to their communities?

Gil Broyles, Manager, Corporate Communications, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Services
Pam Fricke, Director, Xcel Energy
Ann Jenkins, Communications Representative, CLECO Corporation
Cris Kling, Director, Public Relations, Otter Tail Power Company
Nelson Ross, Manager, Salt River Project

Many electric and gas companies are striving to get half of their customers to use self-service channels within the next five years. Getting more customers to use self-service features is a critical objective for e-business and customer care professionals. Join leading industry experts for a discussion that will explore the different strategies and methods utilities have employed to get an increasing number of customers to use their utility IVRs and web sites for many transactions.

Heather Martin, User Experience Manager, Reliant Energy
Vinita Thakkar, Web Business Technologist, San Diego Gas & Electric Company
Becky Williamson, Strategic Marketing Coordinator, Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division

Bigger TVs, set-top boxes, digital photo frames, cell phone chargers, computers—together they’re energy hogs, consuming a lot of energy even when they’ve been turned “off.” What does this continuous power draw mean for overall utility loads? If we give customers better information, will they change their behavior? Come learn how big the problem might be and which kinds of equipment are the largest users. You’ll also hear about new programs Pacific Gas and Electric Company is launching to curb today’s increasing plug loads.

Chris Calwell, Vice President, Policy & Research, Ecos Consulting Inc.
Keith Reed, Manager, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Let’s dive into the details of marketing! Utility marketing departments across North America report that their strategies and programs are playing an increasingly vital role in the success of their energy-efficiency initiatives. That’s why we’re convening this Marketing Council—to help our members improve their marketing strategies and techniques in both the residential and business markets. We’ll host an informal discussion of various hot-button marketing issues and kick off a discussion about forming a user’s group focused on optimizing segmentation methods. We encourage our E Source members to come share their insights and best practices as well as to present their most pressing marketing problems for input from their peers. Our role is to bring utility marketers together, orchestrate a meaningful dialogue, and jump-start an ongoing improvement process!

Doug Karl, Director, Mass-Market Services, E Source
Mike Hildebrand, Director, Commercial, Industrial & Institutional Services, E Source
Matthew Burks, Manager, Mass-Market Services, E Source
Jonathan Drost, Account Executive, Nielsen-Claritas

Join the E Source staff as we visit the Denver Art Museum, explore Xcel's Utility Innovations Visitor Center, or take a walking tour of LoDo. Preregistration is required.

For details, please visit the Networking tab.

We’ll kick off this gala evening with a reception. For dinner, attendees will be able to browse a variety of food stations offering distinctly different dishes. There will also be entertainment, music, and plenty of time for visiting with peers and E Source staff.

Must register in advance.

Much of the innovation occurring in climate-friendly energy policy is happening at the state level. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is a moderate Democrat who was elected to lead this purple state in 2006 in large measure based on his vision for a new energy economy built around training, research, investment, and job creation in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Since then, Colorado has doubled its renewable electricity goals to 20 percent by 2020, set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020, provided incentives for utilities to build transmission to renewable energy facilities, ramped up DSM program goals and funding, and attracted major new manufacturing facilities for wind turbines, photovoltaics, and biofuels. Come hear how this pragmatic but progressive approach is gaining support from Main Street and Wall Street.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (invited)
Finance industry leader (to be announced)

We’ll explore ways to measure an array of communications initiatives. The most appropriate approach may vary for different types of campaigns such as brand awareness, community relations, or employee engagement. You’ll have an opportunity to learn from the experience of other utilities that have taken steps to quantify the impact of communications.

Robert Hughes, Manager, Product Marketing, Georgia Power
Kim Pederson, Manager, Otter Tail Power Company
Jean Williams, Lead Market Research Specialist, Progress Energy Inc.

In this session, demand-response program managers will shed light on innovations targeting commercial customers. Discussing programs targeted at small commercial businesses, industrial users, and every customer class in between, we’ll explore such questions as: How can participation be increased? What are the benefits and drawbacks of using aggregators? How can programs be designed with the customer in mind?

Masoud Almassi, Manager, Conservation & Demand Management, Hydro One Inc.
Allen Dennis, Director, Products and Services, Kansas City Power & Light Company
Bruce Sailers, Manager, Product Development Analytics, Duke Energy
Randy Wong, Supervisor, Demand Response, Emerging Technology Product Development, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

We’ll examine the impact of increasingly stringent building energy codes, the likelihood of new regional equipment standards, code changes from the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and how codes are being used to “bring the bottom up” as ownership or renters change.

Gary Fernstrom, Program Manager, Pacific Gas and Electric
Richard Morgan, Manager, Green Building Program, Austin Energy

Xcel Energy and its Smart Grid Consortium partners have announced that the first SmartGrid City will be Boulder, Colorado. The partners intend for this forward-thinking project to transform the way Xcel Energy does business. When fully deployed, the new system will provide customers with smart-grid technologies designed to provide environmental, financial, and operational benefits.

Randy Huston, Business Technology Executive, Customer & Field Operations, Xcel Energy
Kara Mertz, Assistant to the City Manager, City of Boulder

A number of utilities sell carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates to customers. Yet many customers are skeptical of offsets and RECs. Are some offsets legitimate and beneficial, and if so, which ones? Does the purchase of RECs actually contribute to more renewable generation? When does it make sense for a customer to spend money on offsets, RECs, or green power? We’ll highlight one utility program that offers carbon offsets to its customers, and then our panelists will debate, from the customer’s point of view, the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to offsets and RECs.

Moderator: John Sottong, Senior Research Associate, E Source
Adam Capage, Director, Utility Partnerships, 3Degrees
Neil Kolwey, Research Manager, E Source
Robert Parkhurst, Manager, Climate Protection & Analysis, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Get a supercharged, fast-paced look at the latest developments in lighting technologies and controls.

Roy Hughes, Manager, British Columbia Hydro & Power Authority
Ira Krepchin, Associate Research Director, E Source
Judie Porter, Account Manager, Architectural Energy Corporation
Michael Seaman, Program Manager, PIER Buildings Program, California Energy Commission

Regulators often question marketing budgets for energy-efficiency programs because they don't come with a promise of concrete energy savings. Can marketing and outreach programs be designed to generate a reliable track record of energy savings? We’ll showcase an exciting, customized residential energy-use feedback initiative and a comprehensive utility DSM marketing campaign that has been convincingly linked to energy savings. You’ll also learn how another utility encourages its large customers to obtain energy savings from behavioral and operational measures, and how it tracks the results.  We'll close the case with a roundup review of the literature on energy savings from behavior-change initiatives.

Gwen Farnsworth, Research Manager, E Source
Alex Laskey, President & Cofounder, Positive Energy
Lori Moen, Senior Energy Management Engineer, Puget Sound Energy

Meeting customer service expectations through your call center, IVR, e-mail, and web site are challenges utilities face every day. As utilities increasingly turn to new customer service channels, including web-based options and speech recognition technologies, they may be creating even more opportunities for not meeting customer expectations. We'll lead an open discussion about the best ways to identify and solve problems, facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences, and identify best-practice solutions for improving customer service.

Moderator: Richard Goodwin, Manager, Utility Customer Care Service, E Source

Ho-hum—just another session on renewable programs? Guess again. New technologies, fresh program designs, and innovative marketing techniques are about to completely change the way we think about renewable energy.

Mike Keesee, Project Manager, Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Spencer Sator, Research Associate, E Source

We’ll be leading an interactive discussion of the key marketing topics addressed at this year’s Forum: maximizing the use of trade allies, applying advanced segmentation approaches, identifying the best communications channels and messages, and using social marketing to boost customer participation. We’ll focus on how you can take this great information and put it directly into action at your company. Come ready to share your experiences, to ask your peers questions about their successes and failures, and to discuss where you think your company’s marketing needs to go in the coming months and years.

Moderators: Doug Karl, Director, Mass-Market Services, E Source
Matthew Joyce, Associate Research Director, E Source

Join the E Source staff as we explore Denver by bike, shop at the Cherry Creek Mall, visit the Denver Botanic Gardens, or tour the EPA Region 8 Green Building. Preregistration is required.

For details, please visit the networking tab.

We’ll help you take a culinary tour around Lower Downtown (LoDo). Preregistration is required.

For details, please visit the Networking tab.

Must register in advance

In many call centers, Baby Boomers or Gen Xers are managing a workforce that increasingly includes a younger, tech-savvy, but allegedly coddled Gen Y cohort. Find out how psychologists and futurists see the potential clash of the generations, and what call center managers are doing to avoid any generational problems.

Lyndalou Bullard HR Employee Development Manager, Las Vegas Valley Water District

While it's true that some customers may view their utility company as a resource, many think of their utility as little more than a monthly bill. Fortunately, this does not have to be the case. An increasing body of evidence shows that previously lost opportunities can be captured by approaching your service territory at the community level. One of the best ways to start such an effort is to establish partnerships with trusted local entities such as nonprofit organizations and municipal governments. We’ll give you the tools you need to create effective partnerships with the communities you serve. Although we will present specific case studies of successful partnerships, the overall goal is to give you a template for action that can be modified to meet your specific program goals.

Corey Diamond, Director of Utility Programs, Summerhill Group
Frank Gundal, Manager, Ancillary Energy Services, NSTAR Electric & Gas Corporation
Tim Kisner, Residential Conservation, Austin Energy

Several energy utilities have announced voluntary carbon reduction goals, and some are prominently participating in climate change policy discussions. Others are helping customers learn more about global warming and suggesting ways in which customers can cut their own greenhouse gas emissions. A few are even selling “climate neutral” products! Any of these paths can be loaded with landmines for utilities, yet staying mum on the subject may present its own hazards. Market research and the experience of a few pioneers will provide us with many valuable "rules" for effectively communicating about climate change while avoiding backlash.

Yolanda Pagano Director, Climate Strategy & Programs, Exelon Corporation
Robert Parkhurst, Manager, Climate Protection & Analysis, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Sonjia Short, Marketing Communications Manager, Madison Gas & Electric Company
Fred Stoffel, Vice President, Marketing, Xcel Energy

Utilities have enormous strategic opportunity to grow their loads and protect critical biodiversity throughout the world while reaping larger profits. Questions are being raised about industrial-scale production of biofuels, which appears to carry significant social and environmental costs, dampening enthusiasm for making ethanol from corn. By shifting transportation from petroleum to electricity and by using climate-friendly generation and smart grids to help phase out conventional fossil-fuel generation, utilities can reduce our dependence on oil, coal, and cropland to meet our energy needs, while relieving pressure on the climate and on endangered ecosystems throughout the world.

Michael Totten, Senior Director, Climate, Water, and Ecosystem Services, Center for Environmental Leadership in Business at Conservation International

Must register in advance.