Make a good first impression with self-service moving offerings

May 17, 2016 | Luke Currin, Keenan Samuelson | 3 min read
Utilities can make a great first impression on customers who are starting service at a new home by empowering them to self-serve. Our three-part series on moving self-service offerings provides utilities with CX and marketing insights to effectively design and promote their offerings.

Rounding Up Innovation: Residential DSM Style

May 10, 2016 | Beth Fitzjarrald | 4 min read
Looking for the latest and greatest in residential DSM? Aren't we all? E Source rounds up interesting and innovative programs twice each year. Our published report has all the details, but check out this little blog to get some of the highlights on five programs that caught our eye.

Organizational Structure Inspired by Nature

April 28, 2016 | Meredith Ledbetter | 3 min read
At some point in your career you’ve probably been through an organizational restructuring. The classic hierarchical structure delivers mixed results, so design-thinking researchers are turning in part to the natural world to find org structures that work.

What Will It Take to Derive Real Value from Grid Battery Storage?

April 22, 2016 | Bryan Jungers | 4 min read
The hype would have you believe that batteries will solve our aging-grid problem. The missing key in grid storage advancement isn't the storage technology itself, but the effective enabling of the many stacked functions that are needed to unlock the technical and economic benefits of grid storage.

The Joneses Are Going Electric with the Tesla Model 3

April 18, 2016 | Logan Jacobson | 3 min read
With 280,000 people preordering Tesla’s Model 3, electric vehicles might become mainstream in 2017. Tesla, Nissan, and Chevy will all release vehicles with 200 miles of range for $35,000 or less—providing enough range at a low enough price to make going electric tempting for almost anyone.

Call Me! Your Large Business Customers Want a Phone Call During Unplanned Outages

April 12, 2016 | Daniel Doutre | 2 min read
As Ecclesiastes states, and The Byrds later sang, there is a time to every purpose under heaven, including when a smartphone needs to just be a phone. According to the E Source Large Business Gap and Priority study, your key accounts want you to call them during energy emergencies. What a concept!

What’s Up with Nest?

April 11, 2016 | Essie Snell | 4 min read
From internal struggles to issues with its acquisition of smart home hub company Revolv, Nest seems to be going through a rough patch. It makes me wonder whether the company will continue to succeed in its smart home ambitions going forward.

For the Birds: Animals Take Over Utility Social Media Streams

April 6, 2016 | Sarah Howie | 5 min read
In the past 30 days, animal-related content has been a dominant, high-engagement theme in utility social media. How, why, and to what effect are utilities tapping into the animal lover in all of us to make a social media splash?

Updated! Looking for Omnichannel Answers in a Magic 8 Ball

March 29, 2016 | Lauren Potter | 4 min read
With a little bit of help from our trusty advisor the Magic 8 ball, here are a few Omnichannel Survey 2015 data-driven customer experience predictions for utilities.

Energy Books That Shouldn't Make You Snore

March 8, 2016 | Luke Currin | 5 min read
Looking for some good books about energy that won't put you to sleep? Look no further! This essential reading list is for the history buffs, techies, entrepreneurs, humanitarians, and policy wonks working in the electricity, cleantech, and oil and gas industries. Happy reading!