E Source Blog
Welcome to the E Source Blog! Our staff will share insights and observations about life at E Source, our events, our research, and other fun stuff.
If you listen to the chatter, it almost seems inevitable that one day soon, batteries will be used to soak up electricity anywhere and everywhere they can, fixing all of the problems we currently face with our aging electric grid. Wouldn’t that be nice? A more sobering—and probably more realistic—projection is that game-changing battery technology will always be “5 to 10 years from market” as long as the utility-customer relationship remains fundamentally unchanged. The missing key in grid storage advancement isn’t so much 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.
With nearly 400,000 people preordering Tesla’s Model 3, electric vehicles (EVs) might become mainstream in 2017. Nissan and Chevy are entering the race to bring EVs to every driveway, too. All three manufacturers will release vehicles with at least 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. Now the question is which will sell more: Tesla’s glamour or Chevy’s and Nissan’s dependability?
Everywhere you look today, people are face first in their mobile device. They’re surfing the web, watching movies, playing games, emailing, or texting. But as Ecclesiastes states, and The Byrds later sang, there’s a time to every purpose under heaven, including when a smartphone needs to be just a phone. According to our recent Large Business Gap and Priority study, your key accounts want you to call them during energy emergencies. How do they want you to communicate with them during other events? Find out.
Something happened around March 1 to give all species of animals center stage in social media. In the past 30 days, animal-related content has been a dominant, high-engagement theme on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Check out the posts that caused the most buzz.
Lighting programs have always been a great way for utility customers to achieve large energy savings at a relatively low incentive cost. But as the efficiency of new bulbs plateaus, utilities are searching for the next big demand-side management (DSM) lighting program to get massive savings. Today (which curiously is April Fools’ Day), E Source introduces its Lights Out DSM program—a monumental offering that can result in 100 percent energy savings, no free riders, and major increases in customer satisfaction. It could possibly shape the utility industry for the rest of the century.
When do you celebrate Independence Day? Here at E Source we celebrate on April 1—not because we’re impatient practical jokesters who can’t wait three months for fireworks, but because that’s the day in 2006 when the E Source management team purchased the company from McGraw-Hill, vowing to “contiune to provide customers with the expertise and neutrality they expect from us.” This year is extra special because it’s the 10th anniversary of the date. From year to year, we’ve memorialized our Independence Day in various ways that usually involve food, but some things never change. From day 1, we’ve been proud of our ability to be a trusted, unbiased source of energy-efficiency information for our members. Join us as we celebrate E Source Independence Day!
For utilities moving into the world of omnichannel and facing some important customer experience decisions, we know it can feel like rolling the dice or blindly looking for answers in a Magic 8 Ball. E Source’s inaugural utility industry omnichannel study provides insights into the health and integration of eight communication channels and presents an overall omnichannel perspective informed by survey responses from residential customers, electric utilities, and gas utilities across North America. With a little bit of help from our trusty advisor the Magic 8 Ball, we’re making a few data-driven customer experience predictions that we gleaned from the data-rich E Source Omnichannel Survey 2015.
If you’re like me, you’re constantly looking for books, magazines, online journals, and other resources to help deepen your knowledge of the ever-changing energy industry—without putting you to sleep. We’ve compiled a list of energy reads for history buffs, techies, entrepreneurs, humanitarians, and policy wonks. Whether you work in cleantech, electricity, or oil and gas, these resources should give you a broader perspective of the energy industry, without giving you the zzz’s. Happy reading!
Utilities are facing competition for customers’ business and looking for ways to increase customer engagement. To attract and retain customers, boost participation in programs, and improve customer satisfaction, several utilities are following in the footsteps of the retail industry and offering rewards programs for loyal customers. Learn how new and current customers are getting bill credits, gift cards, and airline miles for continued service or for completing energy-saving actions.