a CS Week publication Summer 2014

in this issue...

Bigger Really Is Betterat CS Week 2014

This Year’s ConferenceBetter Because of You

The Customer SystemDilemma

CS Week 2014Executive Perspectives

Congratulations 2014Expanding ExcellenceAward Winners

Call For Presentations | Deadline: August 19, 2014www.csweek.org

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org2

Rod LitkeCEO

CS Week

Rod LitkeCEO, CS Week

There was no question before the doorsopened that CS Week 2014 was going to bebigger and more vibrant than ever.Utility interest had been stronger than eversince registration opened six months earlier.The call for presentations set records forresponse plus the quality and timeliness oftopics. The Exhibit Hall had been sold outfor weeks. Then came the surge of onsiteregistrations and CS Week was open.

311 Synergy Group jumpstarted the week,opening Sunday with two and a half dayspacked with information and perspective thatthis unique group of governmentalemployees can’t find elsewhere. 311attendance doubled over the year before asthe group’s leaders actively recruited theirpeers around the country.

This year’s Synergy Groups drew significantparticipation this year as their roles in thestrength of utilities expanded and, like 311,the 2014 participants spread the word to theirpeers.

New College courses drew added interest tothese in-depth studies of utility topics.

Key Account Forum debuted last year aswell, returning in 2014 with two full daysdedicated exclusively to the issues essentialto serving and managing utilities’ largestcustomers.

Bigger Really Is Betterat CS Week 2014

This issue of Newsline sponsored by:

CS Week Executive Summit experiencedsubstantial growth this year as theopportunity to meet with – and learn from –their peers offered fresh, innovativeperspectives and professional growth.

The 2014 Expanding Excellence Awardsreflected the diligence and creativity of fourlarge and four smaller utilities. The drivingforce across all eight winning projects wasthe forward drive for customer engagementand innovative solutions.

There is no pun intended when I say that theair in the San Antonio convention center feltelectric all week. So many new attendees, somany annual participants, a wealth ofsuperior presenters willing to share theirexpertise – it’s a formula to advance andenrich the professionalism and services ofutilities across North America and the world.I thank each of you who participated andextend a heartfelt invitation to every utilityprofessional to join us April 27-May 1, 2015in Charlotte, NC.

3Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

Kerry OvertonDeputy GM

Austin Energy2014 Conference Chair

This Year’s Conference BetterBecause of YouThank you. I used every opportunityover the past year to invite you -convince you – that you needed to beat Conference 38 in San Antonio. Imay have slipped in a fewsuggestions on how to convince yourboss to send you, but believe mewhen I say that this year’s conferencewas better because you chose toattend.

Attendee orientation this year wasover-the-top with our largestparticipation ever. It’s amazing howthat 45 minute session can clarifywhat opportunities lie ahead duringthe week and what best suits yourinterests.

Likewise, attendance at the generalsessions soared. A special thanks tothose of you who tweeted aboutthem. Mike Guyton on Wednesday isa terrific professional who has madecustomer service part of everyposition he has held at Oncor andTXU. Friday’s panel on today’s ethicswas enlivened by the activeparticipation of the audience votingvia smart phones.

Then there was Erik Wahl onThursday. CS Week will never be thesame after this good looking,inspirational entrepreneur beganpainting while he spoke. One luckywoman won the first of his paintings.Einstein, Marilyn Monroe and theStatue of Liberty were drying onstageas he spoke about breaking routine,

Kerry OvertonDeputy General ManagerAustin Energy2014 Conference Chair

implementing innovation andreinvention to strengthen your utility.

I enjoyed visiting with many of you atthe Special Event as we relocated tothe festively decorated ballroom andan array of San Antonio’s favoritedishes. Texas Unlimited Band kepteveryone dancing then made way fora Mariachi band and colorfulfolklorico dancers. Sombreros andmaracas topped off a wonderfulevening together.

How could CS Week be better? Encourage others atyour utility to join us next year in Charlotte where wewill offer 65 new workshops led by utilityprofessionals like you. I look forward to seeing all ofyou again there.

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CS Week Attendee Areas of Interest

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org4

Newsline is published quarterly by CS Week, 2612 W. Lamberth Rd. Ste. 300, Sherman, TX 75092; 903-893-3214 tel, 903-893-6136 fax, www.csweek.org. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarilythose of CS Week.

© 2014, CIS Conference, Inc. dba CS Week, all rights reserved.

All CS Week print media, including Newsline, is distributed at no charge to utility industry professionals. Toreceive current and future publications, please e-mail info@csweek.org. Address changes: Address changes: Address changes: Address changes: Address changes: Please photo-copy the back page as currently addressed, carefully print your new address and fax it to 903-893-6136.You can also send an e-mail message to info@csweek.org.

Summer 2014

The mission of CS WThe mission of CS WThe mission of CS WThe mission of CS WThe mission of CS Weekeekeekeekeek...is to plan and deliver professional, unbiased educational opportunitiesin a cost-effective manner for the electric, gas, water/wastewater utilities,cooperatives and municipalities throughout North America and theworld.

IN THIS ISSUE....Planning CommitteePenni McLean-Conner*Northeast Utilities

Sue Daulton*Tacoma Public Utilities

Kerry Overton*Austin Energy

Andrea Pelt*Florida Power & Light Company

Mark Wyatt*Retired from Duke Energy

Todd Arnold*Retired from Duke Energy

Saurabh BansalNRG Energy

Diane ColeyPiedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc.

Tom CunninghamDuke Energy

Fred DaumPSEG - Long Island

Jessica HobbikAPS

Keith JenningsEnergen Corporation

Ann KellyCanadian Electricity Association

Jacqueline KirwinNortheast Utilities

Tim LangWe Energies

Mary Ann MartinezXcel Energy, Inc.

Rosemary ScherbaBaltimore Gas & Electric Company

Lois StarkKansas City Power & Light Company

David TomlinsonDuke Energy

Penny TootleLas Vegas Valley Water District

Dan TunnicliffSouthern California Edison Company

Nicole VandenakkerFortisBC

Pamela WheatOncor Electric Delivery

Donna Williams-OrmondCity of Richmond

Darren YatesONE Gas

Rod Litke*CS Week

Jerry Duvall*CS Week

John SildCS Week

*Board member

CS Week SynergyGroups

311 Synergy Group

Colleges

Women in Utilities

Executive Summit

Key Account Forum

CS WeekGeneral Sessions

Conference 38Workshops

CS Week Special Event

CS Week Exhibit Hall

CS Week Sponsors

CS Week Exhibitors

CS Week 2015Call for Presentations

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OFFICIAL PRINT MAGAZINES:

2 Bigger Really Is Betterat CS Week 2014Rod Litke, CEOCS Week

3 This Year’s ConferenceBetter Because of YouKerry Overton2014 Conference ChairDeputy General ManagerAustin Energy

5 The Customer SystemDilemmaTMG Consulting, Inc.

7 CS Week 2014Executive Perspectives

8 Congratulations 2014Expanding ExcellenceAward Winners

5Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

continued on page 6

The Customer System DilemmaA former colleague of mine had a habit of sitting at his desk muttering “what to do, what to do, what to do.” I believe that ifhe were still working with customer systems at a utility today, he might still be muttering those words. It is the essence ofwhat we are hearing a lot of today as utilities attempt to get a handle on what they must to do to remain effective, efficientorganizations in today’s uncertain and very challenging environment.

The uncertainties that are now confronting utilities are ever-present. Utilities are merging. Municipalities are selling off orout-sourcing all or portions of their utility operations. Both are striving to be more efficient and effective. Whilederegulation and competition has always been somewhat of an unknown, now many utilities are not even sure if they areever going to have to compete in a deregulated environment and those that are in that environment cannot be sure if thatwill continue. And, because of all of this, future growth is very often uncertain. But, one sure thing continues to exist and isa prominent driver forcing changes in all the utility environments today. That one certainty is increased customer demandfor superior service.

The fundamental system for serving customers at all utilities is the customer information system (CIS). This may be a singlesystem, or it may consist of several applications such as a billing system, a customer relationship management system, andperhaps a stand-alone meter inventory system. But, in any case, it is the heart of the utility. The following diagram shows afairly typical relationship between a CIS and other utility systems.

This illustration depicts the centrality of a CIS to other utility systems. It also highlights that while your CIS may be yourprimary focus for serving your customers, it could be other related systems that must be improved or replaced in order toprovide superior customer service. In fact, in those organizations where there are many systems linked, interfaced orotherwise integrated together, there is more of a likelihood that a dilemma exists.

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org6

The best way to address the “what to do, what to do” dilemma of your customer system(s) is to put together acomprehensive Application Plan. This includes a detailed, inclusive analysis of the current environment, an assessment ofthe current system(s), and a review of the target environment or where the utility wants to be and meticulous assessments ofthe alternatives that could drive the utility to that goal. The results from the many assessments will reveal the mostadvantageous alternative and allow the utility to prepare a business case as a blueprint for success. The following diagramdepicts a high level view of this approach.

Customer System Dilemma continued

continued on page 16

CS Week Research met for the first time at CSWeek 2014, opening a new direction for CS Weekto work with utilities.

CS Week Research is an association of utilitycompanies working together to conductbenchmarking studies to identify the best practicessurrounding Customer Service issues to improvethe overall operations of each member’s businessoperations.

CS Week developed this service based on utilitycompanies’ requests for an “independent, non-

CS Week ResearchIntroduces a New Direction

biased and non-profit entity” providingbenchmarking surveys. During the past 12 monthsthis group prepared the following surveys:

1. Major Accounts;2. Customer Research;3. Customer Marketing;4. 311 Comparative; and5. 311 Technical.

We are seeking new topics and members for thenext series of surveys. Send us your company’sneeds for 2015 consideration at info@csweek.org.

Where Are Your Customers Going?Gayle Lanier, Chief Customer Officer, Duke EnergyUtilities know that customers are looking for new products/ services that add value to their daily lives. Someof these products have an impact on energy use. Duke is looking at where these customers are going and whatthey are seeking.

No Customer Says You’re Communicating Too MuchCaroline Winn, VP Customer Services and Chief Privacy Officer, San Diego Gas & Electric“Service is only a click away.” Six simple words belie the vision and research SDG&E committed to changingtheir customers’ experience.

Know Your RoleMike Guyton, SVP and Chief Customer Officer, OncorCustomer Engagement at its best becomes a 2-way relationship that encourages customers to reach out to theutility for meaningful opportunities to improve their business. Key to the process at Oncor is listening to thecustomer not only with your ears but with your heart and actions.

Chase Perfection, Catch ExcellenceFrank Jiruska, VP, Customer Operations, PECO Energy CompanyHow does a utility target and achieve 1st quartile results across all companies on all services?

What are the Challenges Utilities Face?Barbara Porter, Executive Director, Advisory Services – Customer, Ernst & YoungHow do you build flexibility and alignment into a culture where each generation has different expectations?

7Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

EXECUTIVEPerspectivesWatch Now

Watch Now

Watch Now

Watch Now

Watch Now

Sponsored by:

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org8

BEST MOBILITY IMPLEMENTATIONFlorida Power & LightWith 10,000 employees serving 4.6 million customers, Florida Power & Light Company developed in-house the Restoration Spatial View app or RSV to integrate smart grid technology with workprocesses to restore power faster and more efficiently. RSV makes it easier to identify embeddedoutages or issues not fully resolved with basic repairs. Originally developed for use on laptops inbucket trucks, FLP’s technology team modified the app to work on any device, including iPhones andiPads. Each restoration crew has a laptop in the truck to quickly assess data and locate problems.Repeat calls from customers are reduced by as much as 50%.

Midwest Energy CooperativeAlthough Midwest Energy already offered an online customer service portal, most rural customerslacked broadband to use an online portal although a growing number of customers were using mobiledevices. MEC upgraded their self-service portal to SmartHub in 2013, then set a goal of providinginnovative online and mobile solutions allowing customers to manage account and serviceexperiences. The new online and mobile platforms allow members to use either iOS or Android tomake payments, report outages plus access social and communications platforms.

INNOVATION IN CUSTOMER SERVICEWe EnergiesWe Energies required updates to the processes that generate billing exceptions to maximize availabledata. Meter-to-Bill targeted reducing its “break-to-fix” time – identifying faulty meters and repairingwithin one billing cycle. Cost savings would come from reduced truck rolls and reduced cost ofreviewing exceptions. Issues facing the project were IT resource constraints, solved by breaking workinto smaller chunks so all algorithms work was done at the same time. The resulting 48% reduction inqueues shaved 30-45 days off process time.

Congratulations to the 2014Expanding Excellence Award Winners

Click on each utility’s logo to view a video summary of each project.

Southern Maryland Electric CooperativeSMECO spent five years executing its Contact Center Workforce Optimizationprogram to improve their level of customer service and to prepare for new customercommunications standards from the Maryland PSC. The program was bothsuccessful and unique in its flawless execution of all phases over five years. It builton its legacy system versus total replacement. All new automated tools integratedwith the existing PBX and an automated call system. Final costs were 85% ofbudget.

9Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

BEST SMART INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTOrlando Utilities CommissionOrlando Utilities Commission faced a less competitive rate position in part because of highpoverty levels. It needed to shift customers to lower cost service channels. Implementation inless than 18 months was vital. Upgrading to digital meters and automated start/stop/moveservices reduced operational costs. Opening 500+ third-party payment locations saved OUC$2.9 million by closing its walk-in centers. OUC implemented 25 infrastructure projects and10 IT projects in 18 months with projected savings of $16.4 million over three years.

Burbank Water & PowerBWP’s Smart Grid vision was a high-performing communication system to supportmodernizing several operational areas. Upgraded communication systems and deployment of awireless wide area network linked to a new AMI system extended the plan as the scopechanged. The ability of integrated AMI and MDMS systems to turn meters on and off andcheck meter readings increased satisfaction, reduced costs and reduced miles and emissions.The project came in $10 million under budget.

BEST CIS IMPLEMENTATIONAtmos EnergyThe executive team was engaged from Day One when Atmos launched a 28-month projectincluding a CC&B system, MWM, CRM, robust self-service and consistent outcomes of 150processes across six divisions. It utilized 20 innovative leaders committing two to three days aweek. Implementation included new products for business intelligence, customer experiencevia web, MWM, route planning/ scheduling, exception management and call centerapplications. The four months before launch. The project was on schedule and within twopercent of budget.

Orange County UtilitiesWhen a mission critical application could no longer be supported, Orange County Utilitiesreplaced their CIS with CC&B, managing a 14-month implementation and a single Go-liveevent. Reducing customer hold times, abandoned calls, delivering real-time information werekey. Innovations included fully automated printing, sorting and mailing of bills in minutes.The Scope of Work included over 800 requirements. Significant improvements includereducing reports by 41%, queries 73% and cutting call waiting from nine minutes to one.

CS Week and Electric Light & Power invite you to participate innext year’s annual Expanding Excellence Awards competition.

April 29 - May 1, 2015 | Charlotte Convention Center | Charlotte, NCOnline Expanding Excellence Award submission and CS Week registration open early Fall, 2014.

Any utility submitting an entry will receive a 50% discount on up to 5 CS Week Registrations!For additional information please visit our website:

www.csweek.org/expandingexcellenceawards

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org10

CS Week Synergy Groups presenta unique opportunity to utilityprofessionals: a full day devotedto a proscribed job function. Thisyear 9 groups gathered in SanAntonio, each tackling the issuesand opportunities surroundingtheir specific area.

Some, like Legacy CIS are the lastbastion of creativity and innova-tion to keep their aging legacy ITsystems functioning in a newtechnology focused world. Otherskeep participants on the front lineof rapidly evolving technologiesand practices.

CS Week Synergy Groups Broader,Stronger Every Year

11Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

CS Week 311 Synergy Group is unique as theprimary education source for governmentalcustomer service professionals at the city level.

311 has its own steering committee and, for thesecond year, its own award of excellence foroutstanding city services. The City of Knox-ville, TN 311 division was this year’s 311award recipient.

City of Knoxville Honored with 311 Synergy Group Award of Excellence

Congratulations to the City of Knoxville (TN)311 Call Center, recipient of the 2014 CS Week311 Synergy Group Award of Excellence at theMay meeting in San Antonio.

Accepting the award, Russ Jensen sharedKnoxville’s creative approach to developingeffective public outreach working with theirmedia partners. Knoxville 311 is celebrating its10th year in operation. It handles more than200,000 calls annually. Russ joked lightly thatthe 311 Call Center “is Knoxville’s phonenumber.”

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org12

CS Week Colleges are a hallmark of utility professionals’ commitment to excellence ineducation. The full-day courses are taught by industry leaders and incorporate the most currentthought and practices in key areas. Participants return to their utilities with strategies that arecurrent, relevant and helpful in implementing new ideas and processes at their utility.

How Much Can YouLearn in a Day?

This year’s College courses included:

A Mobile Way of Life – How Utilities Can Get in the Gamewith Their CustomersSendero Business Services and iFactor

Advanced Customer Engagement TechniquesSAP

Change Management Strategy and Execution within the UtilitySectorPwC

Evaluating Your CIS Options: Maintain, Migrate, Enhance orReplace?Five Point

Project Management – Advanced Techniques for a LargeProject ImplementationIBM

13Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

Dr. Julie Albright continues to be aninspirational speaker as she returned for a secondyear to speak to CS Week Women in Utilities.Hundreds of women working in the utility fieldgathered to enjoy hors d’oeuvres before turningtheir attention to this powerful speaker.

Recently named managing director of TheEnergy Lab at the University of SouthernCalifornia, Dr. Julie tapped her background insociology as she spoke of the exhilaration ofconquering any kind of fear as the stepping stoneto greater productivity, personal impact andproductivity. The group, comprised of bothworking utility women as well as utility industryvendors, followed her discussion with interest.

Dr. Julie Albright InspiresWomen in Utilities

In Memoriam –Roy ChapmanIt is with deep sadness that we share news of the death ofRoy Chapman in a car/bike accident in Ottawa three weeksafter presenting at CS Week.

He was a devoted employee of Hydro Ottawa as CIS ProjectManager. He was also a presenter in the 2014 Strategies &Management workshop track. His “Best Practices in CISImplementation” co-presented with Mandi Lesher wasamong this year’s top rated workshops. Our thoughts arewith his family, friends and coworkers.

Co-Sponsors:

Elite Sponsor:

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org14

Todd Arnold2014 Summit Chairman

The 11th annual CS Week Executive Summitsoared past previous attendance records. Thisprestigious gathering of utility leaders alsowelcomed participants of Key AccountForum to join them for the first day ofexecutive sessions.

More dynamic than ever, the 2014 meetingswere packed with new topics, effectivestrategies and the top-level exchangesexecutives thrive on as they tackle economicchallenges, changing regulations andincreasing customer expectations.

The customer remains at the center of allSummit discussions – how to engage andretain customers, how to better serve

CS Week Executive Summit GrowsMore Vibrant Every Year

Attendance was high for the all-femaleexecutive panel discussing “Cracker JackMoments” based on the Chip Bell book.Likewise, Dr. Julie Albright returned toExecutive Summit with fresh ideas from theEnergy Lab at the University of SouthernCalifornia. A session on “Adopting High eBillAdoption Rates” hit a chord among Summitparticipants.

Renee Castillo and Dana Drysdale discussedbecoming easy to do business with, providinginsights that one executive commented on thesurvey he could use immediately.

customers, how to manage shifts in customer channels and increasingly, how to become a trusted resource for thecustomer.

15Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

Sponsored by:

Whatever impacts utilities in the year ahead, Executive Summit 2015 will provide the content and intellectualstimulation that propels successful executives and utilities forward.

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org16

Once the target environment is defined and the gaps areunderstood, the next step of the Application Planningprocess is to arrive at, define and document a list of all ofthe possible alternatives that should be considered.

The alternatives should cover all aspects of the customersolution matrix shown here, including maintaining theexisting system, enhancing the existing system, migratingthe existing system or replacing the existing system. Eachof these major categories has one or more alternatives.

new or improved components to the system, or adding a datawarehouse or Business Intelligence system.

There are two alternatives associated with migrating thecurrent system. The first is to re-host the system, or migratethe functionality from the existing system and environment toa new computing environment. The second is to re-engineerthe system using the existing system as the functionalbaseline for the new system.

The last grouping of alternatives fall into the replace thecurrent system category. There can be many variations ofwhat is meant by a replacement system, but typically thechoices include doing custom development, obtaining aproduct solution and the considerations associated withhosting, co-sourcing or out-sourcing. Custom developing areplacement system usually means an in-house project toplan, design and implement a system which would becustomized to the needs of the utility. Replacing the currentsystem with a product solution on the other hand, entails theselection and implementation of a commercial off-the-shelfsolution and having the vendor make enhancements ormodifications where necessary but hopefully only makeconfiguration changes. And, there are alternatives associatedwith whether or not the system should be located in andoperated by the utility, whether it should be hosted by thevendor or another third-party, co-sourced with another entityor if the utility should out-source the entire system.

The most difficult aspect of the Application Planning processis then assessing each of the alternatives in terms of 1)installation costs 2) operational costs 3) installationtimeframe 4) solution risk and viability 5) resource utilization6) business strategic fit 7) technology direction fit 8) benefitsand improvement 9) ROI and 10) buy-in and support.

Installation Costs should include both vendor and utilitycosts. These may be capital or expense costs and includescosts for new hardware, software, database managementsystems, desktops, LANs, WANs and other environmentalcosts. The costs should include all conversion and installationservices and vendor expenses. In addition, all otherinstallation costs such as other outside contractors orconsultants, facility costs, supplies, new PCs if needed,printers, copiers, costs for newsletters, the utility team’s fully-loaded labor costs and costs for team training and possibletravel should be included. And, the costs associated with thebackfilling the normal work positions of dedicated teammembers should be included.

Maintaining the existing system is pretty straight forward.The option always remains to do nothing. And, the costsand benefits of maintaining the status quo are always agood baseline to use as a starting point to evaluate all of theother alternatives. This requires a complete understandingof the existing system and, what is many times moredifficult to obtain, knowledge of what it currently is costingthe utility to own and operate the current system. Inaddition, many times the evaluation around maintaining theexisting system usually uncovers some actions that have tobe undertaken to really make it a feasible solution. In otherwords, maintaining the status quo may include someimprovements or enhancements to the existing system tomake the possibility of keeping it a feasible option.

Enhancing the current system includes alternativesassociated with making major improvements to the systemitself, to the environment, and possibly adding newcomponents. Alternatives in the “enhancing” area include aproject for extensive upgrades to the existing system, re-fronting the system with a graphical or browser userinterface or perhaps developing a common front-end tobring multiple systems into a single user interface, adding

Customer System Dilemma continued

continued on page 24

17Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

a CS Week Educational Venue

TM

CS Week’s commitment to superior educational opportunities hit a new stride thisyear as Key Account Forum opened for its second year. Last year’s inaugural meetingincluded a full day in shared session with Executive Summit. This year’s rich agendakept participants focused for two full days on the long list of issues and opportunitiesunique to key account managers.

Lisa Cagnolotti, inaugural Key Account Forum chairperson, welcomed this year’sgroup – double the number of last year’s invited participants – to San Antonio and totwo days of rigorous material and highly effective speakers.

The challenge to expand to two days was embraced by the steering committee for theopportunities to broaden the educational focus. New directions addressed includedcustomer SAT improvement, channel management for large accounts, cultivating asales environment at a utility, and use of third-party data to enhance demographics.

Strategically designed to support the development of knowledge essential to the

Key Account Forum Grows to Meet Expectations

management and maintenance of relationshipswith key accounts, this is more than an annualmeeting. It develops year-round communicationand sharing among participants, strengthensattendees’ vision and focus, enhances marketingand sales skills, and provides a networkingopportunity that will be supplementedthroughout the year utilizing other resources.

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org18

Mike Guyton, SVP & Chief CustomerOfficer at Oncor, opened Conference38 Wednesday morning with adiscussion of his favorite topics:customers and customer serviceexcellence.

Having spent most of his 36 yearswith Oncor or TXU in customerservice, customer relations positions,he is an ardent supporter of closer,more intuitive relationships withcustomers and the development oftools to better serve them.

Conference 38 Started EachMorning Thinking

Sponsored by:

19Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

…and the Winner Is!Leonora Rangel was surrounded by her Dallas Water Utilitiescoworkers as she celebrated winning a bright red 2014 VWBeetle at the conclusion of CS Week's Conference 38.

Thanks again to this year's generous sponsors who make thisfun event possible and to all the utility attendees who scouredthe Exhibit Hall for the sponsors’ booths.

Erik Wahl, entrepreneur, author and self-describedartist, captivated Thursday morning’s GeneralSession with his non-traditional approach to businessthought.

What everyone took away from the session, though,was his flamboyant painting style that produced fourpaintings while he spoke.

Friday morning’s panelactively involved theaudience as they discussedbusiness ethics, from the OldWest to today. The audiencewas invited to vote via smartphones on the ethical issuesposed by moderator ToddArnold and addressed byDebbie Dennis, Oncor, KerryOverton, Austin Energy; andVic Hatridge, NashvilleElectric (retired).

Sponsored by:

Sponsored by:

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org20

Why do most CS Week Conference participants return another year? CSWeek survey says, the number one criteria is the quality and content ofthe workshop sessions.

The majority of workshop speakers are working utility professionalswho volunteer to share solutions and innovations they know first-handwith their peers. They know the challenges and pressures that utilitiesface daily.

This year’s survey comments underscore the value recognized yearafter year.

“Really like that he used examples but then explained how to use it sothat the information was useful not just information. Easy to follow.Good speaker.”

“Most engaging session I've been to! Very informative. Best session ofthe week!

2014’s Workshops DeliverIdeas You Take Back to Work

“Great presentation,information was applicableand relevant. I'm a new billsupport manager with mycompany and truly havepicked up some ideas totake back. Thank You!”

“Excellent speaker, trulyknowledgeable of theirorganization practices…been there through the highsand lows and speaks withexperience but enthusiasm.”

“She was lively andknowledgeable. I will begoing away with an actionplan to implement. I reallyenjoyed the class.”

21Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org22

CS Week’s Special Event + Fun Utility People Beat the RainThis year’s Special Event took off like a rocket when rain threatened the party in La Villita. A quick trip to theMexican market transformed convention center ballrooms into a garden of oversized paper flowers, pierced paperchains and piñatas in the shape of stars, donkeys and everything else.

Texas Unlimited Band came ready to play and didn’t disappoint. The caterer kept food stations overflowing forthe festive occasion. Hundreds of attendees were clearly ready to eat, drink, dance and make this an altogethergreat party.

Rod Litke, CS Week CEO, invited Rob DiMurro and the teams from the Harris family of companies onto thedance floor to thank Harris for again sponsoring this annual extravaganza.

23Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

The crowd broke into laughter as CS Week staff openedlarge boxes of sombreros followed by one full ofgenuine maracas. The fun was just beginning as theHarris teams swapped sombreros and the bandchallenged their maracas-playing skills.

Few left the party before mariachi musicians filled theroom with music, ushering in the spectacular Mexicandancers. The whirling color of skirts and distinctivesilver-studded suits of the men stirred everyone to grabphones/cameras for memories to share back at work.

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org24

Operational Costs are the ongoing operating andmaintenance for each alternative. This can be viewed interms of cost per customer per month or in straight dollaramounts. Operational costs include new or reallocated laborthat is associated with each alternative, costs of annualhardware and software maintenance, depreciation or otherIT allocations. Monthly or “per click” operational chargesfrom the vendor or third-party for the hosted, co-sourcedand out-sourced alternatives should also be included.

Installation Timeframe is a key factor as well. Obviously,how long it will take to get each of the alternativesinstalled, operational and providing benefits back to theutility is important. Exactly how important this is willdepend on the specific circumstances within the utility.There can be huge costs associated with lost opportunities.Likewise, if there are issues around unsupportedapplications or platforms, disaster recovery and redundancy,long time frames associated with implementing a cure maybe unacceptable.

Each alternative must be evaluated from the aspect ofOverall Risk and Viability. Some alternatives may havemanageable or acceptable risk while others may have suchextreme risk that the alternative is no longer practical. And,there may be other factors that would make an alternativemore or less viable than another alternative.

Alternatives should also be compared and ranked in termsof Resource Utilization. This, too, can vary widely fromone utility to another depending on the utility’s staffinglevel and its ability to take on different sized projects. Someof the alternative projects may be easy to staff withqualified resources, while other alternatives may be moredifficult but the staffing can be resolved, and others simplycannot be staffed properly by utility at all.

Each alternative must also be assessed in terms of itsBusiness Strategic Fit. Obviously, to do this the businessstrategy must first be defined and agreed on by the businessorganization and upper management. Customer serviceplans and goals, marketing campaigns and strategies, andoperational strategies must be considered as each alternativeis assessed in terms of its fit with the overall strategy.

Likewise, each alternative must be assessed in terms of itsTechnology Direction Fit. Where is the utility in terms of itstechnology curve, and how does each of the alternatives fallwithin that curve? This includes hardware, software,operating systems, and most importantly, integration to allof the systems, both now and in the future.

The Benefits and Improvements that will result from each ofthe alternatives should also be defined and each alternativeassessed in order of magnitude by what they will bring to theorganization - how well each will fill the gaps and bring theutility to the desired target environment. This assessmentbrings those sometimes intangible benefits to light andprovides a way to compare them from one alternative to theother.

A Return on Investment (ROI) analysis can also be performedon each of the alternatives. This assessment pulls in the costsused in the above assessments, and then looks at the tangiblebenefits that will be achieved from each alternative. Thesetangible benefits could include actual cost savings, labor,equipment and supplies. Benefits may include time savingefficiencies, resource savings, cost avoidance, deferred costsand increased revenue from new opportunities.

The final assessment category is Buy-in and Support. Thisassessment includes the probability that each group, frominternal user, to management, executives and even thecustomers, will embrace or reject the alternative. While thismay have a lower weight than some of the other categories,we have all seen cases where one or more key groups havenot accepted a situation, making it unworkable or unbearable.

When each of the alternatives has been assessed against theseten categories, a matrix can be prepared which can help leadthe utility to the optimum solution. Then, a comprehensivebusiness case and plan can be built around that mostfavorable solution. This then becomes the foundation uponwhich the utility can begin to develop a strategy to solve itsbusiness system dilemma. However, there may be furtherconditions or complications that prevent the utility fromgoing with the highest ranked solution. Once those have beendetermined, it is easy to go to the highest ranked unrestrictedalternative and build the business case.

This methodology works, and it works well. But it requiresextensive analysis, broad industry knowledge includingutility best practices and emerging technology, and anobjective approach to development of an appropriateApplication Plan for your utility. The results of theapplication planning effort will provide a foundation for asuccessful plan or strategy to answer the “what to do, what todo” customer system dilemma.

Customer System Dilemma continued

25Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

Surging Interest and High Attendance Keep Exhibit Hall BusyThe Conference 38 Exhibit Hall buzzed with activity andinterest. New exhibitors at every turn added to the richselection of products, services and solutions tailored to themeter-to-cash segment of utilities.

Our first Exhibit Hall accessed by escalator, this year’s hallcreated interest as attendees got a bird’s eye view of theExhibit Hall floor. The open floor plan made the ExhibitHall easy to navigate and highlighted individual booths.Lunches and receptions in the Hall added to the steady flowof active traffic and interactions.

This year reflected a strong interest from new exhibitors,especially those specializing in water after last year’sworkshops added a water track. The 2014 survey verifiedthat many utility attendees took advantage of privatedemonstrations whether projects are planned or not.

Averaging 30 new exhibitors a year, utilities had a healthymix of long-term relationships and energetic newconsultants and exhibitors to visit with.

The annual vehicle giveaway always stirs excitement, butthis year’s 2014 red Volkswagen Beetle drew extra attentionbecause of its surprising stylishness, leading to lots ofconversations with car sponsors while getting cardsstamped.

CS Week 2015 | www.csweek.org26

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UTILITY HOST SUPPORTING UTILITY

27Charlotte’s Got A Lot | Charlotte, NC

CS Week 2014 Exhibitors

AAC Utility PartnersACI WorldwideActive TeleSource, Inc.Allied GlobalAllison Payment Systems, LLCAustin EnergyAvanadeBilltrustBlack & Veatch CorporationCBCSCDS GlobalCentral Service AssociationCentric ConsultingCGI UtilitiesCheck Inc.CitiCommuniTech ServicesConvergent Outsourcing, Inc.Credit Protection AssociationCreditronCS WeekData MigratorsDataProseDetectentDetroit LabsDiamond Concepts and ConsultingDivDatDST Customer CommunicationsEGS - Expert Global SolutionsElectric Light & PowerEnergy CentralExceleron Software LLCExperian Data QualityEYFEDChex Recovery, LLCFidelity ExpressFISFiservFive PointGC Services

Hansen TechnologiesHarris UtilitiesHCL UtilitiesHewlett-PackardHigh CottonHomeServe USAIBMiFactorInformation Management Solutions, LLCInfoSend, Inc.InfosysInsightAtlast, LLCInteractions CorporationInteractive Intelligence, Inc.in-tool-lect/formerly ProMark SolutionsItinerisItron, Inc.KANA, A Verint® CompanyKUBRAL J Ross Associates, Inc.Landis+GyrLangham ConsultingLevel OneLexisNexisLucidity Consulting GroupMagnaquest Inc.MCC AdvantageMECOMS by FerrantiMeridian Integration, LLCMetrix Matrix, Inc.Milestone Utility Services, Inc.Millennium Consulting LLCNexant Inc.OncorOne2One CommunicationsONLINE Utility ExchangeOpowerOpSolve LLCOracle Utilities

Origin Consulting, LLCOSG Billing ServicesPayment Service Network, Inc.Paymentus CorporationPayNearMe, Inc.Penn Credit CorporationPhoenix Electronic Business Solutions, LLC,

dba Systrends USAPhoneTreePinnacle Data SystemsPlanetEcosystemsProfessional Recovery Consultants, Inc.Pulse EnergyPwCRouteSmart Technologies, Inc.SAPSDI (System Development.Integration, LLC)Simple EnergySmart Utility SystemsSoftgate SystemsSplit Rock Consulting, Inc.SunGardTendrilThe Mosaic CompanyTIO NetworksTMG Consulting, Inc.TransCentraTwenty First Century CommunicationsTWIUnify, Inc.UtilitecUtility CommunityUtility Solutions PartnersVentyx, an ABB companyVertex Business ServicesWendiaWest CorporationWestern Union® Bill PaymentsWestin

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CS Week will be featuring up to 65 workshops and we want one of them to beabout your utilities' best idea or solution.

What can another utility learn from you? What's the story behind a project thatsucceeded? Process that guaranteed success?

The know-how of peers may be the deepest value attendees find at CS Week andnowhere is it more evident than the workshops. Share your hard-earned expertiseand become part of educational excellence!

Click Here To Submit Your Abstract TodayDeadline: August 19, 2014