Powering the Future Powering the Future

COVID-19 has caused a great shift in how we define essential services. Healthcare providers and first responders have certainly always been viewed in this light. Now grocery store workers, gas station attendants, pharmacists, and others are viewed as critical to keeping our country running. 

Equally important are the electric utility companies that provide the power that runs our homes, businesses, hospitals, government offices, police departments, and fire stations. The public doesn’t usually think of utilities in heroic terms – nor do utilities look at themselves through that particular lens. However…

The COVID-19 public health emergency has presented the power and utility industry with a unique opportunity to rebrand itself as an uber-essential service.

As we enter the new reality driven by COVID-19, utilities need to increase their focus on the customer. Over the years, customers’ evaluations of their experiences with utilities have been low compared to many other industries. Going forward, utilities would benefit from being more mindful when it comes to showing empathy about their customers’ unique circumstances during this unprecedented health and economic crisis; personalizing services and communications to mirror customer concerns; and using digital technologies to provide more seamless customer interactions.

In this paper, we discuss how utilities can elevate their customers’ experiences and solidify their trust by focusing on ways to (1) empower residential customers, (2) enable a more resilient commercial sector, (3) pioneer new ways of working with regulators, and (4) make the necessary internal cultural changes that support the brand and new ways of working in the new reality.

Read the report here below

Demonstrating empathy and personalization across all interactions

Consumers have become accustomed to real-time communication, convenient online services, and meaningful engagement in all aspects of their lives. They have the same expectations of their utility providers. Electric utilities need to meet these needs by providing next-level reliability; staying ahead of residential customers’ ability to pay their bills using advanced analytics and smart meter readings; reaching out with regular, personalized communications through ambidextrous channels; and extending their environmental social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

Expectation management and visibility of green initiatives

Shutdowns  during COVID-19 have resulted in lower energy demands from temporarily – and permanently -- shuttered businesses. Since commercial customers want to know what to expect in this climate, utilities can use intelligent forecasting to gauge businesses’ ability to pay their energy bills and to understand what kinds of financial recovery programs will help them survive the economic downturn. Although resilience is critical in the near term, sustainability will be even more important in the new reality. Utilities should, therefore, step up their ESG efforts to help strengthen their communities and stabilize the economy as all sectors struggle to recover.

A shift from negotiation to collaboration

Given the electric power industry’s recognition as an essential service, utilities are in a stronger position to collaborate with regulators on what the future will look like. Together, they can seek to address issues that include protecting the environment, offering customers greater choice, and addressing social equity issues through programs such as economic hardship funding. When it comes to their own recovery, utilities can use advanced analytics and predictive modeling to make a compelling case with regulators for cost mitigation, payment and collection process adjustments, and appropriate rate cases.

Focus on agility and technology transformation

Every rebranding must also involve internal change management. Historically, utilities have been more focused on reliability than agility. Going forward, they will need an agile approach to operations and meeting employee needs. They have already pivoted to remote working models to protect their employees during the shutdown. Going forward, they will need to increase their efforts to retain and hire top talent and keep their workforces productive. This will require regular communication, openness to feedback about front-line worker safety, and development of advanced digital infrastructures.

KPMG helps electric power utilities “future proof” their operating models to prepare for both foreseeable and unpredictable forces that are fundamentally changing the industry. These forces include, but are not limited to, economic and societal turbulence; increased demand for green alternatives, micro grids and energy storage; talent management challenges in the new reality; the entrance of non-traditional utility players; technology disruption; evolving regulations; and the need to secure and upgrade the energy infrastructure.

Our experienced industry professionals, who draw from the disciplines of engineering, finance, risk management, economics, and regulatory affairs, work extensively with generation, transmission and distribution utilities in the gas, power and water sectors to create value, increase agility and reduce risk. Our clients turn to us as they look for growth opportunities and seek to fine-tune the supporting organization’s capabilities to ensure efficient and secure delivery, as well as significant improvements in environmental performance.  Our engagements range from simple to complex operating models, and from straight-forward function review and benchmarking projects to full-blown business transformation programs.