|
|
 Strategic planning and marketing in the Power Industry We have been working with companies in the power industry for almost twenty years, answering questions about markets, customer loyalty, and strategic planning. We have designed and managed projects for public input to meet regulatory requirements and interfaced with regulatory commissions. As a member of the Public Decision Partnership, we can bring to bear, the knowledge and experience of Dennis Thomas, former Chairman of the Texas Public Utility Commission, and Ron Lehr, former Chairman of the Colorado Public Utility Commission.
Case StudiesTexas Electric Utility Deliberative Polls
Problem:
The Public
Utility Commission of Texas required electric utilities in Texas to obtain
public input in planning to meet future energy needs. Traditionally, this is
done with town meetings, but that process brings out special interest groups far
more than the public at large. Because most people have never thought
about energy issues, conventional surveys were inappropriate, and focus groups
would not statistically represent the public at large. Solution: We adopted the methodology of Deliberative PollingTM to gather informed public opinion. In this process we conducted a telephone survey, asking respondent opinions about energy issues and, then, inviting respondents to come to a town meeting. In this meeting, we provided balanced information about energy issues and held discussion groups, in which experts and advocates were questioned by participants. At the conclusion of the event, we conducted a second survey of participants to measure opinions and attitudes after their education and deliberation on the issues. Results: The Public Utility Commission found this to be an excellent way to gather informed public opinion. We performed this service for eight utility clients. All found the methodology very persuasive and incorporated the results into their future planning. They received favorable publicity for using the Deliberative PollingTM method in consulting their customers. Finally, the results of the project were so compelling they affected legislation on the deregulation of electric utilities. Central Power and LightProblem: Our client wanted to establish a more effective means to identify customers who were interested in participating in their renewable energy program. Solution: We conducted a survey of a representative sample of their customer's and found that only 13% of customers were likely prospects for the program. However, we used the survey results to create a scoring criterion that allowed our client to demographically identify and eliminate the 73% of the customers who were likely to not be prospects. Results: By using this scoring criterion, the client was able to more tightly focus their marketing efforts and increase their chances of reaching an interested customer from 13 per 100 calls to 41 per 100 calls. Partial Client List
Central Power & Light
Central Southwest Corporation Entergy
El Paso Electric
Houston Industries
Lower Colorado River Authority Portland General Electric
Southern Union Gas
Southwestern Electric Power Co.
Southwestern Public Service
Texas Utilities West Texas Utilities
|
