How Disney-style magic could sell consumers on smart grid technologies

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By Liz Enbysk

SGN Managing Editor

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The “Magic Box” inside State Grid Corporation of China’s pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo has already attracted more than 2.6 million visitors with a spectacular Disney-meets-Star-Wars explosion of color and lights.

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But it’s razzle dazzle with a purpose. The 4,000-meter Magic Box provides an opportunity for expo visitors to experience smart grid technologies. One level showcases a smart substation that employs cutting-edge technologies, from ice storage to captive solar power generation. Elsewhere visitors can see control center technology, smart grid transmission, EV charging and more. And they can get hands-on with a smart interactive portal for a look at how smart communities and smart homes of the future will impact their lives.

A case study of the Magic Box as a consumer engagement tool is featured in the impressive new report from Accenture and the World Economic Forum released earlier this week. Believe me, we see a lot of reports around here but I’m guessing if we kept a top 10 list “Accelerating Successful Smart Grid Pilots” would be on it. That’s because the authors engaged over 60 industry, policy and regulatory stakeholders in their mission, which was to assess real-world smart grid pilots to identify factors that contribute to their success (or otherwise).

The result is a thought-provoking analysis packed with lessons learned and strong recommendations in several key areas, including the need for regulatory change and for better project scoping and transparency from the get-go.

But what kept me clicking through the 48-page document were the insights on customer engagement. They aren’t necessarily things we haven’t heard before, but put them together and it gets pretty interesting. A few examples:

·         Over recent years, many utilities have sought to drive down the frequency and length of interaction with customers to reduce the cost-to-serve. Consumer-centric pilots call for a different approach, presenting utilities and retailers with a unique opportunity to interact with customers and share the benefits of smart technologies. This interaction may be the first time that the customer has met someone from the utility and can set the tone for many years (positively or negatively).

·         Duke Energy conducted a home energy management pilot with approximately 100 residential consumers in North Carolina. During the pilot, call center agents received an average of five to eight calls per customer per month during the pilot. Analysis of the data received from the calls indicated that the technology being used required significantly more education of the consumer to enable them to effectively use the technology during the pilot.

·         Business customers are often more sensitive to price and open to innovative product and service offerings that help increase profitability. Furthermore, early adopters in the residential sector often take their cue from technologies that they are made aware of in the work environment.

All of which brings me back to that Magic Box in Shanghai (pictured here) and the need to make smart grid technologies so exciting that customers are eager to have someone from their local utility show up with a smart meter or in-home display. Disney? Spielberg? That level of flashy “infotainment” may be the ticket – and it’s not all that far-fetched given IBM’s Smarter Planet exhibit at Epcot Center.

But what do you think? What will it take to get consumers engaged? Use the Talk Back comment form to share your thoughts.

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