Trailblazing SDG&E moves focus to customer engagement

By Jesse Berst

Now that it is 98% finished with one of the country's most successful smart meter deployments, San Diego Gas & Electric is shifting its emphasis to moving customers up the engagement curve. That curve describes a progression from awareness to interest to participation to enthusiasm (see illustration below).

Given the success of its rollout and its stature as the country's smartest utility (according to IDC Energy Insights), it seemed likely we could glean some lessons from SDG&E. So I spent time with Ted Reguly, the man who headed up the smart meter rollout. Ted has just been tapped to head the utility's next big push as Director of Customer Programs and Assistance.

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Lessons learned from the deployment

The new customer initiatives flow naturally from SDG&E's deployment. The utility installed 1.4 million electric meters and added communications modules to 850,000 gas meters. The deployment employed a highly effective customer communications campaign you could call "90-60-30-7-0." As a result, SDG&E was spared most of the confusion and chaos that accompanied the rollout at PG&E to the north.

• 90 days out: Meet with influencers such as mayors, town councils and service clubs such as the Kiwanis
• 60 days out: Sponsor or attend fairs and other in-person contact opportunities
• 30 days out: Send mailers
• 7 days out: Outbound calling
• 0 days out: Staff the affected area with "in-fielders" -- specially trained customer service reps who stay in the field, roaming the territory to provide in-person help with any concerns or problems

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