The utility landscape is dynamic. Some pundits claim that traditional utility regulation is becoming obsolete. Others are calling for a complete overhaul of utility ratemaking as we know it; distributed energy resources, technology advancements and societal trends are changing the way utilities function. In such turbulent times, how can utilities manage their financials through rate structures? How can utilities bridge the span between the rate and regulatory frameworks of yesterday and tomorrow? One way to do so is to revisit the design of rate offerings available to all utility customers and to residential customers in particular.
Economic Development Rates For UtilitiesJohn Wolfram
Economic development rates (EDRs) provide discounted utility rates to attract new businesses and encourage existing business expansion. EDRs aim to give utilities an advantage in business site selection. Key features of EDRs include temporary discounts that phase out over time, caps on total discounts, and ensuring other customers are no worse off. Regulators determine if discounts are paid by other customers or shareholders, with many allowing recovery from other rates between rate cases. EDRs following common principles can boost utilities while promoting economic growth.
The document outlines a strategy for a cable service provider to analyze customer data, segment customers into 4 profiles based on revenue and characteristics, and develop a direct marketing plan to target each segment including tactics for customer acquisition, retention, and communication approaches. The strategy aims to upsell additional services like HD and DVR to lower revenue customers while cross-selling or bundling new packages for higher revenue customers.
Don Juan Manuel nació en 1282 en el Castillo de Escalona, Toledo. Ocupó varios puestos políticos importantes durante su vida y fue un gran amante del saber. Escribió varias obras en lengua vulgar entre 1325 y 1337 con el objetivo de difundir el conocimiento a más lectores. Su obra más famosa es El Conde Lucanor, escrita en 1335, que narra las conversaciones entre el Conde Lucanor y su consejero Patronio.
El documento es un trabajo de matemáticas realizado por Johana Pabón para su clase de 1roADE "A" presencial-diurno en el Instituto Tecnológico José Chiriboga Grijalva. El trabajo trata sobre operaciones con fracciones y fue entregado el 1 de febrero de 2014 a la profesora Ing. Freddy Naranjo.
This document appears to be a test document labeled "Test_001". No other information is provided in the document to summarize. The document is very brief and does not contain enough contextual information to generate a multi-sentence summary.
The utility landscape is dynamic. Some pundits claim that traditional utility regulation is becoming obsolete. Others are calling for a complete overhaul of utility ratemaking as we know it; distributed energy resources, technology advancements and societal trends are changing the way utilities function. In such turbulent times, how can utilities manage their financials through rate structures? How can utilities bridge the span between the rate and regulatory frameworks of yesterday and tomorrow? One way to do so is to revisit the design of rate offerings available to all utility customers and to residential customers in particular.
Economic Development Rates For UtilitiesJohn Wolfram
Economic development rates (EDRs) provide discounted utility rates to attract new businesses and encourage existing business expansion. EDRs aim to give utilities an advantage in business site selection. Key features of EDRs include temporary discounts that phase out over time, caps on total discounts, and ensuring other customers are no worse off. Regulators determine if discounts are paid by other customers or shareholders, with many allowing recovery from other rates between rate cases. EDRs following common principles can boost utilities while promoting economic growth.
The document outlines a strategy for a cable service provider to analyze customer data, segment customers into 4 profiles based on revenue and characteristics, and develop a direct marketing plan to target each segment including tactics for customer acquisition, retention, and communication approaches. The strategy aims to upsell additional services like HD and DVR to lower revenue customers while cross-selling or bundling new packages for higher revenue customers.
Don Juan Manuel nació en 1282 en el Castillo de Escalona, Toledo. Ocupó varios puestos políticos importantes durante su vida y fue un gran amante del saber. Escribió varias obras en lengua vulgar entre 1325 y 1337 con el objetivo de difundir el conocimiento a más lectores. Su obra más famosa es El Conde Lucanor, escrita en 1335, que narra las conversaciones entre el Conde Lucanor y su consejero Patronio.
El documento es un trabajo de matemáticas realizado por Johana Pabón para su clase de 1roADE "A" presencial-diurno en el Instituto Tecnológico José Chiriboga Grijalva. El trabajo trata sobre operaciones con fracciones y fue entregado el 1 de febrero de 2014 a la profesora Ing. Freddy Naranjo.
This document appears to be a test document labeled "Test_001". No other information is provided in the document to summarize. The document is very brief and does not contain enough contextual information to generate a multi-sentence summary.
3 things my dog taught me about Social Media Marketing. - SEO Optimized Blog ...Srinidhi Ranganathan
1) The document discusses 3 lessons about social media marketing that the author learned from their dog, Lily. The lessons are: communicate honestly and pay attention to your audience, harness the power of relationships by networking widely, and have fun with engaging content that makes people want to interact with your brand.
2) Lily understands the importance of communication without words through behaviors like tail wags and licks. On social media, brands should communicate sincerely and entertain audiences rather than using professional marketing messages.
3) Lily networks widely by meeting many people, both familiar contacts and strangers, to build relationships and advocates for herself. On social media, brands should interact with others to position themselves as experts in their
Este documento resume tres riesgos físicos comunes en el trabajo: ruido, iluminación deficiente y temperaturas extremas. Explica cómo el exceso de ruido en una sala de generadores eléctricos y la falta de iluminación al reparar una máquina pueden dañar la salud si no se usa protección adecuada. También describe cómo cambios extremos de temperatura durante un día pueden afectar la seguridad de los trabajadores al limpiar una fachada si no se toman precauciones.
El documento habla sobre una obra literaria del siglo XIV llamada Libro de Buen Amor escrita por Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita. Es una composición extensa de 1728 estrofas que narra de forma ficticia la autobiografía del autor. Se considera una de las obras maestras de la literatura española de la Edad Media.
Este documento presenta una revisión de las diferentes teorías y conceptos sobre el clima organizacional a través de la historia. Define el clima organizacional como la percepción que los empleados tienen sobre el ambiente interno de la organización y cómo esto influye en su comportamiento. Explica los diferentes determinantes del clima organizacional y los métodos para medirlo, así como su importancia para el desempeño de las empresas. Finalmente, resume la teoría de Likert sobre el clima organizacional y las variables que lo definen.
Galactosemia é uma doença hereditária onde os bebês não conseguem digerir o açúcar galactose presente no leite, podendo causar danos ao fígado, rins e cérebro se não tratada restringindo alimentos com galactose e suplementando com outros tipos de leite.
- Neoadjuvant chemoradiation is now considered mandatory for locally advanced rectal cancer based on improved outcomes seen in clinical trials. Complete pathological response following neoadjuvant therapy occurs in 15-30% of patients and is associated with improved survival and possibility of avoiding surgery. However, accurately identifying patients who achieve complete response remains challenging and radical surgery remains the standard of care. Ongoing research aims to optimize neoadjuvant regimens and develop methods to safely select patients for non-operative management when complete response is achieved.
This document lists and provides brief details about various recruitment industry events that took place in 2016 and are scheduled for 2017, including conferences on attracting IT talent, PR and content marketing, recruitment technology, awards ceremonies, and expos focusing on recruitment agencies, investing in talent, and the global recruiter summit. It also asks the reader if they know of any other events worth attending.
This document summarizes the debate around providing adjuvant chemotherapy following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer. It outlines the current treatment approaches and evidence for and against adjuvant chemotherapy. Studies have shown conflicting results as to whether adding oxaliplatin to adjuvant chemotherapy improves outcomes. Large trials comparing adjuvant chemotherapy to observation alone did not find significant differences in survival or recurrence, though a meta-analysis found a small improvement in disease-free survival with chemotherapy. The author concludes that for locally advanced rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy is indicated for high-risk pathologic stage II/III tumors but the benefits are less clear for lower-risk cases.
This document summarizes an analysis of the impact of mandatory time-of-use tariffs on residential electricity customers in Italy. The analysis focused on a panel of over 8,000 customers who were exposed to transitional and regular time-of-use tariffs between 2010-2012. The key findings were:
1) Customers shifted some of their electricity consumption from peak hours (8am-7pm weekdays) to off-peak hours under the time-of-use tariffs.
2) Over half of customers (59%) allocated over 66.67% of their consumption to off-peak hours, meaning they likely saved money under the time-of-use tariffs.
3) On average,
Wrestling Marshmallows - TransGrid's 2014 Demand Management Innovation ForumTransGrid AU
TransGrid held its annual Demand Management Innovation Forum in Sydney on September 24, 2014. Over 60 people from energy companies, consumer groups, technology providers, and other networks discussed challenges and opportunities around demand management. Presentations covered the changing energy market landscape, barriers to demand management, and ways to build an effective demand management market through targets, reporting, incentives, and customer engagement.
Collaborating towards a national energy visionFrank Tudor
It was a pleasure to speak at the National Energy Efficiency Conference 2017 in Melbourne yesterday. I've provided a copy of my presentation slides below with a summary of my key points.
This document provides an overview of PG&E's demand response programs. It summarizes the benefits of demand response programs, including reducing electrical demand during peak periods, rewarding customer participation, and enabling grid reliability and lower costs. It describes the opportunities for demand response among different customer classes and compares demand response to energy efficiency. The rest of the document details PG&E's various demand response programs, incentives, requirements, historical event data, customer examples, trends, goals and the proposed Peak Day Pricing dynamic rate program.
The document summarizes Eneco's strategies to optimize its sales channels and customer propositions in response to market trends in the Dutch energy sector. It describes analyzing market developments like increased switching and price sensitivity. It then outlines several proposals tested by Eneco, including welcoming back former customers, improving push channel conversion, partnering with other companies, and leveraging sponsorships for branding. Results showed response rates over 5% for some tailored direct marketing campaigns.
Implementing Net Metering in the Developing WorldRuchir Punjabi
Distributed Energy (www.de.energy) is a platform to match investors with renewable energy projects. We are always looking for ways to promote renewable energy growth in developing countries. This Powerpoint was prepared as a case study to promote the implementation of net metering in a particular country and examines its feasibility as an enabling policy and to what extent it is designed to foster private investment in renewable energy and broaden the nation’s energy mix. The case study examines and provides evidence to support the implementation of net metering and puts forward a convincing case from an economic, social and environmental standpoint. Country-specific references further indicate how net metering has helped respective countries achieve their energy targets and facilitated a transition towards clean energy.
TXU Energy is focused on achieving a distinctive customer experience through competitive switching rates, improved customer service, and the perception of good price to value. Key initiatives include streamlining the interactive voice response system to improve customer access times, growing profitably in out-of-territory markets, and tighter policies to reduce customer churn. These efforts along with a new contract with CapGemini Energy are improving TXU Energy's financial performance and positioning the company for continued growth.
The Citizenrē REnU program is the first to give you the chance to adopt green energy in your home without having to make a huge investment.
Our REnU program takes care of all the usual headaches and does it with the most attractive terms in the industry.
Financing energy storage - Masterclass By MACQUARIEDavide Bonomi
This presentation was presented at the masterclass session during 11th Energy Storage World Forum in 2018, Berlin.
Financing energy storage - Masterclass by Macqurie focuses on energy markets changes and how they affect corporations:
- Adoption of battery storage
- Typical revenue streams
- Frequency response
- DUoS & TRIADs
- Overlooking UK Capacity Market
If you’d like to get a deep industry insights and learn in person from energy storage professionals, join our next masterclass at https://energystorageforum.com/register
TransGrid presentation consumer engagementTransGrid AU
The document summarizes a consumer engagement roundtable hosted by TransGrid. It includes an agenda for the event, which involves presentations on the new energy conversation, TransGrid's role, and empowering consumers. The presentations discuss topics like TransGrid's infrastructure, how electricity prices are determined, reliability standards, alternatives to network investment, and getting consumer feedback on important issues. The roundtable aims to get input from consumers on TransGrid's business planning and how best to communicate with consumers going forward.
The document discusses Contact Energy's strategy to evolve its business model and become truly customer-inspired, which it calls "Customer 3.0". It outlines three horizons to its customer strategy: stabilizing operations, using data and digital tools to improve customer experience, and expanding offerings beyond energy. Contact has scale and capabilities to adapt to changing customer expectations and new technologies. The strategy focuses on using customer data and insights, digital channels, and tailored products to achieve higher customer lifetime value and satisfaction.
3 things my dog taught me about Social Media Marketing. - SEO Optimized Blog ...Srinidhi Ranganathan
1) The document discusses 3 lessons about social media marketing that the author learned from their dog, Lily. The lessons are: communicate honestly and pay attention to your audience, harness the power of relationships by networking widely, and have fun with engaging content that makes people want to interact with your brand.
2) Lily understands the importance of communication without words through behaviors like tail wags and licks. On social media, brands should communicate sincerely and entertain audiences rather than using professional marketing messages.
3) Lily networks widely by meeting many people, both familiar contacts and strangers, to build relationships and advocates for herself. On social media, brands should interact with others to position themselves as experts in their
Este documento resume tres riesgos físicos comunes en el trabajo: ruido, iluminación deficiente y temperaturas extremas. Explica cómo el exceso de ruido en una sala de generadores eléctricos y la falta de iluminación al reparar una máquina pueden dañar la salud si no se usa protección adecuada. También describe cómo cambios extremos de temperatura durante un día pueden afectar la seguridad de los trabajadores al limpiar una fachada si no se toman precauciones.
El documento habla sobre una obra literaria del siglo XIV llamada Libro de Buen Amor escrita por Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita. Es una composición extensa de 1728 estrofas que narra de forma ficticia la autobiografía del autor. Se considera una de las obras maestras de la literatura española de la Edad Media.
Este documento presenta una revisión de las diferentes teorías y conceptos sobre el clima organizacional a través de la historia. Define el clima organizacional como la percepción que los empleados tienen sobre el ambiente interno de la organización y cómo esto influye en su comportamiento. Explica los diferentes determinantes del clima organizacional y los métodos para medirlo, así como su importancia para el desempeño de las empresas. Finalmente, resume la teoría de Likert sobre el clima organizacional y las variables que lo definen.
Galactosemia é uma doença hereditária onde os bebês não conseguem digerir o açúcar galactose presente no leite, podendo causar danos ao fígado, rins e cérebro se não tratada restringindo alimentos com galactose e suplementando com outros tipos de leite.
- Neoadjuvant chemoradiation is now considered mandatory for locally advanced rectal cancer based on improved outcomes seen in clinical trials. Complete pathological response following neoadjuvant therapy occurs in 15-30% of patients and is associated with improved survival and possibility of avoiding surgery. However, accurately identifying patients who achieve complete response remains challenging and radical surgery remains the standard of care. Ongoing research aims to optimize neoadjuvant regimens and develop methods to safely select patients for non-operative management when complete response is achieved.
This document lists and provides brief details about various recruitment industry events that took place in 2016 and are scheduled for 2017, including conferences on attracting IT talent, PR and content marketing, recruitment technology, awards ceremonies, and expos focusing on recruitment agencies, investing in talent, and the global recruiter summit. It also asks the reader if they know of any other events worth attending.
This document summarizes the debate around providing adjuvant chemotherapy following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer. It outlines the current treatment approaches and evidence for and against adjuvant chemotherapy. Studies have shown conflicting results as to whether adding oxaliplatin to adjuvant chemotherapy improves outcomes. Large trials comparing adjuvant chemotherapy to observation alone did not find significant differences in survival or recurrence, though a meta-analysis found a small improvement in disease-free survival with chemotherapy. The author concludes that for locally advanced rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy is indicated for high-risk pathologic stage II/III tumors but the benefits are less clear for lower-risk cases.
This document summarizes an analysis of the impact of mandatory time-of-use tariffs on residential electricity customers in Italy. The analysis focused on a panel of over 8,000 customers who were exposed to transitional and regular time-of-use tariffs between 2010-2012. The key findings were:
1) Customers shifted some of their electricity consumption from peak hours (8am-7pm weekdays) to off-peak hours under the time-of-use tariffs.
2) Over half of customers (59%) allocated over 66.67% of their consumption to off-peak hours, meaning they likely saved money under the time-of-use tariffs.
3) On average,
Wrestling Marshmallows - TransGrid's 2014 Demand Management Innovation ForumTransGrid AU
TransGrid held its annual Demand Management Innovation Forum in Sydney on September 24, 2014. Over 60 people from energy companies, consumer groups, technology providers, and other networks discussed challenges and opportunities around demand management. Presentations covered the changing energy market landscape, barriers to demand management, and ways to build an effective demand management market through targets, reporting, incentives, and customer engagement.
Collaborating towards a national energy visionFrank Tudor
It was a pleasure to speak at the National Energy Efficiency Conference 2017 in Melbourne yesterday. I've provided a copy of my presentation slides below with a summary of my key points.
This document provides an overview of PG&E's demand response programs. It summarizes the benefits of demand response programs, including reducing electrical demand during peak periods, rewarding customer participation, and enabling grid reliability and lower costs. It describes the opportunities for demand response among different customer classes and compares demand response to energy efficiency. The rest of the document details PG&E's various demand response programs, incentives, requirements, historical event data, customer examples, trends, goals and the proposed Peak Day Pricing dynamic rate program.
The document summarizes Eneco's strategies to optimize its sales channels and customer propositions in response to market trends in the Dutch energy sector. It describes analyzing market developments like increased switching and price sensitivity. It then outlines several proposals tested by Eneco, including welcoming back former customers, improving push channel conversion, partnering with other companies, and leveraging sponsorships for branding. Results showed response rates over 5% for some tailored direct marketing campaigns.
Implementing Net Metering in the Developing WorldRuchir Punjabi
Distributed Energy (www.de.energy) is a platform to match investors with renewable energy projects. We are always looking for ways to promote renewable energy growth in developing countries. This Powerpoint was prepared as a case study to promote the implementation of net metering in a particular country and examines its feasibility as an enabling policy and to what extent it is designed to foster private investment in renewable energy and broaden the nation’s energy mix. The case study examines and provides evidence to support the implementation of net metering and puts forward a convincing case from an economic, social and environmental standpoint. Country-specific references further indicate how net metering has helped respective countries achieve their energy targets and facilitated a transition towards clean energy.
TXU Energy is focused on achieving a distinctive customer experience through competitive switching rates, improved customer service, and the perception of good price to value. Key initiatives include streamlining the interactive voice response system to improve customer access times, growing profitably in out-of-territory markets, and tighter policies to reduce customer churn. These efforts along with a new contract with CapGemini Energy are improving TXU Energy's financial performance and positioning the company for continued growth.
The Citizenrē REnU program is the first to give you the chance to adopt green energy in your home without having to make a huge investment.
Our REnU program takes care of all the usual headaches and does it with the most attractive terms in the industry.
Financing energy storage - Masterclass By MACQUARIEDavide Bonomi
This presentation was presented at the masterclass session during 11th Energy Storage World Forum in 2018, Berlin.
Financing energy storage - Masterclass by Macqurie focuses on energy markets changes and how they affect corporations:
- Adoption of battery storage
- Typical revenue streams
- Frequency response
- DUoS & TRIADs
- Overlooking UK Capacity Market
If you’d like to get a deep industry insights and learn in person from energy storage professionals, join our next masterclass at https://energystorageforum.com/register
TransGrid presentation consumer engagementTransGrid AU
The document summarizes a consumer engagement roundtable hosted by TransGrid. It includes an agenda for the event, which involves presentations on the new energy conversation, TransGrid's role, and empowering consumers. The presentations discuss topics like TransGrid's infrastructure, how electricity prices are determined, reliability standards, alternatives to network investment, and getting consumer feedback on important issues. The roundtable aims to get input from consumers on TransGrid's business planning and how best to communicate with consumers going forward.
The document discusses Contact Energy's strategy to evolve its business model and become truly customer-inspired, which it calls "Customer 3.0". It outlines three horizons to its customer strategy: stabilizing operations, using data and digital tools to improve customer experience, and expanding offerings beyond energy. Contact has scale and capabilities to adapt to changing customer expectations and new technologies. The strategy focuses on using customer data and insights, digital channels, and tailored products to achieve higher customer lifetime value and satisfaction.
Case Study – Demand Side Response and How it Can Work for youEMEX
What is DSR and why is it important? What is E.ON doing with DSR? Case study – Citizen. Overview of financial and renewable benefits of DSR. Implementing DSR – next steps to take
Demand-Side Flexibility for Reliable Ancillary Services in a Smart Grid: Elim...Sean Meyn
A survey of our 2015 HICSS article (reference below), which is largely a survey of demand response technology developed at the University of Florida.
Presented at the Workshop on Electricity Markets and Optimization 27th of November 2014. Aalborg University, Denmark
@inproceedings{barbusmey14,
Address = {Kauai, Hawaii},
Author = {Barooah, Prabir and Bu\v{s}i\'{c}, Ana and Meyn, Sean},
Booktitle = {Proc. {48th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)}},
Note = {(invited)},
Publisher = {University of Hawaii},
Title = {Spectral Decomposition of Demand-Side Flexibility for Reliable Ancillary Services in a Smart Grid},
Year = {2015}}
An insightful look at the key rules and regulations underpinning DUoS (Distribution Use of System) charges – typically 20 to 25% of the electricity bill. Learn about how the regulation is set and amended, opportunities and risks for your energy users, and get an update on recent and current changes and how they could impact you.
This document summarizes a briefing presented to the Hawaii Senate Committees on Commerce & Consumer Protection and Energy & Environment on factors affecting Hawaii electricity rates. It discusses:
- Hawaii consumers pay some of the highest electricity rates in the nation due to reliance on imported oil for generation.
- Electricity rates recently decreased slightly due to falling oil prices but are predicted to rise again over the long term.
- The Consumer Advocate pushes for renewable energy and energy efficiency to reduce dependence on oil but also wants to keep current rates low.
- The Advocate scrutinizes utility spending and investments, argues for lower power purchase agreement prices and fixed-price fuel contracts, and supports on-bill financing for solar and
Case study for enabling net metering as a means of broadening a nations energy mix and facilitating increased investment in the renewable energy sector
Scaling up renewable energy deployment in island regions: insights and lessonsLeonardo ENERGY
Due to their limited land area and remote and dispersed geographical location, among others, many Small Island Developing States are facing compounded challenges in delivering reliable, sustainable and affordable energy services. Various sources have quoted the extreme petroleum dependency with indicative figures as high as over 95% of commercial energy consumption being sourced from imported petroleum in the Pacific Islands. Electricity consumption accounts for about a quarter of imported petroleum in the Pacific, mostly in the form of diesel and heavy fuel oil (HFO).
Lately, many islands have announced their commitment to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in the form of renewable energy targets. Adopting binding, credible targets with clear accountability structure provides the foundation for the basic tenets of sound policy design, namely: transparency, longevity and certainty. However, fulfilling the targets carries a host of challenges. This webinar will address common questions that policy makers often face when scaling up renewable energy deployment in Small Island Developing States
Scaling up renewable energy deployment in island regions: insights and lessonsLeonardo ENERGY
Due to their limited land area and remote and dispersed geographical location, among others, many Small Island Developing States are facing compounded challenges in delivering reliable, sustainable and affordable energy services. Various sources have quoted the extreme petroleum dependency with indicative figures as high as over 95% of commercial energy consumption being sourced from imported petroleum in the Pacific Islands. Electricity consumption accounts for about a quarter of imported petroleum in the Pacific, mostly in the form of diesel and heavy fuel oil (HFO).
Lately, many islands have announced their commitment to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in the form of renewable energy targets. Adopting binding, credible targets with clear accountability structure provides the foundation for the basic tenets of sound policy design, namely: transparency, longevity and certainty. However, fulfilling the targets carries a host of challenges. This webinar will address common questions that policy makers often face when scaling up renewable energy deployment in Small Island Developing States.
Similar to Customer Futures LCNI presentation VoLL and Avatar (20)
Learn SQL from basic queries to Advance queriesmanishkhaire30
Dive into the world of data analysis with our comprehensive guide on mastering SQL! This presentation offers a practical approach to learning SQL, focusing on real-world applications and hands-on practice. Whether you're a beginner or looking to sharpen your skills, this guide provides the tools you need to extract, analyze, and interpret data effectively.
Key Highlights:
Foundations of SQL: Understand the basics of SQL, including data retrieval, filtering, and aggregation.
Advanced Queries: Learn to craft complex queries to uncover deep insights from your data.
Data Trends and Patterns: Discover how to identify and interpret trends and patterns in your datasets.
Practical Examples: Follow step-by-step examples to apply SQL techniques in real-world scenarios.
Actionable Insights: Gain the skills to derive actionable insights that drive informed decision-making.
Join us on this journey to enhance your data analysis capabilities and unlock the full potential of SQL. Perfect for data enthusiasts, analysts, and anyone eager to harness the power of data!
#DataAnalysis #SQL #LearningSQL #DataInsights #DataScience #Analytics
The Building Blocks of QuestDB, a Time Series Databasejavier ramirez
Talk Delivered at Valencia Codes Meetup 2024-06.
Traditionally, databases have treated timestamps just as another data type. However, when performing real-time analytics, timestamps should be first class citizens and we need rich time semantics to get the most out of our data. We also need to deal with ever growing datasets while keeping performant, which is as fun as it sounds.
It is no wonder time-series databases are now more popular than ever before. Join me in this session to learn about the internal architecture and building blocks of QuestDB, an open source time-series database designed for speed. We will also review a history of some of the changes we have gone over the past two years to deal with late and unordered data, non-blocking writes, read-replicas, or faster batch ingestion.
Natural Language Processing (NLP), RAG and its applications .pptxfkyes25
1. In the realm of Natural Language Processing (NLP), knowledge-intensive tasks such as question answering, fact verification, and open-domain dialogue generation require the integration of vast and up-to-date information. Traditional neural models, though powerful, struggle with encoding all necessary knowledge within their parameters, leading to limitations in generalization and scalability. The paper "Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks" introduces RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), a novel framework that synergizes retrieval mechanisms with generative models, enhancing performance by dynamically incorporating external knowledge during inference.
3. 3
The Value of Lost Load project
Tracey Kennelly
Innovation customer lead, Electricity North West
Michael Brainch
Research Director, Impact Research
4. 4
What is the value of lost load (VoLL)?
Ofgem used ~£16k/MWh for incentives in RIIO ED1
The mechanism used by the electricity industry to attribute a value on the financial and
social cost of supply interruptions to customers in £ per kWh
Provides a price signal about the adequate level of supply security in GB
VoLL has existed since 1990
2013 - London Economics ~£17k/MWh
average value (excluding I&C)
VoLL varies considerably for domestic and SME
customers
The existing single VoLL is aggregated to provide
an overall estimate of the lost value
5. 5
Objectives of the VoLL project
A better understanding of customer impact by segment
Allows network services to be tailored to customer need
How each segment is best served eg better communications & resilience
Key output:
A model by customer segment showing relative value
Demonstrate how segmented values would help DNOs
improve planning models & guide investment strategies
More targeted decisions, driven by customer need
Guidance on optimum customer strategies
6. 6
Application of a revised VoLL matrix
More targeted investment decisions based on a network’s composite VoLL
Customer segmentation using standard industry data
Efficient use of resources driven by customer needs
X 5X 54 X 4
£ VoLL ?
£
X 10X 18
X 2
X 27
X 2
7. 7
4 ECP panels of
domestic and
SME customers
*
20 depth
interviews
Statistically robust & representative research
to establish VoLL by key customer segments now and in the future
VoLL overview
Interviews with
key stakeholders
to guide research
approach
6,000 interviews
across GB with
domestic and
SME customers
Engagement
with industry
Revised VoLL
model
Recommendation
to Ofgem
8. 8
Why we need a reliable measure of VoLL
The Value of Lost Load (VoLL) is a critical component of infrastructure
investment decision making
It needs to be:
Accurate – a realistic and robust quantification in £/MWh
Representative – covering a range of values across customer
groups
The objective of this study is to establish robust measures of VoLL across
the full spectrum of customers
9. 9
VoLL methodology
Extensive qualitative
customer research
Literature review to
understand the problem &
previous research
Consultation with key
stakeholders with a vested
interest in the study
Extensive quantitative
customer survey
Revised VoLL matrix
Final report and
recommendations to Ofgem
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
10. 10
The key questions
How do customers measure & value lost load?1
What is the financial impact in £ per MWh?2
How will VoLL change in the future?3
Five key
questions
How can DNOs mitigate the cost of lost load to customers?5
How does this vary by customer segment?4
11. 11
Perception of
reliability
Reliability means constant availability
Perception characterised by frequency & duration
Uniform VoLL
Consumers believe a single VoLL is no longer appropriate
Want more granular matrix, reflecting needs of specific groups
Financial & social
impacts
SMEs place greater emphasis on financial impact of lost load
Domestic customers more concerned with non-financial impact
Mitigating the
impact
Achievable with:
Better information and improved channels of communication
Expectations of
reliability
Rural & worst-served have lower expectations but greater tolerance
& resilience than urban customers
How customers measure & value lost load?
What they told us:
Opinions on
investment
Rural & worst served - Expect more investment in worst networks
for parity in service - but don't want bills to increase
Urban & SMEs wont pay more to improve reliability for others
12. 12
Service attributes appraised by customers
Type of power
cut
Advance warning
Frequency of
power cuts
Duration of the
power cut
Time of day Day of week
Assistance for
customers
vulnerable during
the power cut
Proactive
information
about the power
cut
Quality of
information
provided
The one-off payment you pay to avoid this happening/
The one-off amount you receive for this happening
How do customers
measure & value lost
load?
1
13. 13
Advance warning
Frequency of power cuts
Duration of the power cut
Time of day
Day of week
Assistance for customers vulnerable during the power cut
Proactive information about the power cut
Quality of information provided
One-off payment to avoid this happening
Additional support payment
The one-off amount you receive for this happening
Additional amount received with support
High priorities:
Cost, duration, frequency & information
Advance warning
Frequency of power cuts
Duration of the power cut
Time of day
Day of week
Assistance for customers vulnerable during the power cut
Proactive information about the power cut
Quality of information provided
The one-off payment you pay to avoid this happening
Additional support payment
The one-off amount you receive for this happening
Additional amount received with support
Importance
Low
High
14. 14
How do customers measure VoLL
1 2-3 4-6 7-14 15
Domestic SME
Up to 3
mins
Up to 1
hour
Up to 4
hours
Up to 8
hours
Up to 12
hours
12 to 24
hours
Two to
three
days
Duration of the power cut Frequency of power cuts
15. 15
£2,000 £13,500
Willingness to pay £/MWh
£3,700 £35,700
Willingness to accept £/MWh
As expected WTA estimates are much larger
than the comparable WTP estimates
What is the financial impact in £ per MWh?
16. 16
£2,000 £2,000
Willingness to pay £/MWh
£3,700 £12,000
Willingness to accept £/MWh
VoLL
2016
The one-off payment expected by customers to accept the base case is
significantly higher in the LE study, a reflection of the frequency of interruptions
in that study being set at once every 12 years
London
Economics
2013
What is the financial impact in £ per MWh
for domestic customers?
VoLL
2016
London
Economics
2013
17. 17
Imagining a future LCT context
Future? Future?
Future? Future?
£2,000 £13,500
Willingness to pay £/MWh
£3,700 £35,700
Willingness to accept £/MWh
19. 19
WTP WTAAll domestic £3,700£2,000
Domestic LCT users x4-
Domestic PV users x2-
Domestic - high usage x1.5x1.2
Imagined future LCT users --
Current LCT users have a higher WTA than imagined users
Current behaviour
20. 20
Understanding VoLL by segment
Low VoLL High VoLL
VoLL has significantly different values across the various segments of the
customer base; for example, rural customers compared to urban
Older Younger
Less affluent More affluent
Urban Rural
Not Vulnerable Vulnerable
21. 21
WTP
All Domestic (n=669) £1,956
Impact of power cut - Low (n=239) 127
High usage (n=54) 123
Dissatisfied (n=100) 121
Medically Dependant (n=60) 119
Want to improve worse served (n=157) 113
Want to improve reliability (n=67) 110
Want to keep reliability (n=198) 104
Medium usage (n=336) 100
Power cuts (n=358) 100
Low usage (n=277) 97
Satisfied (n=536) 96
No power cuts (n=283) 95
Want to keep bills constant (n=247) 88
Impact of power cut - Medium (n=81) 79
Impact of power cut - High (n=60) 58
WTA
All Domestic (n=669) £3,709
Impact of power cut - Low (n=239) 245
Want to improve supply (n=67) 181
Low usage (n=277) 143
Want to keep reliability (n=198) 136
High usage (n=54) 131
Want to improve worse served (n=157) 117
No power cuts (n=283) 116
Satisfied (n=536) 100
Medically Dependant (n=60) 97
Dissatisfied (n=100) 90
Power cuts (n=358) 88
Medium usage (n=336) 76
Want to keep bills constant (n=247) 69
Impact of power cut - Medium (n=81) 52
Impact of power cut - High (n=60) 21
Customer impacted most by power cuts have the lowest WTP/WTA
High energy users have the highest
WTA & WTP value index (domestic)
22. 22
Relative importance of service
Phone call(s) made directly to your mobile or landline x 3
Accurate information about when the power is expected to be restored x 3
Short message service (SMS) sent to your mobile phone x 3
Automated text-to-speech message x 3
A justified reason for the power cut x 3
A Welfare Pack to help you cope with the power cut x 3
Confirmation that your electricity is back on x 3
Sending a mobile catering van to provide hot food and drinks x 2
Advice on what to do during a power cut x 2
Public address/tannoy system x 2
Sending a mobile unit that allows you to charge mobile phones/ tablet devices x 2
Nominated friend, family member or colleague who can be sent updates instead of, or in addition to us contacting you x 2
Home visits to offer help and advice at any stage x 2
Social media (Twitter, Facebook etc.) x 1
Mitigating VOLL - most important support element
Providing information by phone
23. 23
WTA & WTP value index (domestic)
WTP
All Domestic (n=669) 100
18 – 29 (n=126) 115
Vulnerable (n=379) 106
AB (n=165) 106
Off-gas (n=126) 106
Rural (n=68) 105
C2 (n=123) 104
30 – 44 (n=138) 104
Female (n=119) 103
Urban (n=138) 101
Male (n=98) 98
45 – 59 (n=175) 97
C1 (n=209) 96
DE (n=170) 96
60+ (n=230) 94
Fuel poverty (n=39) 93
WTA
All Domestic (n=669) 100
Fuel poverty (n=39) 195
AB (n=165) 170
18 – 29 (n=126) 138
30 – 44 (n=138) 126
Rural (n=68) 126
Vulnerable (n=379) 118
Female (n=119) 108
C2 (n=123) 100
Male (n=98) 95
60+ (n=230) 94
C1 (n=209) 88
45 – 59 (n=175) 81
Urban (n=138) 81
Off-gas (n=126) 81
DE (n=170) 80
Customers in fuel poverty have lowest propensity to pay more for additional support
and the greatest expectation of compensation
24. 24
Recap the survey method & key findings
Visit our stand and see a short video
25. 25
Early indications
The VoLL methodology is robust
The VoLL model quantifies variations across segments
VoLL is not linear
Some segments support a strong VoLL, hence potentially higher
investment
Early adopters of LCT are indicative of a future VoLL
Enhanced support and information is valued highly
We are confident of producing a reliable segmentation model
26. 26
Next steps
Refine survey
instrument
Winter survey
December
2016 -
February 2017
Publish
interim
analysis from
model by
October 2017
Lessons
learned from
the pilot
survey
(including
peer review)
Final survey
report
including
lessons
learned by
January 2018
Summer
survey
July 2017 to
August 2017
5 64321
27. 27
We need you help
Help us capture the views of
customers to ensure VoLL
reflects all key customer
segments across GB
Share the VoLL
methodology with
stakeholders for comment,
before customer survey in
December 2016
We would value your input
into the evaluation,
findings, proposed
application of the revised
matrix and its implications
Intermediary Validate recommendationsValidate approach
29. 29
Avatar – the problem
The customer service landscape is changing
Political, economic, social, demographic and technological factors are accelerating a
shift in customers’ needs and expectations
DNOs need to understand and predict
customers’ current and future needs to
improve the service provided
Continuous investment is required in
the right technologies and techniques
to best meet the needs of different
customers
30. 30
Avatar – project objectives
Understand customers future needs
How will these vary by segment
How will we meet the specific needs of
each of these segments
A blueprint for implementing bespoke
customer service solutions
31. 31
Looking back is the best way of imagining
the changes that could occur in the future
Oasis and Blur were at the height of their popularity * Wonderwall
released in October 1995 * The Spice Girls were less than a year away
John Major was prime minister of the UK (1990 to 1997)
Only one per cent of the UK population had Internet access in 1995 –
unthinkable 21 years on.
The Motorola StarTAC was the first ever flip mobile phone and among
the first mobile to gain widespread consumer adoption with
approximately 60 million sold in 1996
Our Commercial Strategy and Support Director, Paul
was no more than a mere lad
32. 32
The questions we will answer
What are current and future customer service needs?
Which range of innovative solutions will best meet
customers increased servicing expectations?
How should these solutions be tailored for use by DNOs?
What is the optimal strategy for customer communication
that will leverage higher levels for customer satisfaction?
Customer
service in
the future
35. 35
What solutions already exist?
Avatars, chat-bots, and virtual assistants are likely to become
more prominent. Available 24/7 for simple query resolution
Drawing on best practice for current (and future) customer service
from other industry sectors
Initial research has identified some key trends
expected to impact customer service
Contact channels will continue to expand in number, allowing
customers to mix and match communication platforms to
meet their own needs.
Consultation with technical experts
36. 36
Avatar will disseminate
important new learning
•Quantifying how needs
and expectations are
likely to change in 2020
and beyond
Understanding how
customer service needs
vary by different
customer segments and
touch-points
Informing optimal
communication with
customers and methods
of disseminating
information
37. 37
Refining solutions
based on customer
feedback
Combine customer
feedback and input
from frontline
customer service
employees
Engaging with
technical experts to
produce bespoke
service solutions
Assessing customer
appeal and
acceptability of
solutions (by
customer group)
Creation of bespoke
customer service solutions
38. 38
Objective
Identify the optimal technologies & techniques to
best meet the needs of different customers now and in the future
A blueprint for bespoke customer service solutions
to assist DNOs in planning customer investment strategy
39. 39
Next steps
Expert thinking
and employee
engagement
Co-creation
workshop by
September
2017
Engaged
customer panel
Depth
interviews by
June 2018
Extensive
customer
survey by June
2019
Customer
engagement plan
Data privacy
statement
Methodology
statement by June
2017
Customer
service
blueprint
delivered by
December 2019
Pilot survey
Lessons learned
by December
2018
631 2 4 5
41. 41
For more information
Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to arrange a one-
to-one briefing about our innovation projects
www.enwl.co.uk/thefuture
futurenetworks@enwl.co.uk
0800 195 4141
@ElecNW_News
linkedin.com/company/electricity-north-west
facebook.com/ElectricityNorthWest
youtube.com/ElectricityNorthWest
e
Editor's Notes
The value of lost load (VoLL) is a monetary indicator expressing the costs associated with an interruption of electricity supply.
First set at £2/kWh (£2000/MWH) in 1990, coinciding with Electricity deregulation of in England and Wales this value was then updated annually in line with inflation
This review draws on the comprehensive work undertaken by London Economics for Ofgem and DECC in 2013, who established a figure of just under £17/MWh as the overall national average VoLL for domestic and SME customers in GB. This is close to the value of £16K/MWh set by Ofgem for RIIO ED1
What does the Value of Lost Load project aim to achieve?
The Value of Lost Load project (or VoLL) will carry out a programme of engagement with a range of different types of customers to help us better understand the value that different customers place on a reliable supply of electricity. This understanding will help us decide where to invest in the network and meet the needs of our customers more efficiently.
Handover to Michael
….Today we report on a comprehensive pilot study covering the use of market research to establish these values.
Extensive customer research will build on previous studies in this area, to determine if a revised VoLL model would benefit customers.
The VoLL Methodology incorporates three distinct phases of customer engagement:
Phase 1: Understanding the problem [COMPLETED]
Phase 2: Refining the approach [COMPLETED]
Phase 3: Measuring VoLL
A final report and recommendations will be disseminated to Ofgem by January 2018.
A large-scale quantitative survey has been conducted to provide insight into the following research questions
READ OUT QUESTIONS
It is important to note that the baseline scenario for our analysis is an outage lasting one hour and occurring at peak time, which is consistent with the protocol utilized by London Economics in 2013.
In Phase 2 we refined our approach by conducting focus groups and depth interviews with a cross-section of customers, and with stakeholders likely to be in contact with or support customers during a supply interruption.
In this phase we learned:
The definitive measure of reliability is constant availability. Perception is characterised by the frequency and duration of interruptions
Rural and worst-served perceive that all customers should expect the same level of service
Consumers are impacted by power cuts in different ways and object to the current single uniform VoLL applied to all customer segments
Domestic customers place greater emphasis on the non-financial impacts of inconvenience and the associated emotional impact of potential distress
Tolerance of unplanned interruptions can be enhanced by improving channels of communication
These insights helped us refine our approach and develop a quantitative customer survey.
The survey includes a stated preference choice experiment (CE). This involves asking customers to trade off different levels of supply reliability and support in exchange for a hypothetical financial incentive or penalty.
Identification of the key characteristics of supply interruptions has been fundamental to the success of this phase of the VoLL study and has been instrumental in the design of a robust, quantitative customer survey and specifically, the stated preference choice exercise.
In consultation with customers and stakeholders we included 9 service attributes in our design, ranging from the type of power cut through to the quality of information provided.
VoLL has been measured both in terms of customers’ willingness to accept (WTA) compensation for lost load and willingness to pay (WTP) for avoidance of lost load.
In this analysis we have identified the relative importance of all the service attributes we tested in the Stated Preference exercise.
The attributes are rank ordered from most important at the top to least important at the bottom and are broadly grouped into three categories of high, medium and low importance.
The need for a segmented VoLL is illustrated early on in our analysis by comparing the results for domestic customers on the left hand side of the chart to SMEs on the right hand side. There is clearly greater sensitivity towards any form of additional payment amongst domestic customers and enhanced appeal for proactive information amongst SMEs. The duration of supply interruptions is also very influential.
Within each of the 9 service attributes included in our design, multiple levels have been evaluated by customers and here we have isolated duration and frequency of interruptions to illustrate the importance placed upon them.
The results indicate that for domestic customers sensitivity to duration and frequency is mainly linear with interruptions lasting 12+ hours approximately four times as damaging as short duration interruptions (up to 3 minutes).
I should also say that on the previous slide we observed the importance of the quality of information provided to SMEs during a fault and interestingly further analysis indicates that information is always important to SMEs regardless of the duration experienced.
WTA estimates are much larger than the comparable WTP estimates. This is as expected. When consumers are used to enjoying a service that they pay for, they typically want a greater payment in order to bear a loss of that service than they are willing to pay to retain it.
An analogy here would be home insurance where willingness to pay represents the amount in £ that consumers are willing to pay for their policy and willingness to accept is the compensation expected should their home catch on fire.
Alternatively in the transport sector it is the amount consumers are willing to pay for a train ticket and the compensation they expect if the service is cancelled and replaced with a bus service.
WTA estimates are much larger than the comparable WTP estimates. This is as expected. When consumers are used to enjoying a service that they pay for, they typically want a greater payment in order to bear a loss of that service than they are willing to pay to retain it.
An analogy here would be home insurance where willingness to pay represents the amount in £ that consumers are willing to pay for their policy and willingness to accept is the compensation expected should their home catch on fire.
Alternatively in the transport sector it is the amount consumers are willing to pay for a train ticket and the compensation they expect if the service is cancelled and replaced with a bus service.
The survey used the same method to derive VoLL with all respondents.
However, for half of the respondents, the questions presented were phrased in terms of current electricity usage; for the other half, they were phrased in terms of future usage with a greater presence of LCTs.
At this early stage I can inform you that we do not have sufficient confidence in the method utilised in the Pilot Survey to reliably conclude customers are able to place themselves in a future LCT context, ie the results are broadly similar to the current scenario.
Having said that, when we have looked at the results in more granular detail there are some interesting differences by the type of future LCT context considered.
Customers responded to the Stated Preference exercise based on one of three scenarios; owing an electric vehicle in the future, owning and operating solar panels or heating their property via electric heat pumps.
Those imagining the electric heat pump future context had the lowest willingness to pay and highest damage function, with a greater expectation for compensation when bearing the loss of their supply.
Investigation of the potential variation of VoLL in relation to LCTs has not be confined solely to comparisons of the results for the current and imagined future contexts.
VoLL for current users of LCTs can be compared with VoLL for current non-users of LCTs; additionally, VoLL for high users of electricity can be compared with VoLL for low users.
The potential change in VoLL as consumers increase their LCT usage and electricity consumption in the future can be inferred from both of these comparisons.
Current users of low carbon technologies have a much higher willingness to accept, with the damage function being four times the average amount expected for bearing the loss of supply.
This is a key finding. An increase in customer use, and hence dependency on electricity, is a critical factor in influencing future VoLL and therefore long-term decision-making in investment planning.
Here we have segmented VoLL by key socio-demographic information that was collected during the survey.
At this stage of the analysis we are not trying to presuppose what is important or how this information may be utilised by DNOs, rather we are simply trying to discover how VoLL is actually segmented.
Early indications are that younger customers, those in in rural locations and with a higher income have a relatively high VoLL. We have also separated out age from vulnerability and vulnerable customers also have a significantly higher VoLL.
There are LOTS of statistics on this slide; suffice to say that our study is so comprehensive that it has the ability to segment VoLL by a multitude of variables including the impact of interruptions on customers, electricity usage bands and other key segments:
Worst-served customers
Customers affected by large scale supply interruptions during adverse weather in either winter 2015/16 or winter 2016/2017
Vulnerable customers
Customers in fuel poverty
Off-gas network customers
LCT users
SMEs in a range of sectors and of various sizes
Low, medium and high dependency customers
Home workers.
Now, with regards to question five: how can DNOs mitigate the cost of lost load?
The application of a revised segmented VoLL will be attractive because it does not involve a significant change to the way that DNOs assess the benefits of lost load mitigation. Rather, it allows them to refine their models to produce a more precise method for prioritising investment.
The analysis on this slide evaluates the extent to which enhanced support would mitigate their assessment of VoLL.
It suggest that optimised customer communications could provide a financially efficient means of mitigating power loss compared with network reinforcement. For instance, a phone call made directly to domestic customers is three times as important in mitigating the impact of loss of supply than updates via social media.
We intend to extend this analysis to reviewing the interaction between expectations of enhanced support and the duration of supply interruptions.
Again, there are LOTS of statistics here, however, the chart demonstrates our intention to segment the premium attached to enhanced support options by customer segment to understand the people behind the numbers.
A recap of the VoLL methodology and the story so far.
To understand your unique perspectives, we would like to share the VoLL methodology with stakeholders for comment, before embarking on the customer survey in December 2016
Help us to maximise the reach of the survey and capture the views of the customers you represent / support during power cuts, to ensure VoLL reflects all key customer segments across GB
We would value your input in the evaluation of the project findings, the proposed application of the revised VoLL matrix and its implications, before the final report and recommendations are submitted
Hand over to kate
Broaden the level of understanding about customer service needs and future expectations
Establish a robust measure of anticipated future attitudes, behaviours and needs by customer segment
Integrate customer research with existing service provisions and innovative solutions to optimise a customer service approach
Bespoke customer service solutions, targeted at specific customer groups to meet their unique medium and long term future needs and expectations
A blueprint for implementing bespoke customer service solutions
A direct outcome of this project will be the identification of future customer service needs.
In order to understand future customer needs, we must first understand what current needs are.
We will also review future technological solutions, identifying innovative solutions that are currently on offer and those which are in development for the future.
We also need to understand how these solutions should be adapted for DNO’s to ensure that they continue to meet customers needs when contacting a DNO, now and in the future.
As a result of customer and stakeholder engagement, insight will be utilised to develop a strategy, combining the best approaches and solutions to directly meet customer needs
How will we do this?
We have a comprehensive six phased project planned, engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders along the way:
Exploratory literature review. Reviewing literature on current and future needs of customers, and exploring new initiatives in customer service.
Expert Thinking. Speaking to the experts – the technology organizations who are already working on customer service solutions for the future . Engaging with the front line customer service staff closest to the current issues, gaining an understanding of what makes for good and bad interactions with customers. They have knowledge as to where customer needs are not being met. Providing advice from the bottom up.
Exploratory Research. This is when we start to consult with customers. Through qualitative research (Engaged Customer Panels and depth interviews), we will speak to customers to explore their current customer service needs, and more challenging, what they anticipate their future needs to be. We will also start assessing top level reactions to general themes around customer service innovations.
Taking the learnings so far, we will conduct a Pilot Study testing a quantitative survey which will be used to quantify customer needs and produce a customer segmentation in a large scale study in stage 5
Finally, we will work in partnership to design and develop concepts which will then be piloted and tested to check customer acceptability.
Taking personal assistants as an analogy…
In 1985, if you had a personal assistant it was likely to be a person.
By 2015 we had virtual assistants on our mobile phones. Siri was introduced in 2011, and Cortana in 2014
Siri was initially very basic, though has evolved over time and now even has a sense of humour!! However, its functionality is limited and interactions are not prefect.
By 2035 its envisaged that many things will act as a personal assistant. Technology will get smaller, smarter and cheaper. In fact, it will get so small, smart and cheap that we’ll be able to put computers and sensors into almost anything – fridges will tell us when we’ve run out of milk, bins will tell the council when they’re full, 4K televisions will notice when we’ve stopped watching and turn themselves off to save power.
We’re on the road to the internet of things where everything is connected, not only to the internet but also to one another. We will have virtual assistants (the next generation of Google Now, Siri and Cortana) to help us manage the flood of data and make sense of it.
We will consult with organizations, identified in the desk research, that are embracing new techniques, along with experts in the field of customer service e.g. Institute of Customer Service, to understand longer term strategies and visions of future service.
We are keen to take learnings from initiatives that have already and are expected to radically change customer service, such as online self-serve (financial sector) and ‘on demand’ services (transport, travel and tourism) and remote interactive services.
Initial research has identified some key trends expected to impact customer service:
Avatars, chat-bots, and virtual assistants are likely to become more prominent.
An avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character, such as Ikeas Anna, who has evolved over time to become increasingly life like.
Available 24/7 for simple query resolution currently, it is expected that these will become even more sophisticated in the future.
Contact channels will continue to expand in number, allowing customers to mix and match communication platforms to meet their own needs.
Will new methods of contact enter the mix or become increasingly important such as video contact?
Will 3rd party companies offer to take on the contact for you for example monitoring peoples smart meters and letting them know when supply is resorted?
Discussion with leading manufacturers of innovative technologies and relevant trade associations will identify developments in innovation that are likely to be in production during ED2 and beyond. The emphasis will be on technical innovations that hybridize commercial considerations with customers’ service expectations, applicability and acceptability.
This is important….The technological experts know what is possible to develop for the future. But how the future unfolds is also heavily dependent on customers opinion of and acceptance of new solutions. And acceptability of solutions may vary by customer type, and also by interaction..
..Which is why interaction with customers throughout the project is key.
We need to understand how customer needs vary for different types of customers and for different types of interactions.
To produce a strategy for the future we also need to understand how needs and expectations are likely to change.
By understanding this we can then design an optimal approach to communicating with customers.
We will use customer insight to create bespoke customer service solutions that directly meet the medium and long term needs of customers.
We will review customer feedback and meet with specialist service organizations and manufacturers of innovative technologies and relevant trade associations to design new concepts and solutions.
These will then be tested with customers in a large scale survey, where we will obtain feedback from a representative range of customers across all customer groups including but not limited to urban, rural, the young (18-24 years) and customers who have made previous contact with their DNO.
Finally, solutions will be refined based on customers feedback.
I cannot emphasise enough the importance of customer opinion. Nokia developed the first tablet years before apple…..but discarded it as didn’t think customers would see the need from it.
NOW half the UK population will use a tablet in 2015 –Research firm eMarketer predicts that there’ll be 32.8m British tablet users this year, with just over half of them using Apple’s iPad.
If the approach is credible, it can provide solutions tailored to, and accepted by specific customer groups, which can then be implemented by all DNOs as a business as usual model; provided the approach is easily applicable and affordable.
This blueprint is expected to inform long term customer strategy and investment planning.