My round-up of challenges and opportunities for Australian electricity retailers in the brave new world of data analytics, increasing customer expectations and distributed energy generation / storage. Presentation delivered at SSSI conference in September 2014.

1. Electricity retailing:
location-based
approaches
for
quality customer
experiences
25/09/2014
Hervé Senot
Director, Carbon::GIS
GIS & energy analytics

2. People + systems.

3. This presentation:
industry, government &
academic.

4. Introduction
Electricity retailing and …
location? Really?

5. Electricity generation and
location: sure.

6. Source: Sustainability Victoria, Victorian Wind Atlas

7. Electricity distribution
and location: fine.

8. Source: Seattle City Light, Vegetation Management

9. Electricity retailing:
interface between users
and the grid

10. Source: Herald Sun, Electricity bills give Victorians a $3000-a-year power shock (6/8/2014)

11. - Act I -
The customer

12. Wholesaling
Billing
Sources: The Guardian, A new generation of electricity pylons (2011), http://electricitywizard.com.au/

13. Source: Origin Energy website

14. ☐ Nice
☒ Different
☐ Unusual

15. Price?

16. One respondent summed up the
attitude of many:
“I am lost as to know who to use for
Source: Choice.com.au, Energy retailers marketing tactics (2013)
electricity.
They all have different offers, but the
bills end up the same.”

17. Customer experience?

18. Source: vaasa ETT, World Energy Retail Market Rankings (2012)

19. Source: Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria), Annual Report (2013)

20. Source: Herald Sun, Cold-hearted power companies tell shivering pensioners to rug up (30/07/2014)

21. “Currently, many utilities in Australia
are not commanding strong public
trust.”
Source: CSIRO, Change and choice (2013)

22. Australia: we have a
customer relationship
problem.

23. - Act II -
The technology

24. Data.
Lots of it.
Everywhere.
All the time.

25. Source: http://www.winpure.com/blog/does-my-company-need-data-cleansing-software/

26. Solar PV + storage.

27. Centralised → Distributed
C + Cu → Si + Li
Source: ABC News,Wikimedia, The Age, http://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/

28. Electric Vehicles.

29. Source: Wikimedia, Tesla Roadster charging

30. Connected Home.

31. Source: Nest.com

32. Increased customer
expectations
+
Distributed energy
resources
=

33. Challenge or
opportunity?

35. - Act III -
Solutions

37. Customer analytics
spatial data provides the
grounding.

38. Innovative service design
connecting local resources to
local energy needs.

39. Solution 1
Customer analytics
Know thy customer

40. Geo-demographics
+
historical bills
=
customer segments

41. Source: Nick Bearman, Using R for geodemographic analysis (speakerdeck.com)

42. NILM
Non-Intrusive
Load Monitoring.

43. Smart meter data,
visual insights.
Heating in winter
2013
30 kWh / day
1 week away in
January
fridge + standby
load: 80W
Heating in winter
2014
15 kWh / day
No air conditioning
in summer 2013-
2014
Source: Carbon GIS

44. Smart meter data,
spatial insights.
Air conditioning
size
2.5 kW

46. Application #1
early detection of
customer hardship

47. Alerts & feedback

48. Application #2
personalised energy
recommendations

49. Source: Bidgely
value
for
customer

50. Application #3
improved
customer service
in call center

51. “Have I used more
electricity this time?
But I can’t figure out why.”
Source: Nichols L. & Strengers Y., Changing Demand: Flexibility Of Energy Practices In Households With Children (2014)

52. Smart meter data + solar data
= upsell opportunity
Solar
compatibility
36%

53. Reactive
Pro-active
Predictive
Pre-emptive

54. Solution 2
Innovative service design
Engage thy customer

55. Local, social
conversations.

56. Source: www.intelligentutility.com, The Twitter-based customer service conversation

57. Sourcing local energy
using an app.

58. Source: Powershop app

59. Source: http://vandebron.nl/

60. Using
peer rankings.

61. Source: OPower website

62. Building a
virtual power plant.

63. =
distributed aggregated

64. Energy trading platform
for EV charging.

65. =

66. Conclusion
Take-away?

67. The future electricity grid
is
customer-centric
and
distributed.

68. Source: CSIRO, Change and choice (2013)

69. The transition path to get
there can be orderly.
Or not.

71. RE: think business model.
Or others will.

72. Thank you.
Hervé Senot
hsenot@gmail.com
Twitter: @hsenot
GIS & energy analytics