Utilities are integrating Smart Grid solutions into their operations and services. These deployments create new opportunities for communications and education about new technologies, services, and Smart Grid benefits. Utility customer care and service centers are challenged to support these opportunities and build support across all consumer constituencies. Our panel of industry veterans shared their experiences with leveraging CRM in contact centers and other communication channels to successfully build knowledge and support for Smart Grid-enabled projects.

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Contributors include...
Christine Hertzog - Moderator, Smart Grid Library

Christine is a consultant, author, and a professional explainer focused on Smart Grid technologies and solutions. She has two decades of experience helping companies that range from small start-ups to multi-national corporations deliver competitive and cost-effective solutions and services to customers. She is the author of the Smart Grid Dictionary, the first dictionary that explains the jargon, acronyms, and terminology used by utilities, regulators, standards organizations, and manufacturers; and the author of the Smart Grid Dictionary Plus, which includes the Dictionary and classroom materials. Christine is a frequent presenter on Smart Grid topics and writes a weekly, syndicated blog about the challenges and opportunities that Smart Grid solutions bring to the evolving electricity supply chain, and their impacts to consumers.

Esteban Kolsky - ThinkJar @ekolsky

Esteban is the Principal and Founder of ThinkJar, an advisory and research think-thank focused on Customer Strategies. He has over 22 years of experience in customer service and CRM consulting, research, and advisory services. Most recently he spent eight years at Gartner, focused on Customer Service and CRM research. While there he coined the terms for EFM (enterprise feedback management) and CIH (customer interaction hub). In addition, he wrote on the social networking topics that led to today's revolution and assisted Fortune 500 and Global 2,000 organizations in all aspects of their CRM.

Adam Cooper - The Edison Foundation (Institute for Energy Efficiency) @Edison_Electric

Adam manages electric efficiency research projects at the Institute for Electric Efficiency, a Washington DC non-profit organization funded by the Edison Foundation. His recent work includes developing a compilation of smart meter deployment efforts by investor owned utilities and large public power agencies, tracking electric utility regulatory frameworks on a state-by-state basis, assessing the potential energy savings from well enforced and increasingly aggressive building codes and appliance standards, and identifying the total energy savings from rate-payer funded electric efficiency programs administered by utilities and third-party administrators. Prior to joining IEE, Mr. Cooper was a consultant that developed regional economic analyses in the fields of environmental regulation, tax policy, economic development, transportation, and the automotive industry for the private sector, local, state, and Federal U.S. governments and the European Commission.

Chris King

Chris King is President, eMeter Strategic Consulting and Chief Regulatory Officer of eMeter, a leading provider of Smart Grid Management Software. He has over 25 years experience with smart meters and Smart Grids, including as director of rate design at Pacific Gas & Electric. An internationally recognized expert, author of numerous thought-leading publications, and frequent speaker at industry events, Mr. King founded the Demand Response and Smart Grid Alliance and the European Smart Energy Demand Coalition, and is a Board member of the Department of Energy's Demand Response Coordinating Committee. He has testified before the U.S. Congress, several U.S. States, and international regulatory bodies. Mr. King holds advanced degrees in science, business, and law from Stanford and Concord universities.

Robert Frazier - CenterPoint Energy (Houston) @CNPInsight

Currently the Director of Technology at Houston Electric/CenterPoint Energy, Bob has 34 years of IT management experience in Operation, PC and LAN environments, security, application development, audit and executive consulting. At CenterPoint Energy, his focus is utility customer systems including CIS, SAP CCS Mobile Data, CTI/VRU, metering, supporting call centers, field service reps, billing, bill print, receivables and reporting. In addition to the usual strategic planning and tactical execution of electric supporting systems, Bob has spent the past three years supporting Advance Meter Infrastructure (AMI), and Intelligent Smart Grid pilot projects including regulatory filing and settlement negotiations. Bob is a member of the Texas statewide advanced meter portal specification team, a founding member of the Texas Common Portal management team, the DOE grant drafting team as well as the CNP Intelligent Grid specification team.