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Energy customers who receive a smart meter at the start of the rollout must start seeing benefits quickly for consumers to continue to accept the meters as the programme continues, global software company Opower has warned.
Opower’s senior vice president and international general manager Nadeem Sheikh told Utility Week that customers who fail to see value added services soon after installation will get “frustrated”, knowing they have paid for the meter but failing to see why they should absorb the cost.
He expects energy companies to wait at least a year into the rollout due to the economies of scale before starting to offer additional services using the data the meter has provided, which could leave early customers without any noticeable benefits, but said value could be as simple as no longer receiving unexpectedly high bills.
Sheikh said: “Utilities tend to think that installing the meter in someone’s house is a non-event for the consumer when actually it’s very noticeable, they know somebody came and changed something in their house and made an investment in their home and they would like to see benefit, and they want to know what they are going to get in return.”
Sheikh said the pace of innovation in smart products and services will be directly linked to the speed of the rollout as it progresses, and that “clarity is needed for real innovation” on the number of meters energy suppliers will eventually install.
Looking to the United States’ experience of a smart meter rollout, Sheikh said some customers had “waited years” to see value from their meter, and that a lack of communication with consumers had led to riots at the beginning of the programme and a “tough time” for utilities.
Sheikh said: “The other thing utilities can do is not just give the consumer benefit after the meter is installed, but really it’s a process, letting the consumer know what’s going to happen, and explaining the benefit that they should receive, and then delivering on that promise.”
He said one of the things utilities should think about doing is running a marketing programme ahead of installation so that their customers are aware of how it will directly affect them.
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