Guest Commentary: Improve Customer Relationships, Sustainability, and Water Conservation With AMI
Water service providers across the country are beginning to significantly increase user rates to help fund desperately needed infrastructure repairs and replacements. The New York Water Board recently adopted a rate increase of approximately 13% for 2011, marking the fourth consecutive year the city’s rates have increased by more than 10% (According to Fitch Ratings in a press release). The city council of Pasadena, CA, recently approved a 30% increase in water rates. Numerous other cities such as Indianapolis, IN; Phoenix, AZ; Houston, TX; and Toledo, OH, to name a few, are taking similar actions as well.
As rates increase, educating consumers on the true value of water can act as a “shock” absorber, according to “Avoiding Rate Shock: Making the Case for Water Rates”, a study sponsored by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Water Utility Council. The study found that although consumers get upset over rate increases because of misunderstandings about the true value of a safe, adequate supply of water, a consistent, structured communications strategy helps build support for rate increases.
To build customer relationships, utilities should proactively leverage Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) data to educate customers on their water usage, especially in terms of rates and the importance of water conservation. Such a task might sound laborious and costly to municipalities, however, consumer portals that integrate with AMI systems can allow customers to access their water usage online. Accessing their water usage via the Internet helps consumers to learn about their rates, improve conservation through leak detection, and communicate with their utility.
Portals graphically illustrate stored AMI data and present it to consumers in charts and graphs that allow them to easily monitor their consumption rates and usage patterns. Online access to this kind of information helps consumers estimate future water costs, better understand their bills, and manage their utility budgets. It also enables consumers to notice or be automatically alerted to data anomalies, which may indicate that they have household water leaks they never see that can result in excessively high bills. This example is just one of many that demonstrate how easy access to such information is financially beneficial to consumers.
Providing access to detailed usage information also helps utilities to partner with customers to improve water conservation. Industry reports are showing that water conservation has become a significant concern among consumers. A recent Oracle survey found that 76% of consumers are concerned about water conservation. Seventy one percent of those surveyed also indicated that having access to more detailed information about their water consumption would help to further motivate their conservation (“Testing the Water: Smart Metering for Water Utilities” 2010).
Consumer portals enable customers to accurately track their consumption in order to curtail water use to help meet personal conservation goals. And, by automatically alerting consumers of potential household leaks, utilities proactively help rectify necessary action to stop water loss. According to EPA, 5% to 10% of American homes leak more than 175 billion gallons of water annually through old faucets and toilets. These portals not only show consumers that their utility provides them with the data and tools to allow them to better manage their water usage, they also show that utilities take water conservation seriously (the majority of states are predicting water shortages between now and 2013).
These systems can also help to improve communication between consumers and their utility. Besides accessing usage history, customers can view responses to frequently asked questions regarding billing issues, rates, and conservation. And, through portals, utilities can easily reach customers with important informational alerts such as water bans, leak alerts, and budgetary threshold alerts.
FAQ responses and improved communication between utilities and consumers is practical, as it helps to better educate consumers on billing and water conservation, while also providing them with a means of staying informed on important service issues. Portals give customer service departments extra support, which can help them more quickly and efficiently address customers’ needs and concerns.
Essentially, integrating a consumer portal with an AMI system can give utilities an efficient means to help build and maintain customer relationships. As water rates rise across the country, utilities should leverage this kind of tool to provide customers with easy access to detailed usage information. Such a proactive approach can help improve consumer perception of utilities by instilling a better understanding of personal water usage and billing, and by allowing them to take a more active role when it comes to water conservation.