ABSTRACT
Most customer analytics systems are designed with the goal of predicting customer behaviors, largely as they relate to buying habits and lifestyle preferences. They are used predominantly in retail, finance, and customer relationship manage ment (CRM) systems to calculate a dollar value for each household and to determine that household’s value to a company, all with the objective of keeping valuable customers from switching to competitive products and services. Within the utility, until recently, gaining improved visibility into customers has not been a priority, simply because in many markets, customers are “captive” and cannot readily go buy electricity from a competitor. However, a perfect storm has formed in the electricity industry that requires the utility to better understand its customers: Rooftop solar has become more affordable, and the requirements for energy-efficiency and demand-response programs are growing. Even with the smart grid raising the specter for greater operational efficiencies, lowered costs of doing business, and improved billings and collections, the customer is becoming part of a participatory market and can no longer be ignored. Smart grids and smart meters are relied upon to provide the foundational data for developing powerful intelligence about customers that contributes to key utility functions and improves return on investment (ROI).
