How Utilities Can Participate in the Digital Transformation

2021 saw a record increase in the number of net zero emissions commitments by organizations, and you can expect 2022 to follow suit. But it’s not just organizations that can lead the net zero charge. As the main suppliers of power, utilities have a key role to play in achieving a net zero economy. Going digital can help utilities both reach their own net zero goals and assist their customers in becoming carbon neutral. In this article, we’ll explain what a digital transformation is, the benefits, and how utilities can participate in the digital transformation.

What Does Going Digital Mean for Utilities?

For utilities, a digital transformation is the process of adopting new digital ways of interacting with customers, streamlining operations, improving efficiency, and more. For example, a utility might do away with manual rate and usage calculators for its customers and switch over to a customer engagement platform that offers a single source of truth to customers concerning their energy usage, costs, and more.

Why Go Digital?

A recent study by IT company Accenture found that companies who join in the digital transformation are financially more successful. In the study, Accenture identified “Leaders” and “Laggards” in digital transformation, then analyzed their relative financial performance. The results were telling: Prior to the pandemic, Leaders across all industries grew 2x faster than Laggards. Even after coronavirus struck, Leaders that doubled down on their tech investments grew 5x faster than Laggards.

Utility companies that invest in the digital transformation can expect:

• Heightened customer engagement and sentiment
• Accelerated growth
• The ability to collect all energy data on a national & global basis and share with their customers
• Actionable insights, not just more energy data
• Visibility across customer portfolios to determine new services or programs that should be offered
• A single source of truth for all energy and sustainability data
• For their customers, lower energy use and the ability to measure the effectiveness of DERs, which are key in achieving net zero emissions

How Utilities Can Participate in the Digital Transformation

So, how can utilities participate in the digital transformation, and thus help themselves and their customers reach net zero? Our number one recommendation for utilities is to modernize their IT architecture and environment. This can be done by simplifying their business processes, then shifting from outdated systems to a new IT landscape, e.g., using software to meet their needs and capabilities.

WatchWire provides a cloud-based customer engagement software that enables utilities to engage their customers with compelling and personalized energy and sustainability data. WatchWire’s Customer Engagement Platform offers these features and more:

• Invoice Data Consolidation automated from utility websites, including portfolio consolidation, multiple currency tracking, and unit conversions
• Customizable dashboards with high-level views of your customer’s personalized KPIs and analytics
• Portfolio comparisons
• Sustainability management, measurement and verification, and peak load management, all three of which are essential to reaching net zero emissions

To learn more about the benefits of a customer engagement platform, download our whitepaper, “What to Look for in a Customer Engagement Platform.”

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