Gentrack Blog
Gentrack blogs regularly about hot utility industry topics and new technologies applicable to energy and water utilities. You can catch up on the latest blogs from our team via the links below.Want to be notified of new Gentrack Blogs? - Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and/or Linked In.
Latest Gentrack Blogs:
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Let’s face it, we are all busy. And busy people prioritise. Making the effort to proactively engage with my energy retailer doesn’t come very high on my to-do list right now. Full blog here
Getting into Gear for EV
Ferrari's president has recently announced he doesn't believe in electric cars. The Italian firm may not be the only Electric Vehicle (EV) skeptic in the market but the voices of dissent are n as loud as they once were. Full blog here
Navigating FiT's Shifting Sands
We all know that 18 months is a long time in politics. The same can now be said for the renewable energy sector. Full blog here
Demand Side Response Aggregators – the rising stars of peak load reduction
With all the focus on residential smart meter roll outs, it’s easy to forget that in many regions, commercial and industrial businesses still account for up to 70% of total electricity consumption. Full blog here
Social Media in Utilities - a conversation that can't be ignored any longer
It was standing room only at the Xcel Energy Social Media session at the recent Utility CS World conference, (see http://blog.gentrack.com/whats-hot-in-cs-and-smart-grid-2011 for other hot topics). In fact, so popular was the session that organisers had to scramble to schedule a second showing later in the week. Full blog here
What's Hot in CS and Smart Grid 2011
It was the annual Utility CS (Customer Service) and Smart Grid conference last week. US based software vendors, utilities and industry consultants gathered in Florida to share billing and smart meter deployment experiences, promote new products and talk about the biggest game changers in utility customer service. Full blog here
Ultra Fast Broadband - In our opinion, the Netco's were
(and are) well placed to deliver
There were a few disappointed network companies around New Zealand this week as the government handed the rest of the UFB contracts to the incumbent telco.
The ‘wire’ may look a bit different, but for the NZ electricity network companies who were bidding to become Local Fibre Companies (LFC), the business model, and operational priorities would have been remarkably similar to their existing modus operandi. Full blog here
Water metering - to be smart, or not to be smart,
that is the question.
Many of our energy customers are now actively involved in smart metering initiatives. So, understandably, conversations with our water customers also frequently turn to developments in water metering.
Unsurprisingly, many water utilities are excited about the potential of smarter metering technology. But what is perhaps surprising is that few see its primary role in active residential consumption management just yet, even in water starved Australia. Full blog here
Transforming energy utilities with CRM
After years of focus on network assets rather than customers, energy distribution utilites have evolved and the necessity of CRM applications within energy distributors has quickly become a reality. Full blog here
Smart Grid technology will work -
it's time to think about the customer!
The push back on smart meters, from San Francisco USA to the state of Victoria in Australia, has given us a timely reminder that it’s not hardware interoperability or transmission standards that will dictate how successful our smart grids will be – it’s the consumer. Full blog here
The best solution for energy start ups (and their pockets) isn't always large ERP
As new energy utilities know too well, the challenges of establishing and growing a business in competitive energy markets are somewhat daunting, even impossible at times. Full blog here
Moving to the cloud - one measured step at a time
Truth be told, large energy utilities, and government owned utilities in particular, often adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach when it comes to new technology. Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud computing looks to be no exception. But the benefits of deploying applications into the cloud are becoming difficult to ignore. So, if you are doing some soul searching about your cloud strategy, the answer might not be to replace all of your existing back office infrastructure but rather to complement it. Full blog here
Waking up to the true value of water
When water stressed regions around the world search for water conservation programs to replicate, their eyes quickly turn to Australia.
This already arid continent has, since 2001, been suffering from a long and painful drought. With both rural and urban water reserves plummeting, water consumption patterns, and attitudes, had to change, and change quickly. Full blog here
ERP vs Best of Breed
- a realistic alternative for energy and water utilities
The decision to upgrade or replace a utility’s core billing and customer care system is never one taken lightly. But after a decade of amassing multiple applications for different customer segments or geographical markets, energy and water utility companies have found themselves constantly battling to stay responsive to changing market conditions. 'Best of Breed' offers an alternative with less risk and at a lower cost than ERP. Full blog here
SMART GRID – Why the race to success is no longer a sprint
It may have felt like the bleeding edge of energy deregulation at the time, but since the 1990s Australia and New Zealand switching rates have remained impressively among the highest in the world. But is the region’s time as stalwarts of energy retail innovation coming to an end? Full blog here
A New Dawn for Prepay Metering (Part 2 of 2)
As much as advanced metering is the prepayment enabler, a utility’s ability to tackle customer centric issues will often come down to the performance of its back office billing system. Full blog here
A New Dawn for Prepay Metering (Part 1 of 2)
With many households under growing financial pressure from burgeoning electricity, gas and water costs, it is not surprising to see a growing number of utility customers defaulting on bill payments. Large numbers of energy and water utilities around the world, along with telcos, are indeed grappling with increased payment arrears and are faced with a challenge to not only recover revenues from non-paying customers – but to also correct behaviours and achieve customer payment continuity. Full blog here
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The energy sector, like the telco industry before it, is learning that in order to create long term customer value, the focus must now be on building both profitability and loyalty. Gentrack Market Consultant, Siobhan Boyle, blogs about leveraging specialist CRM systems in the energy sector to create compelling offers that will appeal to customers and encourage them to remain loyal to your brand. Full blog here
Can CRM really lower a utility's cost to collect?
Utility debt is expensive to collect. With tight regulatory processes, often fairly low dollar values and typical settlement periods of between 45 and 60 days, the cost of collection can often overtake the debt value itself. Full blog here
Electricity Network agility essential in evolving 'smart' energy industry
Electricity Network Companies in New Zealand are poised for further changes resulting from smart grid technologies and mandates on network tariff structures and pricing methodologies http://www.electricitycommission.govt.nz/opdev/mdp/distrib-tariff. Network companies are being driven to look to innovative billing and pricing solutions to deliver the added agility to successfully navigate this rapidly evolving energy environment. Full blog here
