The top sessions from E Source Forum 2021

We hope you all enjoyed E Source Forum 2021, our first hybrid Forum. Thank you to everyone who attended in person or online and joined in on all the conversations and fun. We’re already looking forward to next year—save the date for E Source Forum 2022, September 13–16.

We pulled together the top sessions from 2021, with exclusive insights from session moderators and speakers. All Forum sessions are now available on demand for members and can be accessed anytime on the E Source Forum 2021 event page.

Designing win-win demand-response programs for small and midsize businesses

Track: Optimizing customer programs for an evolving grid

“Now is our time to shine as an industry and deliver the effective and simple load management programs small businesses need.” —Cameron Koch, energy advisor II, Franklin Energy

DS101: An introduction to how data science supports utility decision-making

Track: Enabling tomorrow’s data-driven utility

“Our data science team had a great time turning this session into a mock classroom to introduce attendees to key terminology associated with the data science world as well as our agile data science process. Our goal with this session was that they could take what they learned and dive further into the more advanced presentations later in the week. We hope they got the chance to apply what they learned!” —Mike Tulaney, engagement manager, Data Science, E Source

An integrated approach to EV charging infrastructure deployment, management, and customer programs

Track: Overcoming electrification roadblocks with emerging opportunities

“Something we don’t hear nearly enough about is the need for better, integrated EV charging infrastructure planning, deployment, and maintenance to ensure cost-effective investment and asset management. This session represents the beginning of that deeper conversation. I was joined by Mark Rawson, COO of the California Mobility Center, and Josh Keister, president of Resilient Power Systems. Together, they each addressed challenges from totally different sides of the EV ecosystem, offering diverse perspectives.” —Bryan Jungers, director of mobility, Customer Energy Solutions, E Source

Using voice-of-the-customer data to build customer relationships

Track: Managing customer experience (CX) as a business imperative

“Many utilities collect feedback from their customers but aren’t using it to take action and make changes at their organization. In this session, Hydro One and Dominion Energy offered great examples of how they take their customer feedback and use it to improve the customer experience.” —Heather Hilgenkamp, manager, Market Research, E Source

“Andrea Nuesser, director of customer strategy at Hydro One, and Joe Tannery, director of CX strategy and analytics at Dominion Energy, provided a thorough overview of how CX is prioritized throughout their organizations. And how they’re using data as a tool for informing their strategic initiatives. Both discussed the importance of factoring change management into their initiatives as well as collaborating with other internal departments to get CX buy-in organization-wide.” —Devin Fink, product strategist, Customer Experience, E Source

What we learned from COVID about serving at-risk customers

Track: Rising to the energy equity challenge

“I loved the presenter mix for this session. Sarah Baker, E Source market research analyst, gave incredible insights into customers who have been seriously impacted by COVID-19. Paula Geruntino, manager of Customer Relations & Corporate Communications at Nashville Electric Service (NES), shared an excellent story about the great work NES did when a tornado touched down just at the start of the pandemic. The theme of empathy really stood out.” —Adam Maxwell, managing director, Management Consulting, E Source

Bonus session! A carbon-free future: Assessing utilities’ plans for meeting emissions goals

Track: Managing CX as a business imperative

“Taking place on the final day of the Forum, our panel offered a well-balanced discussion that reiterated the deep carbon reduction plans outlined by Paul Lau, CEO of SMUD, in the opening plenary session. Addressing how to achieve a carbon-free future was the task at hand for our panelists, and the sentiment from this panel was that they’re no longer just planning—they’re doing. They expertly outlined efforts they’re undertaking to address decarbonization and how energy-efficiency efforts, demand-side management, and programmatic involvement tie together the innovative and focused efforts at PG&E, Xcel Energy, and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.” —Michael Carter, president, Research and Advisory, E Source