SAN DIEGO, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Caroline A.
Winn, vice president for customer service and chief customer
privacy officer at San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E),
received the 2012 Customer Service Leader of the Year award today
from Energy Central's Intelligent Utility magazine for
employing smart grid technology and enhanced customer call center
response methods to connect with customers and better serve their
energy needs. With this award, SDG&E solidifies its
position as a national leader in developing innovative ways to
engage customers about how they can use energy more efficiently and
play a vital role in conservation efforts that help the
environment.
"To receive this renowned customer service award from one of the
leading publications in the energy industry is something I deeply
value and appreciate," said Winn. "While my name is on the
award, this is a testament to the forward-looking and sustainable
stance of San Diego area
residents, who are early adopters of new technology and ready to
get involved in energy efficiency efforts that benefit the
region. I'd also like to recognize the hard work and
dedication of all our employees in facilitating this new approach
to energy management and helping our customers at every turn."
Winn received the recognition today as part of the
7th annual Knowledge, Innovation, Technology, Excellence
(KITE) awards that are presented by Intelligent Utility
magazine at the Knowledge Executive Summit in Houston, Texas on November 12-14. The
event is sponsored by the magazine's parent company, Energy
Central, which is a leading online news and information hub for the
energy industry. The 2012 Customer Service Leader of the Year
award specifically honors Winn for "modernization of SDG&E's
contact center, improving billing accuracy, expanding payment
options, and development of new customer communication
channels."
Winn has spearheaded several customer service enhancement
efforts at SDG&E, including transforming the customer contact
center from being primarily focused on billing questions to serving
a broader function as the customers' trusted energy advisor on a
variety of subjects. SDG&E personnel are also expanding
beyond phone banks to answer customer inquiries on power outages
and other subjects via social media. This holistic approach
to customer service starts with additional training for SDG&E
call center representatives that emphasizes broad knowledge of
available programs and services. This creates a one-stop-shop
for customers that ensures they get the information they need right
away.
In addition to enhanced customer response, SDG&E is
partnering with customers to promote energy efficiency through new
technology, including the "Green Button," an online tool that
provides customers with easy access to up to 13 months of their
detailed energy consumption data, which allows them to investigate
more deeply how and when they use energy. Instead of waiting
to get a bill at the end of the month, customers are empowered to
get more involved in the way energy is consumed in real time, and
take action to find new ways to conserve. To date, more than
13,500 customers have downloaded their data using the Green
Button.
SDG&E has taken this service a step further by developing
"Green Button Connect My Data," which allows customers to share
their energy usage data with third parties of their choice on an
automated daily basis. This opens up a new market for private
companies to offer innovative services to customers that help them
better manage their energy use and conserve. In addition, SDG&E
recently launched the PowerTools app that provides energy usage and
other information to customers in new and exciting ways, including
through cell phones, tablets and personalized web
portals.
As the utility works collaboratively with customers and
integrates new smart grid technology, SDG&E also is putting
customer privacy first, by developing a privacy program that offers
customers transparency and choice about their information, as well
as carefully safeguarding the energy usage data that is offered in
the Green Button and other platforms. An unassailable
principle for SDG&E is that the utility is the custodian of the
customer's energy usage data and will protect it. Winn is a
leading proponent of customer privacy and earlier this year
authored an influential paper with Dr. Ann
Cavoukian, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of
Ontario, Canada, on incorporating
Cavoukian's "Privacy by Design" principles into SDG&E's smart
grid initiative. By striving to ensure that this rigorous
international standard for privacy is built into all smart grid
customer programs from the start, SDG&E is taking a leadership
role in customer privacy and emphasizing its integral importance to
smart grid roll out efforts.
Winn's award is not the first time SDG&E has been recognized
this year for its innovative customer service and smart grid
plan. SDG&E received POWER magazine's 2012 Smart
Grid Award and was named most intelligent utility in the United States by Intelligent
Utility magazine all three years the award was given. In
addition, Winn was recently named one of the 15 most influential
women in the energy industry by FierceEnergy, a leading
website that tracks the latest advances in this field.
SDG&E will continue to develop advanced communications methods
for customers and respond effectively to their energy service
needs.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and
reliable energy service to 3.4 million consumers through 1.4
million electric meters and more than 850,000 natural gas meters in
San Diego and southern Orange
counties. The utility's area spans 4,100 square miles.
SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help customers save
energy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding
company based in San Diego.
About Energy Central
Energy Central was founded in 1996 to satisfy the global power
industry's need for a reliable, trusted information hub where
executives and field representatives alike could share ideas and
discuss concepts that could alter the future of electric energy.
Energy Central provides groundbreaking research, insightful reports
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commentary — in print, online and through well-attended events — on
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renewable energy, energy storage, transmission and distribution,
generation and utility analytics.
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SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)