Energy & Utilities IQ Reveals: Consumer Engagement Is A Key Development In The Rollout Of Smart Utility Technology

Chris Harris, Head of Retail Regulation at RWE, joins Smart Utilities to discuss moving towards next generation operations in Smart Utilities.

In a brand new podcast interview Chris Harris talks about the current challenges that need to be overcome in order to advanceSmart Utility technology from concept to reality.

"Customer experience is absolutely paramount because we don't want bad experiences at the beginning of a programme and we want customers to have good experiences and sell the concept to all their neighbours. To do that, the technology needs to work correctly, which means that the in-home displays for all those customers, they must work.

"The signals to the communications must also work. And then as we look forward, all the technological advances that we're expecting will need to work seamlessly, not just for individual customers, but will enable customers to change from supplier to supplier."

Key developments he sees for the future "are consumer engagement with smart meters which will enable demand response, which themselves will enable new forms of distributed and mainstream power generation."

One major issue with regard to the roll out of smart utilities are public concerns over the security of smart metering technology. "What we must do is use the data for all of the right purposes and none of the wrong purposes, but make sure that we make it very clear to our customers how the data can be used for their own benefits for doing both the basics, which is good billing, a good understanding of energy consumption, but also understanding more advanced products by which they can reduce their energy bills.

Chris Harris will also be speaking at the Smart Utility Summit 2011 taking place 28th - 29th June in London. He'll be focusing on how utilities work within the overall context of vertical and economic environments.

At the Smart Utility Summit 2011, Smart Utility professionals from all over Europe will meet to discuss the success of recent rollouts, the view of policy makers across Europe and the next steps in moving from concept to reality. The event allows participants to build a robust business case for the adoption of Smart Utility technology and provides them with all of the solutions currently available.

For more information about speakers and the agenda, please visit: http://bit.ly/feCTjw