Milestone Utility Services (Milestone) released with Zpryme and the Municipal Smart Grid Summit (MSGS) the results of a smart-grid survey focused on the innovation efforts of 86 U.S. municipal utilities. Key findings include:
- Nearly all municipal utilities have some sort of smart grid effort. Some are at the stage of deploying multiple applications (18%) or large-scale deployment (15%). Pilot projects are underway at 23% of utilities surveyed. 39% are still at the planning stage.
- With renewables, 47% of municipal utilities have taken them on. Of utilities that have, only 12% cover both renewables, and storage.
- Smart grid also includes customer engagement tools. Municipal utilities use text messaging the most (67%), followed by interactive voice recognition (50%), and mobile aps (50%).
- Municipal utilities are spending on smart grid efforts. In the next 12 months, 27% are spending $1 million to $5 million. In the next 24 months, 56% are spending $1 million to $10 million. In 36 months, 15% are spending $10 million or more.
“With 97% of the 86 U.S. utilities surveyed either planning to deploy or already utilizing smart meter technology, it’s clear to see utilities understand the value of sharing near real-time information to improve customer engagement,” said Edith Mercado, Milestone Partner. “We’ve been able to help utilities interface smart meter data into their CIS and customer engagement technology to provide the vehicle for achieving ROI on smart grid investments.”
About Milestone
Milestone is a CIS professional services and customer engagement solution provider. Since 2002, this group of technical, functional and financial experts has helped gas, electric and water utilities nationwide complete end-to-end CIS upgrades, data migration projects, business process optimizations, application maintenance, technology upgrades, and other solution delivery services.
In 2013, Milestone deployed its proprietary web-based platforms including Milestone’s Customer Self-Service Portal (CSSP), an integrated customer service portal and a customer engagement mobile app to meet the complex business requirements of evolving utility billing, payment and customer service processes.
Learn more about how Milestone is optimizing performance and business processes of utilities who work with Oracle, Banner, SAP, Harris and legacy CIS systems by visiting www.musiusa.com/smart-grid.php
zpryme
Residing in Austin, Zpryme is a research, media, and events agency with a focus on energy. Based on the creative direction of our associates Zpryme, produces influential research, Energy Thought Summit (ETS), and premium branding experiences that challenge the status quo.