2015 Smart Grid Customer Education Symposium to Take Place on June 11th in Chicago

Important Smart Grid Event Spotlights Best Practices in Residential and Commercial Customer Education and Engagement

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (February 17, 2015) – SmartEnergy IP™, a division of SmartMark Communications, announced today that it will host the 2015 Smart Grid Customer Education Symposium in partnership with ComEd, an Exelon company, on June 11, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. Now in its fifth year, the Smart Grid Customer Education Symposium brings together leaders in the energy and utility industries to discuss the increasing importance of the role of the customer in Smart Grid programs. The Symposium will take place at the Chase Tower in Chicago.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Commissioner Ann McCabe of the Illinois Commerce Commission. This year's event will cover a range of important topics around how utilities can articulate the benefits of Smart Grid to residential and commercial customers and how these programs tie into other energy efficiency programs and goals. Topics this year will include:

  • Educating customers around smart meter deployment
  • Education design and measuring behavior change
  • Rolling out Dynamic Pricing, Critical Peak Pricing, and Time of Use Pricing
  • Latest advancements in customer experience technologies
  • Understanding your customer base and the role of market research
  • The road to cost recovery for Smart Grid investments
  • Stakeholder and community outreach
  • Convergence between energy efficiency and Smart Grid programs: avoiding confusion and increasing likelihood to participate
  • Modeling the future energy lifestyle of the consumer

The 2015 Smart Grid Customer Education Awards will also be presented in conjunction with the event. The awards are given to utilities that demonstrate excellence in several key areas of Smart Grid education. The deadline for award submissions is April 17, 2015. To apply for the Smart Grid Customer Education Awards, please visit www.smartgridcustomereducation.com/awards.

At the 2015 Smart Grid Customer Education Awards ceremony, utilities will be awarded for excellence in the following categories:

  • Best Smart Grid customer education story around meter deployment and/or activation of benefits
  • Best community outreach project
  • Best commercial AMI program
  • Best Dynamic Pricing, Critical Peak Pricing, and/or Time of Use customer education program
  • Best use of advanced technologies to encourage energy reduction during peak times

To register for the conference, visit www.smartgridcustomereducation.com. For more information, please contact SmartEnergy IP at 215-504-4272.

About SmartEnergy IP
Smart Energy IP is a research and consulting organization within SmartMark Communications, LLC that is dedicated to helping utilities communicate the benefits of Smart Grid to customers. As utilities roll out Smart Grid initiatives – from smart meters to dynamic pricing programs – there are ways to ensure that customers are best prepared to make smart energy choices and positively support these roll outs. SmartMark Communications has over a decade of experience in the energy and utilities customer care domain, helping utilities and suppliers market effectively to customers. For more information, visit: www.smartenergy-ip.com.

Media Contact
Kristin Marcell
SmartMark Communications, LLC and SmartEnergy IP
215-504-4272
kristin@smartmarkusa.com