Customer Retention in a Competitive Electric Services Market

July 9, 2013

The winds of change are blowing a gale through the electrical utility industry. While some utility executives are promoting the coming changes as an unprecedented opportunity, this enthusiasm hasn't gripped utilities as a whole. Media coverage, labor leader and utility employee comments paint a picture of an industry beset with fear and uncertainty. The adjective "secure," which historically described careers and investments in electric utilities, has been dropped from the industry lexicon. In spite of a pool of conflicting emotions, utilities need to respond quickly and effectively as events threaten to overtake them.

The Washington International Energy Group’s 1997 Electric Industry Outlook reports that 86% of electric industry executives believe customer choice of supplier is inevitable. "Loss of customers" has emerged as the m ost important industry issue...(Read more...)

About the Author

Sig Guggenmoos | P. Ag. CPC President, Ecological Solutions Inc., Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada

Education: Bachelor of Science in Agriculture B.Sc.(Agr.)

Accreditations: Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.); Certified Professional Consultant (CPC)

Organizations: Alberta Institute of Agrologists, International Society of Arboriculture, Utility Arborist Association, Industrial Vegetation Management Association of Alberta.

Mr. Guggenmoos was a chief architect of the TransAlta Utilities Distribution Line Clearance program, which reduced tree related outages 80%; saved 48 million dollars over two maintenance cycles; had a 98% customer satisfaction rating; and, showed a 21% increase in contractor crew productivity. He was responsible for the herbicide program, associated research and communication. In addition, he brought a financial focus to the program, developing processes for financial comparisons of alternatives to repetitive tree pruning and was intimately involved in the design and assessment of contracting methods.

As president of Ecological Solutions Inc. (Ecosync) Mr. Guggenmoos provides consulting services in vegetation management and biotic greenhouse gas mitigation strategies including biomass-derived energy.

Publications and Presentations:
Author of numerous abstracts and publications; numerous presentations to public, industry and professional associations including international conferences. List of publications available upon request.