Customer-focused planning: Demonstration project summaries. Final report

Technical Report · Tue Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:10120136

George, S S ^[1]

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1. Putnam, Hayes and Bartlett, Inc., San Francisco, CA (United States)

To succeed in the increasingly competitive and dynamic markets in which they operate, electric utilities are focusing ever greater attention on understanding and meeting customer needs. EPRI`s Customer Focused Planning (CFP) project was established to develop concepts and tools that will help utilities enhance their commitment to customer service. The project team conducted a series of interviews and meetings with participating utilities to collaboratively implement crucial steps in the CFP process. Although there is no unique set of tools or single management approach for improving product and service delivery, customer-focused companies have at least five ideals in common. They (1) define goals and objectives in concrete terms, (2) extend the planning boundaries of the organization to include all members of the energy services infrastructure, (3) painstakingly link functional activities directly to customer needs, (4) incorporate the customer`s voice in new product/ service design, and (5) align performance measures with customer needs. In addition, customer-focused companies use a variety of methods to improve customer satisfaction and company performance. These methods include conducting market research, developing market processes such as demand-side management contracting or bidding to reveal customer preferences, and involving customers more directly in the planning process. This report summarizes two brief demonstration projects conducted as part of EPRI`s CFP project, one at Commonwealth Edison Company (CECo) and one at PSI Energy. The CECo project emphasized developing customer-focused performance measures for telephone inquiries. The PSI Energy project involved a one-day workshop underscoring two important CFP elements-understanding customer wants and explicitly linking those wants to utility activities.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Putnam, Hayes and Bartlett, Inc., San Francisco, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 10120136
• Report Number(s): EPRI-TR--101569; ON: UN93006055
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
296000
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990100
ELECTRIC POWER
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
MANAGEMENT
MARKETING RESEARCH
MEETINGS
PLANNING
QUALITY ASSURANCE
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
SURVEYS