Electricity providers lauded for ecosystem utilization

The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) announced Monday the five recipients of its 2019 Best Practices Awards, highlighting the consumer-focused energy ecosystem initiatives demonstrated by utility providers.

“Today’s energy ecosystem is increasingly becoming more customer focused, but there’s a lot more work to be done to reach all consumers,” Patty Durand, SECC president & CEO, said. “These winners demonstrate great examples of consumer-focused innovation, and we hope that they will pave the way for other industry stakeholders to follow.”

Reliant received the Smart Energy Innovation Award recipient for groundbreaking work around voice assistants for home energy management.

Entergy garnered the Culture Transformation Award for transitioning to a more customer-focused internal culture more adept at responding to consumers’ needs.

NB Power was selected as the Consumer Engagement Award honoree for revitalizing its energy efficiency portfolio with a focus on achieving high customer engagement metrics.

Avangrid received the Underserved Markets Award for developing an energy efficiency program that effectively educates and engages lower-income consumers.

Austin Energy was presented the Consumer Education Award for its Austin Energy All-stars program that educates students, parents, and teachers to build a more energy-conscious community.

After receiving nominations throughout the fall of 2018, the award winners were selected by an independent advisory panel of 10 experts from a wide range of energy industry stakeholders, including consumer advocacy organizations, government agencies, and consulting firms.