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RKS Research & Consulting is a national leader in marketing research and opinion polling. Since 1974, we have helped clients achieve strategic business advantage through sampling customer opinions, quantifying trends, analyzing implications, and delivering actionable findings. Our research and modeling methods help clients set meaningful measures for communications effectiveness, customer satisfaction, product and service enhancements, brand positioning and corporate image among others.

Below we spell out some exciting projects that we are providing to our clients now.  Please call us (845-228-8482) or email us (info@rksresearch.com) for more information.

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SMART GRID CUSTOMER INSIGHTS – A NEW RESEARCH TOOL

Many utilities are exploring and deciding to invest in smart grid/ technology:
  "General Electric has conducted analyses demonstrating that increasing consumer participation in demand-response programs from 5 to 20 percent could increase utility savings by $15 million annually and reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 9,000 automobiles from our nation’s highways." [1]

Is it any wonder why “Duke Energy wants to own every piece of the smart grid”[2]

Investments in Smart Grid technology are part of every energy company’s long-term strategy for controlling costs, meeting efficiency targets, and planning for customers’ power supply needs.  Whether your approach is as grand as Duke Energy’s or more focused on optimizing the financial return on investment, the short-term objective is the same:

• Determine what actions your company should take to optimize customer participation and provide the best returns, both financially and in terms of customer satisfaction. 

Leading utilities have identified three distinct challenges crucial to achieving the potential that Smart Grid offers:

• Equipment – Selecting, configuring and installing the proper hardware and software so that the equipment will perform optimally in meeting both utility and customer expectations;
• Employee -- Like any new technology, Smart Grid is a “black box” to most customers. They will look to you for explanations and reassurances.  Employees must be knowledgeable while projecting confidence and encouraging participation.  Extensive employee training on all aspects of Smart Grid is essential.
• Customer -- Willingness to participate in utility Smart Grid programs is critical to the success of these efforts.  Participation depends upon sustained outreach efforts that build comfort with the concepts, draws them into the effort with credible energy and cost savings examples, and ultimately earns their commitment for immediate and sustained participation;.

RKS Research announces SMART GRID Customer Insights aimed at maximizing customer participation in utility-sponsored programs.  This research project is designed to increase the return on your investments in Smart Grid by focusing on customer opportunities.

• Provides data for your organization to file interim Smart Grid “progress reports” with regulators and governing bodies – while the program details are being designed and refined, well before your Smart Grid is completely up and running;
• Pinpoints the “low hanging fruit” – which customers within your customer base are attracted to participate in your program with minimal or no incentives;
• Identifies which customers will require greater outreach to encourage participation and what approaches will prove successful in attracting these customers to participate;
• Zeros in on the trust and credibility the utility has in customers’ eyes as the central voice promoting Smart Grid;
• Defines the expectations customers have for Smart Grid;
• Offers customer evaluations of various benefits Smart Grid will offer and places them in rank order – from the customer’s perspective;
• Presents reactions customers have to different features of Smart Grid;
• Details the fears and obstacles customers attribute to Smart Grid that stand in the way of their participation in energy company programs;
• Tests the levels of incentives that are necessary to optimize the customer participation v. investment return equation.  

A leader in conducting customer research for utilities for more than 35 years, RKS Research has completed customer surveys for energy companies of all types – investor-owned, public power, and cooperatives -- throughout the U.S.  Findings from recent RKS Smart Grid studies have helped participating organizations win funding from the federal government and provide interim progress reporting.  Further, research findings are helping internal audiences come to grips with the commitments of labor, outreach communications and funding needed to make Smart Grid efforts successful. This research solution builds on the findings from numerous customer surveys among residential and business customers to answer the fundamental question:

• What steps must energy companies take to attract and incent customers to participate in their Smart Grid programs?

Scope/Purpose of SMART GRID Customer Insights
Identify methods of increasing customer participation in Smart Grid programs by:
1.   Gaining an understanding of customers’ awareness of and opinions about Smart Grid and each of the Smart Grid programs;
2.   Providing material assistance to the design of Smart Grid outreach and communications programs in order to help attract and incent customers while providing a means for tracking satisfaction and overcoming disappointments or shortfalls measured against expectations. 
Fall of 2009 marks the sixth time since 1995 that RKS Research has conducted its SURVEY OF STATE UTILITY REGULATORS.  The 2009 edition is better than ever:

• 107 telephone interviews with State utility regulators (97 with commissioners)
• Covers 52 separate jurisdictions
• Covers both electric and natural gas utility issues
• Trends results against most recent (2007) Regulator Survey

A sampling of key results flowing out of the 2009 survey:

• On energy efficiency’s  impact on the jurisdiction’s load profile:
• Few Regulators believe EE has had a major impact to date;
• Opinions divide on how much of the market value of savings from energy efficiency initiatives State Regulators are willing to allow into rates
• On public awareness of costs associated with pending federal and individual state initiatives on climate change and energy efficiency, regulators are clearly concerned:
• Most believe the public is uninformed
• They worry about sticker shock
• They strongly believe utilities, among others must take a leadership role in educating the public about what is coming

• On  setting rates, most regulators acknowledge a need to develop new rate-making methodologies:
• Experience with decoupling is divided
• Disappointment prevails among those permitting decoupling
• On  the next generating plant:
• Regulators express definite preferences on the types of generation they encourage within their jurisdictions and the types they  discourage
• On volatile conditions in credit and capital markets:
• Regulators are divided about whether current conditions will continue, or whether conditions will go back to being more predictable as in the past
• On recovering costs for specific capital investments such as smart grid and other public policy initiatives:
• Regulator opinions divide between  relying on tracker/surcharges and the next general rate case

Questions cover a variety of other subjects including  permitting long-term supply contracts and hedging,  renewable portfolio standards  and reducing carbon footprint .