Industry ranks mobile-based communication as the most important development for outage communications
Although the utility industry has been slow to adopt certain technologies, the majority of utilities throughout the US and Canada now offer mobile apps. In fact, the utility industry has ranked mobile-based communication as the most important development for outage communications over the next five years.
Average customer ratings of utility apps are lower than those in comparable industries, but utilities on the Outage Communications Leadership Council are brainstorming ways to create more compelling user experiences and keep up with the speed of innovation.
The 55+ members of the Outage Communications Leadership Council met this week to discuss mobile apps and hear presentations from fellow utility members on what they’ve been working on in the field.
One member utility discussed its upcoming rollouts like one-touch outage reporting, real-time outage maps, personalized notifications, push alerts and more.
Another utility member with a more tenured app provided an update on its success and shared that its app is now the preferred channel for reporting outages during storms.
And that utility is not alone. Chartwell research found that customers prefer to pay their bill and receive outage alerts via mobile app. And customers who use their utility’s mobile app tend to be more satisfied with their utility.
The Outage Communications Leadership Council is an invaluable forum for its members.
But don’t just take our word for it.
“The council enables us to learn what works and what doesn’t directly from other utilities. Documentation of processes and procedures given to us by fellow council members has saved us incredible amounts of time and money.”
-Manager, mid-size western utility
Read the full success story to learn how this utility collaborated with its nearly 60 fellow council members to take its outage strategy to the next level quickly.
Interested in joining the next discussion?
Join your industry peers and leverage the collective brain power, expertise and first-hand experience of the best and brightest in outage communications.
