Clear your calendar. This is going to be big.

CLEAResult Energy Forum

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Austin, TX

CLEAResult Energy Forum is a two-day conference jam-packed with dynamic speakers, networking and events focused on all things energy. Join CLEAResult clients, utility leaders and other energy professionals from around the world as we explore solutions for empowering your customers, discuss emerging tech trends and prepare for the future of our rapidly changing industry — all in the heart of one of the country’s most exciting cities.

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Agenda

Monday, 10.9

  1. 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm

    Arrival | Registration
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  2. 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

    Welcome reception
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Tuesday, 10.10

  1. 7:00 am – 8:15 am

    Registration | Breakfast
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  2. 8:15 am – 8:30 am

    Welcome
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  3. 8:30 am – 9:00 am

    Keynote: Aziz Virani, CLEAResult

    “From energy as a commodity to energy as a service: Giving customers more of what they want and enabling utility growth”

    CEO and President Aziz Virani welcomes attendees to the 2017 CLEAResult Energy Forum with a keynote on how utilities can incorporate what your customers want (convenience, control and connectedness) with the much–needed services you already provide in order to mutually benefit.

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  4. 9:00 am – 10:00 am

    Keynote
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  5. 10:00 am – 10:30 am

    Break
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  6. 10:30 am – 11:30 am

    • EE in today’s political climate: New policies, new possibilities

      Given the erratic early months of the current administration, how are utilities coping with the pervasive uncertainty about energy policy? What’s the best response? How is federal action or inaction impacting the states?

      • Malcom Woolf Advanced Energy Economy
      • Sue Gander National Governors Association
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    • DR shifting to DERs: Opportunities and challenges

      Is demand response grid management too narrowly focused on load shed? Should utilities and regulators look to a more comprehensive load management approach powered by distributed energy resources? How will the emergence of the Internet of Things impact load management? We’ll discuss these questions and present key takeaways from the DER-centric approaches taken by early adopters.

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  7. 11:30 am – 12:00 pm

    Break
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  8. 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

    • Customer loyalty: Beyond customer satisfaction and J.D. Power scores
      Simply tracking satisfaction scores isn’t a good indicator of business health. Customer loyalty can be a far more accurate metric, but it’s not a quick turnaround process. In this session, you’ll gain a better understanding of the drivers of customer loyalty, and the steps utilities can take to both track and improve it.
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    • Smart homes: From DSM programs to resilient communities

      With our industry moving fast toward connected homes and the Internet of Things, utilities are looking more and more for the infrastructure models of the future. We’ll bridge the gap between market solutions cropping up organically and hear directly from a future-model smart home builder.

      • Franck Rougier Kirio
      • Steve Weise Leading Force Energy & Design Center
      • Emily Kemper CLEAResult
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  9. 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

    Lunch
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  10. 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

    Utility executive panel: Managing a changing industry
    What will the future of our industry look like? What are utilities doing in the face of ongoing change? Hear the answers to these questions and more directly from leading energy executives.
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  11. 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

    • Influencer marketing: Who’s driving your brand message?

      In this session, you’ll learn how to identify social influencers, incorporate them into your overall marketing strategy and reach younger generations with your brand’s message.

      • Rebecca McCuiston Edelman
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    • Reimagining DSM through the lens of metered efficiency

      Not all utilities have smart meters, but every utility has billing data. Using this data to effectively “meter” energy efficiency, we can gain near real-time feedback on the performance of a program. We’ll discuss this, as well as the opportunities metered efficiency introduces — from measuring savings by housing stock to incorporating performance incentives for high performing contractors.

      • Matt Golden Open EE Meter
      • Colin Gibbs CLEAResult
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  12. 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm

    Break
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  13. 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm

    • Marketing automation: Unleashing the power of customized customer communications
      With so much information bombarding customers from every direction, how can we ensure that the right message reaches the right customer through the right channel? Marketing automation affords utilities the opportunity to create omni- and cross-channel programs that engage customers and result in greater customer satisfaction and marketing ROI.
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    • Smart building technologies: Unlocking new, cost-effective solutions
      Get smart about smart building tech! Learn about current options on the market today, and multi-step smart building solutions — from pilot to fully implemented and scaled program. By leveraging smart building technologies in combination with proven efficiency measures, we can unlock more cost-effective solutions for commercial and industrial markets.
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  14. 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

    Break
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  15. 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

    Cocktails | Dinner | Music
    Parkside on historic 6th Street
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Wednesday, 10.11

  1. 7:30 am – 8:30 am

    Breakfast | Networking
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  2. 8:30 am – 8:45 am

    Welcome | Day 1 Recap
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  3. 8:45 am – 9:45 am

    Keynote: Adam Alter

    “Beyond the bottom line: Customer centricity”

    New York Times bestselling author Adam Alter, an NYU professor, presents actions you can take to have more effective communication with your customers. Alter is a former TED speaker and an expert on understanding and predicting customer behavior.

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  4. 9:45 am – 10:15 am

    Break
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  5. 10:15 am – 11:15 am

    • Customer engagement: A deep dive through the data
      Providing customers with the tools and information to make informed decisions makes customer engagement easy. In this session, we’ll use data to increase participation, improve customer relations and position utilities as helpful, knowledgeable resources.
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    • Getting the rules right: Regulatory innovation in 2017 and beyond

      Learn what some states are doing to align utility regulations with state policy goals, like energy efficiency — improving utility prospects along the way. We’ll explore the innovations in key states that are leading to greater system efficiency, lower costs, greater shareholder value and happier customers.

      • Manish Rukadikar DTE Energy
      • Phil Nevel ComEd
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  6. 11:15 am – 11:45 am

    Break
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  7. 11:45 am – 12:45 pm

    • Increasing EV market share: Overcoming the barriers to adoption

      While electric vehicles could save low-to-moderate income populations a substantial amount of money in fuel and maintenance, market barriers such as upfront costs and a lack of awareness has stifled their adoption. Find out how programs are addressing these issues, how utilities can help increase EV adoption within low-to-moderate income communities and how rates can be designed to accommodate these customers.

      • Ken Colburn Regulatory Assistance Project
      • Tom Ashley Greenlots
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    • From city buses to the VW settlement: What’s next for NGVs (natural gas)

      Sherri Marrow NGV America

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    • Utility program case study (natural gas)

      Jennifer Dennis SEMCO

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  8. 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm

    Lunch
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  9. 1:45 pm – 2:45 pm

    • Grid modernization: Incorporating smart technologies

      Efforts to modernize the grid focus primarily on transmission and distribution technologies. But what about behind-the-meter solutions? And how might they be used to create lower costs, higher reliability, better regulatory outcomes and, ultimately, happier customers?

      • Joanne O’Neill Pacific Gas & Electric
      • Shawn White Xcel Energy
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    • Gas-centric industrial market: How to cultivate deeper engagement (natural gas)

      Natural gas prices often make it difficult for gas efficiency projects to compete with electric projects vying for the same capital. Add to this the fact that much of the low hanging fruit is gone, it’s more important than ever to create a novel, comprehensive approach to gas program implementation.

      • Darren Hanway SoCal Gas
      • Laura Cummings CLEAResult
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    • Utility program case study (natural gas)

      James Jerozol Nicor Gas

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  10. 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm

    • Exploring new approaches to pre-pay and low-income program designs
      There are various models for low-income program delivery, and each of them works with varying degrees of success. We’ll discuss these. And could a pre-pay model work for you and your customers? Learn about this radical new method for payment and collection, and its behavioral EE applications.
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    • Challenges and benefits of EE: A C&I customer panel discussion
      Utility customers in the commercial and industrial sector have a wide range of existing and future energy efficiency needs. By removing barriers and giving utilities an opportunity to ask questions of their C&I customers, this panel will attempt to build stronger and more productive relationships, and a better overall experience for C&I customers.
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  11. 3:45 pm – 4:00 pm

    Closing remarks
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Keynote speakers

Portait of Adam Alter

Adam Alter

New York Times bestselling author and New York University professor

Session Description

Adam Alter explores how businesses can better understand and predict the behavior of their customers. In this talk, he’ll provide a deeper look at how customers think and what motivates them, pulling in his teaching at NYU on marketing and psychology to provide a unique point of view on customer empowerment. After explaining the features of consumer psychology, Alter will present a series of interventions that enable companies to communicate with customers more effectively and compellingly.

Bio

Adam Alter is the author of “Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked,” a groundbreaking study of how new, tech-based products and experiences are so hard to ignore. He spoke on this topic at the famous TED2017 in Vancouver recently. Alter has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, WIRED, Slate, The Huffington Post and Popular Science, among other publications.

He is an Associate Professor of Marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business, with an affiliated appointment in the NYU Psychology Department. His academic research focuses on judgment and decision-making and social psychology, with a particular interest in the sometimes surprising effects of subtle cues in the environment on human cognition and behavior.

Portait of Aziz Virani

Aziz Virani

CEO and President, CLEAResult

Session Description

What do utility customers want? For well over a century, the answer was simple: safe, reliable and affordable access to energy. But now, many customers want more. In his keynote speech, CLEAResult CEO and President Aziz Virani will discuss what it means for utilities to build on the pillars of safe, reliable and affordable energy, by adding convenience, control, connectedness and clean options. He’ll share how doing this can lower costs, increase system efficiency and provide growth opportunities for utilities.

Bio

Aziz is a seasoned executive with more than three decades of experience helping companies and their clients use technology to achieve results. As a recognized leader in management consulting, Aziz balances CLEAResult’s focus between managing today’s challenges and setting our strategic outlook for tomorrow, all while keeping our clients at the center of every decision we make.

Prior to CLEAResult, Aziz served as Area President for Avanade, a technology consulting joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft. Aziz holds degrees in mathematics and computer science from DePaul University.

New digs, same city.

Located in the heart of Austin’s vibrant live music scene, the Westin Downtown Austin Hotel makes the perfect new home for Energy Forum. The modern, 4-star hotel boasts exceptional service and accommodations, Austin-inspired art and amenities, and the city’s tallest hotel rooftop pool and bar.

Book Your Room Now

Austin After Dark

After a day at Energy Forum, catch up with your colleagues for a night out at Parkside. Located within walking distance of the Westin, the farm-to-table restaurant is famous for its sustainable dining and extensive cocktail menu. In addition to food and drink, we’ll have live music, dancing and revelry of all kinds. Join us out on the patio deck for an unbeatable view of Austin’s historic Sixth Street. We’ll see you there!