I often get asked, “what should I focus on when starting out with smart meters to deliver the most value?” I get a look of surprise when I say “contain costs.”
People expect me to start reeling off benefits like reducing their cost to serve, increasing the profitability of existing customers, or generating new revenue. The fact is, the transformation to a smart meter enabled operation is hard, almost every way you work today has to change, or at least it should if you are building the right foundations. The transformation is even more challenging if you take many years to fully transition as you’re running dual operations (but that’s a blog post for another day).
To get the most from your smart metering investments I look at the following five stages of maturity:
- containing costs
- reducing costs
- improving experience
- leveraging behind-the-meter technologies
- automating
You don’t have to follow these in strict order, but I do always recommend you start with containing your costs. There are so many ways costs can spiral out of control and not only destroy your business case but hurt your operations for many years.
Over the coming weeks, I will provide insights into each stage so you can get the most from your investments and avoid common pitfalls.
Which stage of maturity describes where you are at?
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