Public power utilities are uniquely positioned to lead in creating enhanced customer service and satisfaction, as well as communicating with their customers, Scott Corwin, President and CEO of the American Public Power Association, said this week at APPA’s Customer Connections Conference in Nashville, Tenn.
If properly nourished, public power’s community connection is its greatest strength, made stronger by learning from colleagues at conferences such as the Customer Connections Conference, he noted.
Public power utilities are focused on finding ways of proving the value of their service every day in communities, Corwin said.
The topics addressed at the conference -- smart energy and innovation, customer service and satisfaction, key accounts and communications – and the work done by public power officials around those areas -- have never been more important, he pointed out.
The public power ethic starts with being a part of the community and caring for the people in communities. “Those are shared values: care and service. Those envelop not only our actions, but how we communicate and tell our story,” he said.
APPA has adopted the values of service, respect, accountability and collaboration as the framework for “how we work to pursue what we work for: enabling you to provide affordable and reliable power to all,” he said.
“If your operations staff are the front lines of the physical side of the work, you all are critical as the link between the community and those managing the strategy for how your utilities deliver on that mission.”
Corwin also highlighted the need for public power to not shy away from finding creative ways to talk about the value of electricity itself.
He pointed out that electricity has gotten complex and that it takes large investments “to create, to move, to protect from harm, to deliver safely and consistently. It is a valuable commodity, not just because of the demand for it, but because of what it takes now to supply it.”
Public power is creating new ways to connect and enhance the appreciation of customers and the next generation of employees for what it actually takes to provide this critical service, he said.
