payment requirements, terms and accounting for future charges are challenges for a utility to consider. This workshop focuses on how to create mutually agreeable payment arrangements.

Risk Scoring to Manage Your Disconnect Strategy Ozgur Tuzcu, risk manager, DTE Energy Company

Detroit Edison has developed a scoring model to manage its non-payment disconnect strategy. Detroit Edison will present its detailed scoring model and describe the criteria that drive this process.

Making Debt Sales a Part of Your Recovery Strategy Cynthia M. Henry, director, collections, Orlando Utilities Commission

Deborah Everly, senior VP & chief acquisitions officer, Asset Acceptance Capital Corporation

This workshop provides an overview of the sale of non-performing accounts receivable. Learn the benefits, process and expectations to understand when selling charged-off debt.

Field Customer Service Concentrates on various aspects of field operations including outage management; materials management; mobile workforce management; GIS; communications architecture; GPS; broadband; dispatch; routing; and scheduling.

Field and Customer Service Integration Panel

John J. Simmins, applications manager, engineering & operations, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Sylvia T. Welch, applications manager, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Steve Halloran, NextGen program director, Aquarion Water Company

This workshop is a panel discussion focused on strategies for integrating field service operations with customer service.

Using Multiple Communication Channels to Communicate Outage Information

John H. Raftery, manager, customer system support & training, SCANA Corporation

John A. McCormick, systems program manager, Florida Power & Light Company

Outage communications using e-mail, pagers, text messages, cell phones and other communication channels is becoming an essential element of good customer service. This workshop will outline various methods, customer expectations, techniques and technology used to meet growing

customer demand.

Connecting the Field with the Office

Julia Hunt, director, water utilities, City of Arlington George Chauvin, software development director, Systems & Software, Inc.

Jeff Kleban, executive VP, Syclo

Mobile Work Management for today’s utilities brings a new perspective for field service productivity and efficiency. More and more utilities are benefiting from mobile workforce automation.

Impact of Mobile Dispatch on the Workforce

Sam D. Turner, Jr., vice president, business analysis, Jackson Energy Authority

Mike Hirst, mobile services manager, Montana-Dakota Utilities Company

The installation of computers in the field and their control by a mobile dispatch system are not necessarily welcomed by some utility field personnel. Learn how Jackson Energy Authority dealt with three district deployments of mobile dispatching and the lessons learned.

Work Management System and Vehicle Tracking: A Winning Combination

Fred Souza, project coordinator, City of Garland Water Utilities

Douglas Denniston, data integrator, City of Garland Water Utilities

Garland Water Utilities completed a three-year strategic plan positioning the utility as a technological leader in field operations support, office support and reporting to city officials. The utility’s work management system was developed as part of the strategic plan.

The Ongoing Transformation of Field Customer Services

Fred Dorow, president, Dynamic Consulting

This workshop will discuss how the leading utilities are addressing the business and regulatory drivers that impact field service.

Strategies and Management Provides information relating to plans, strategies, trends and management for all of the Customer Service Lifecycle.

Remote Workforce
Sylvia M. Arnold, director, customer service, CPS
Energy
Linda Gould, customer service integrations, Duke
Energy

Denise Hutchinson, manager, customer care center, APS

Utilities are moving more and more of their workforce offsite, primarily to work-from-home programs. This panel of three utilities presents the companies’ remote workforce programs.

What’s Hot in Customer Service? UtiliPoint’s S TAR Analysis Provides Ranking of the Marketplace

Jon T. Brock, president & COO, UtiliPoint International, Inc.

Ethan L. Cohen, senior director, UtiliPoint International, Inc.

Many utilities ask what’s happening in the marketplace. What’s going to happen with CIS consolidations and acquisitions? UtiliPoint will address these topics using primary market data dating back to 2001.

Customer Satisfaction - The Movers and Shakers Al Wunderlich, manager, market research, Omaha Public Power District

Lee Gabler, director, customer contact centers, Xcel Energy, Inc.

Each year, J.D. Power and Associates recognizes those electric utilities that have had the greatest net increase in their residential customer satisfaction score. This workshop will be presented by two companies that have recently experienced a significant increase in their customer satisfaction score.

CIS Project Success Do’s and Don’ts

Thomas L. Joaquin, senior vice president, operations, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.

Darren S. Yamamoto, manager, customer service, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.

Wayne Uehira, director, customer service department, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.

If your utility is contemplating a customer service system replacement or upgrade, it’s important for you to consider the Do’s and Don’ts of a CIS project. This presentation will provide the audience with valuable lessons learned from a successful CIS replacement project at the Hawaiian Electric Company.

2008 Expanding Excellence Award Winners: Best CIS Implementation

Representatives from the winning utilities will discuss their successful projects, offering other utility professionals an excellent opportunity to learn from the successes and innovations of their utility colleagues.

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