If you’ve ever used the Internet or if you’re into cars, chances are you’ve heard the name Elon Musk. While you may be thinking it’s a name for a cologne that came out in the 70s, he’s a primary reason our clients have been so focused on understanding the desirability for these space age (get it?) vehicles and how best to service and incentivize people to purchase them.
Take Fast-Track To Creating A Strategic Plan That Works
Like your public power peers, you must map out your utility’s future through a rocky terrain. But you don’t have much time or the budget to commit to an elaborate endeavor. That’s why Hometown Connections has perfected a simple technique for evaluating your operations and determining your priorities and goals for the next five years. Our facilitators will lead your team through a process to assist you in solidifying a clear and unified future direction for your utility.
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Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research: Both Should Drive Strategic Action
Just like in sports, it never hurts to review the fundamentals of market research. We toss around the terms quantitative and qualitative like our younger brothers after watching an episode of WWE, but what exactly is the difference?
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Digital Engagement Boosts Financial Performance Of Municipal Utilities
Municipal utilities that engage digitally with their customers throughout the year boost customer satisfaction and financial results, explained Apogee Interactive’s Chief Financial Officer, Jim Malcom, and Ellen Richardson, formerly of ElectriCities of Georgia, during a recent industry conference. In a presentation for the American Public Power Association’s 2020 Business and Financial Virtual Conference, Malcom and Richardson emphasized the importance of not limiting customer communications to times of outage or crisis. Happy customers, they said, are more likely to participate in programs, buy more services, and are more cost-efficient to serve. Satisfied customers are less likely to adopt disruptive technologies like rooftop solar rather than support community solar projects sponsored by the utility.
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Give Your Board or City Council Primer on Public Power Governance
To provide an easy-to-read manual for municipal utility governing officials and managers, the American Public Power Association published the Policymakers Handbook: A Nuts and Bolts Guide to Governance for Public Power. Written by Steve VanderMeer of Hometown Connections, Inc., this overview explains governance duties and responsibilities, strategies for effective oversight and planning, and the benefits of being a public power community.
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Increase Productivity & Positivity in the Workplace
With continuous change in our industry, there’s a lot for everyone to do, and success depends on each member of the team working together like a well-oiled machine. Sometimes personality differences and interpersonal dynamics can derail projects and productivity. With Totally Responsible Person® (TRP®) training from Hometown Connections, Inc., each of your team members will learn to stay positive, productive, and effective, no matter the circumstances.
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SAGE Development Authority Seeking Crowdfunding for New 235-Megawatt Wind Farm to Benefit the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
SAGE Development Authority, the first public power authority owned by a single Native nation in the United States, announced the launch of a new crowdfunding initiative — www.anpetuwi.com — marking the next phase of development for its 235-megawatt wind farm named Anpetu Wi. The wind farm will be located on the Standing Rock Reservation, outside of Fort Yates, N.D., home to the Lakota & Dakota people of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST). The project represents a community development model to produce renewable energy that offers a path toward self-determination and sovereignty for Standing Rock and other Native nations. No tribally-owned public power project in the U.S. has achieved this level of development to date for a utility-scale wind farm.
Microgrids 101: Give Your Customers And Community A Reliable Source of Power
Power outages are intolerable. Paying peak period energy prices is painful. Microgrids offer an attractive solution to both of these challenges. Today’s innovative microgrid electric systems deliver standby power generation to commercial/industrial accounts, entire neighborhoods, and even the utility itself. Choosing to deploy microgrids can give your utility customers the reliable, resilient, and cost-effective electric services they demand.
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Utilities Get Good Marks for COVID-19 Response
When the pandemic first emerged, Apogee Interactive conducted a survey asking their utility clients to identify their biggest challenges. The most common answer was communicating with their customers, followed by the need to assist customers financially. In response, Apogee offered its personalized video messaging service AT NO COST to any clients that would like to deploy it. And fortunately, many of them stepped up and leveraged the solution.
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Public Power 101 Webinar Series Covers Benefits and Challenges of Community-owned Utilities
Join this two-part series by the American Public Power Association to learn about the unique benefits and challenges facing the public power business model, and discuss strategies for the future. Learn what gives public power communities an edge and how we can continue to thrive and serve our communities well amid multiple disruptive trends. Led by Tim Blodgett, President & CEO of Hometown Connections, Inc.