Dive Summary:

• Resolving customers' smart meter gripes involve a lot more than explaining away the problem, argues Arijit Mandal, the principal utility consultant for Infosys Limited.
• Rather, “consumer engagement needs to start well before one sees a smart meter in their home,” Mandal writes. “This can be done leveraging analytics commonly related to consumers or what they will be interested in.”
• Some of the nifty analytics involve having answers to different kinds of questions such as: ‘How much money can you [the consumer] save by participating in a demand response event?’and ‘What will my bill look like at the end of the month?’

From the article:
“A planned approach towards consumer engagement starts from within the utilities. Adequate change management to fully understand the smart metering and related changes is the first step. Thereafter it need to start consumer engagement using widely reached tools like bill inserts, mass marketing, kiosk, bill boards, etc. A phased communication approach aligned with the smart metering rollout is also necessary to provide meaningful communication to everyone.”