There’s so much behind your statement “For the last 50 years, utility companies have not been in the business of developing relationships with their customers, educating them, or engaging in meaningful dialogue.” I think it’s safe to say that Smart grid requires a sea change in the way utilities think about their “rate payers,” and I’m glad to see/hear more and more buzz about utilities recognizing the importance of the user experience.

someone at the Smart Energy Summit (might have been Tim Woods of Poco Labs) said to the audience something like “these elegant interfaces & solutions took a huge amount of research.” it’s true — it takes a lot of effort to deliver a great user experience. The simplicity of an intuitive and relevant user experience often masks a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the process of arriving at an elegant solution.

Like you, I think the OPower folks are onto something incredibly powerful, which in my mind is the gold standard of an elegant solution for motivational data visibility.

In my work, I help companies figure out this user experience. For data visibility, for customer communications, etc. The beauty of OPower’s solution (in addition to the brilliantly simple smiley and neighborhood comparisons) is it’s low-tech reach.

Customers don’t have to be standing at their computer, remembering passwords and spending precious spare-time investigating their energy usage online (few will do this). Instead, I can take 60 seconds in my kitchen as I start dinner, rip open my mail, and learn something relevant. and maybe even be near other family members to share and start a dialogue about household consumption. Brilliant.

I am passionate about User Experience. I’m passionate about Smart Grid. If you are passionate about these things, I hope you will join our growing group on LinkedIn: Smart Grid User Experience. just search under groups and you’ll find us.