What the customer wants: Ontario Hydro focuses on selling value. not electricity. [demand side management - customer value]

Utilities have embraced demand-side management (DSM) for sound business reasons. After all, it is more expensive than ever to build power stations, yet the demands for electricity that accompany economic and population growth must be met. Many utilities, including Ontario Hydro, have concluded that the most economically viable way to being to provide for new customers is to help existing customers become more efficient. This has been made possible by rapidly changing technology that provides society with instruments that offer the same level of service while using less energy. Use of these technologies has been expedited in some jurisdictions by regulators who are rewriting the rules so that progressive, customer-oriented utilities can earn a return on investments to help customers increase efficiency. As DSM has evolved to become part of the core of the utility business -- joining delivery, planning, and engineering -- ways to promote it have become a greater part of utility activity. It is increasingly important for utilities to increase the prevalence of DSM measures. Customer value has been advocated by many as the way to achieve this goal. Ontario Hydro has concluded that a focus on the customer must go beyond marketing DSM. Instead, this focusmore » must drive a utility's activities as the industry moves from supplying energy to supplying energy services. DSM measures cannot be effective without broad public support because they require the participation of so many people. Electrical supply is generated at a small number of large sites, while improvements in efficiency must occur at countless thousands of sites. In fact, increasing regulatory and political intervention in the utility business and the growing number of options presented to customers have created an increasing need for broad public support for all utility activities. But this necessary public support will be forthcoming only if the public believes it is getting the best possible value.« less