Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Publication
    Identification of Customer Preferences for New Service Development in the Electricity Domain
    (IEEE Computer Society, 2014-07-14) ; ; ;
    Proper, Henderik A.
    ;
    Ralyté, Jolita
    ;
    Marchand-Maillet, Stéphane
    ;
    Lin, KJ
    The electricity domain is currently facing fundamental change on both, the production and the distribution side. In order to compete on this fast changing market, there is a high need for differentiation possibilities of the electricity suppliers as e.g., through new and innovative services. To set the right incentives to customers and offer them the right value propositions, beside a sound knowledge of the customer preferences also the involvement of the customers in the new service development process by means of co-creation is of high importance. This paper contributes to the new service development process in the electricity domain through the identification of customer segments and customer preference relations, represented by respective utility functions. The main findings presented are the results of a choice based conjoint analysis with a total of 107 respondents executed in order to gather the said customer's preferences regarding possible new future services. The customer segmentation was carried out with latent class. The analysis is embedded in a research framework that uses a multi-method approach with a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, integrating the customers by means of co-creation.
    Scopus© Citations 3
  • Publication
    Effects of Demand Charging and Photovoltaics on the Grid
    Due to the integration of renewable energies, the electricity grid is confronted with new peak situations that are caused by the new power plants. Beside these threats new metering technologies combined with information systems enable new pricing options that were not affordable for retail customers before. This paper contributes to the field by combining demand charging incentives with a feed in tariff for photovoltaics. Demand charges are a broadly used pricing concept for large scale and industrial customers but are not used for retail customers yet. In a simulation we first of all show the impact of solar plants on the grid. Secondly, we simulate the shift in electricity demand caused by a demand charge for retail customers. Our simulation shows that the solar panels reduce the purchased quantity of electricity while leaving the maximum peak unchanged. This leads to reduced revenues for grid operators without changing the costs. This negative impact can be improved by the demand charge for retail customers.
    Scopus© Citations 4
  • Publication
    Towards an Innovative Service Development Process in the Electricity Industry
    (Springer, 2013-06-11) ; ; ;
    Vom Brocke, Jan
    ;
    Hekkala, Riitta
    ;
    Ram, Sudha
    ;
    Rossi, Matti
    The electricity industry is currently confronted with regulatory and technological change that leads to fundamental transformation of the value propositions and innovation processes of enterprises. New services are one possibility to compete in the new market environment. This paper proposes a service development process for the electricity industry that builds up on existing approaches. The process model was developed by means of an embedded research framework that combines qualitative and quantitative methods in a multi method approach. A first evaluation of the process was conducted with a partner of the electricity industry in Switzerland. Potential service areas resulting from literature research, expert interviews (N=19), and an Open Space event with lead customers (N=33) build the basis for a choice based conjoint study. Potential services could already be identified in a pretest study. The paper shows that co-creation with customers and experts, enables the service innovation process.
    Scopus© Citations 2
  • Publication
    Service Innovation in the Energy Sector - Mapping Tariff Model Options and Metering Technology Potentials
    ( 2012-09-19) ; ;
    Poels, Geert
    The electricity industry has become increasingly complex during the last years. Value is more and more co-created by customers and utilities e.g. with solar panels and no longer a unidirectional task of utilities. In addition more and more countries liberalized their electricity market during the last years and force an unbundling. In such an environment services are the main differentiation possibility of utilities in the competition. This paper presents a matrix that shows which tariffs are enabled or disabled by metering technologies. It therefore contributes to the design of services and the interaction between utilities and their customers. The paper includes furthermore an exemplary application of the mapping for the three regions: Germany, California and Italy.