Marty Watts, President & CEO, V-Kool Inc.

Many utility company Web sites are not very helpful to either residential or business customers seeking serious information about energy conservation.

Utility company Web sites often don't clearly identify energy conservation information, forcing the site visitor to search for what's available. Many utility Web sites scatter energy conservation information throughout the site instead of locating it centrally.

Though utilities position themselves as energy conservation experts, their sites often use ambiguous language and undefined terms in presenting conservation information. Many offer simple generalizations instead of serious and detailed advice. Apparently, some utilities believe that providing links to third-party Web sites absolves them of assuming the responsibility to adequately vet and brand the energy conservation information-dissemination function.

Why should these deficiencies in providing energy conservation information be important to utility companies? Because most consumers and many businesses turn first to their electric utility regarding information on energy conservation.

Inadequate Web site energy conservation information glaringly represents a utility's inability to provide adequate service on an issue most utilities publicly acknowledge as important and about which they claim to possess expertise. This is especially significant as surveys find that utility customers want detailed information about their energy use to control costs and improve efficiency.

Utility customers looking for energy conservation information from their utility may be particularly frustrated when sent to a third-party site. Customers expect their utility to be the expert. Why prove them wrong by sending them to somebody else's Web site?

Utility company decision makers need to do the following:

• Review the best existing utility Web site energy conservation information. Examples are PG&E, San Diego Gas & Electric and Florida Power & Light. Learn from the leaders and do what they are doing.
  
  
• Engage an outside energy consultant to provide the most recent information on products and technologies to save energy and an outside Web designer to present that information in the most user friendly way.
  
  
• Consider expanding rebates beyond stand-alone appliances to new construction and retrofit building materials. Lobby the relevant federal and state agencies to increase available funding to do so. For example, PG&E, Los Angeles Water & Power and Florida Power & Light have all offered rebates on energy efficient windows and window film.
  
  
• Proactively involve energy-savvy retailers and contractors in your service area in joint information dissemination and promotion. Customers want energy conservation information they can use, which means "where can I get it locally?"
  
  
• Actively seek opinions from residential and business customers about the effectiveness of your energy conservation Web pages and make changes accordingly. Invite feedback from relevant vendors of energy conservation products. Consider conducting customer and site visitor focus groups for additional input. Don't be afraid to engage outside consultants to manage the feedback process if in-house resources aren't up to the task. The cost will be far less than the pay back of increased customer satisfaction.

Upgrading your energy conservation Web pages will not only satisfy customer demand for serious and comprehensive energy conservation information, but it may also be the most convincing way to encourage increased customer online account management, thereby saving additional costs overall.

For more information contact V-Kool, a distributor of heat reflective window film, at 800-217-7046, or at www.v-kool-usa.com.