Enhancing stakeholders involvement by smart meters deployment campaign

Abstract

InovGrid is EDP’s global project for smart grids, which are key components of the European and national energy/climate policy towards a low-carbon energy future. During the year of 2015 over 145,000 smart meters were installed, reaching a cumulative total of 250,000 LV customers. Government bodies, local political stakeholders and civil society organizations are increasingly found to be partners in smart energy projects, because they seem better able to connect with the everyday social practices of end users. The municipalities are a very relevant stakeholder in EDPD strategy, considering not only dual role as a customer and local license granted authority, but also as legitimate representatives of communities with power to influence, positively or negatively, the perception of the company. To provide customers with a positive experience, we propose to build an integrated, staged messaging strategy that delivers appropriate information to the operational city officials as they move through the several stages of a communication process: build awareness, inform, educate, engage and advocate. This paper aims to find and explore tangible effects and intangible benefits, such as gaining image positioning, by turning to advantage the massive installation of smart meters.