Virtual Engagement During COVID-19

Although many utility implementation contractors are now developing and piloting virtual program delivery, Power TakeOff has been providing virtual and remote engagement since the company’s start in 2007 and is a foundational design of the company’s Virtual Commissioning™ (VCx™) Program. The benefits of this delivery model were innovative prior to COVID-19, but essential during the COVID-19 crisis. As the pandemic brought about changes to the way most businesses operate, the VCx™ Program was able to maintain our regular program delivery approach. This has proved to be especially useful as utility clients have temporarily suspended energy efficiency programs that require on-site personnel for administration, in an effort to address safety and health concerns. Interested customers were left without engagement and investment options.

But with VCx™, we could continue customer engagement and offer energy saving recommendations for the temporary COVID-19 shut down, in addition to the continual energy savings identified through the traditional VCx™ Program. We found that businesses are still able to be engaged during the pandemic through email with an increased reply rate of 2%, while phone engagement dropped by 10%. Through VCx™, we have identified a model that is a reputable combination of big data, machine learning analytics, and customer engagement that can offer energy savings support, even more so during times of need.