Welcome to Your New Expert Interview Series: Madhu Reddy, New Expert in the Digital Utility Group – [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Expert Interview]

The utility sector is rapidly evolving, with digital transformation and customer-centric strategies taking center stage. As utilities modernize operations and meet the rising demands of sustainability and customer engagement, leaders must align cutting-edge technology with ever-changing market needs. Because this sector is fast-pacedr, Energy Central constantly looks to highlight our Network of Experts, especially in the Digital Utility Community.

With that in mind, we’re excited to introduce Madhu Reddy, Head of Customer Service and Smart Metering Practice at Wipro, as a new Energy Central Expert Network member. With over 20 years of experience in utilities consulting, solution architecture, and digital transformation, Madhu drives Wipro’s cloud partnerships and utility business growth globally.

In this interview, Madhu shares his journey through the utilities industry, the transformative power of cloud solutions, and the critical role customer experience plays in a successful energy transition.

Matt Chester: Thanks for agreeing to join our Expert Network, the exclusive club of members who share their deep insights, answer questions, and get more involved in elevating the Energy Central Community. To best highlight why you’re a fit for this, let’s  share a bit about your background, how you got involved in this industry, and your role with Wipro.

Madhu Reddy: I currently lead Wipro’s Utilities Domain and Consulting practice, which is keenly focused on customer experience, metering, and billing. My journey in the utilities sector began over two decades ago, marking the start of an alignment with significant industry milestones and transformations. Throughout these years, I participated in transformation projects with utilities, delivering landmark industry initiatives. These include the deregulation and unbundling of utilities in Europe and Australia during the 2000s, the deployment of enterprise platforms aimed at transforming asset, work, customer, metering, and billing processes, as well as the rollout of Smart Metering initiatives.

In recent years, my primary focus has been on leveraging cloud solutions to spearhead transformations in customer experience, metering, and billing for utilities. This strategic pivot reflects our commitment to adopting cutting-edge technologies to meet the evolving needs of the utilities sector, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of innovation and efficiency. My journey has involved driving change and excellence in the utilities industry, underpinned by a deep understanding of its complexities and a vision for its future.

MC: At Wipro, you focus on evolving cloud partnerships. How do you see cloud solutions transforming how utilities operate, and what advantages do they offer over traditional infrastructure?

MR: At Wipro, our focus on evolving cloud partnerships is pivotal to our strategy of integrating cloud solutions to transform utilities operations. We have created a bouquet of partnerships to address utilities’ specific processes.

The industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, primarily driven by the imperative to deliver energy transition and achieve sustainability goals. As utilities navigate towards these objectives, the necessity for tools and technology that can seamlessly onboard and integrate diverse and complex solutions that provide capabilities around customer experience (CX), electric vehicles, renewable resources, energy efficiency, and grid flexibility becomes paramount. These tools must also foster agility, scalability, and security.

Leveraging traditional technologies to deliver these solutions would not only be a complex and technologically challenging task in terms of systems design and integration but would also be capital intensive. In contrast, cloud technology provides a proven ecosystem of technologies such as analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), General AI, and Augmented Reality (AR), along with industry-specific solutions for customers, assets, and grid management. These can be more easily integrated and scaled to accommodate the complex processes and large data sets that utilities manage.

Moreover, the cloud environment facilitates easy access to innovation. A number of technology players are developing and offering innovative, utility-specific solutions across customer service, products, assets, and grid operations, all hosted on the cloud. This enables utilities to become more agile and significantly enhances their customer experience, asset performance, and grid operations. Ultimately, cloud solutions empower utilities to accelerate energy transition and enhance customer experiences.

MC: What role does customer experience play in the success of a utility’s digital transformation strategy, especially as energy consumers become more environmentally conscious and tech-savvy?

MR: Onboarding customers to the concept of energy transition and equipping them with the tools to understand its benefits and subscribe to products that drive energy transition plays a critical role in the success of energy transition efforts by utilities. The need for customer engagement and an exceptional customer experience has never been more critical for utilities. Their interactions with consumers goes beyond energy consumption products to include energy efficiency products, renewables, Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), grid flexibility products, and other innovative non-wire products.

It is  accepted that the customer experience provided by utilities impacts their reputation, fosters customer loyalty, enhances operational efficiency, and increases customer lifetime value. Furthermore, in the current energy transition scenario, the products and customer experiences delivered by utilities can either accelerate or impede the energy transition. It is essential for utilities to recognize the importance of customer experience in driving the energy transition, ensuring that their offerings exceed customer expectations in this evolving landscape.

MC: How is the relationship between utilities and their customers changing due to digitalization, and what technologies will most impact this shift?

MR: As the energy transition takes root, the relationship between utilities and their customers is rapidly transforming. Customers and communities are increasingly generating energy through renewable sources and supplying it to the grid. They are also starting to own batteries that provide important sources of flexibility in grid operations. Gradually, customers are becoming embedded in the operational aspects of the grid. Consequently, the product offerings from utilities are evolving to include elements of renewables, DERs, sustainability, and flexibility products.

The technologies that will significantly impact on this shift are those that enhance customer engagement and experience. Integrated communication channels and well-integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are crucial for seamless interaction between utilities and their customers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms that improve customer service and data platforms that democratize data and insights for a large customer base are pivotal in enhancing the customer experience. Additionally, AI platforms that enable the optimization of customer investments in the energy transition and platforms that aggregate customers’ and communities’ energy resources to maximize returns will play a vital role in this transformation.

These technologies facilitate a more interactive and responsive relationship between utilities and their customers and empower customers to play an active role in the energy ecosystem. This shift towards a more collaborative and participatory model  departs from the traditional utility-customer dynamic, paving the way for a more sustainable and flexible energy future.

MC: What do you hope to get from interacting with the Energy Central community? What insights and lessons do you hope to share with your peers on the platform?

MR: I hope to contribute to and benefit from the knowledge that this vibrant community of experts possesses. This community monitors the utilities industry we are passionate about, making it an ideal platform for sharing experiences, learnings, and viewpoints. My primary goal is to educate, validate, and learn alongside the community members.

My focus is to put forward the idea that our industry is in the midst of unprecedented change, primarily aimed at delivering energy transition. I believe that customer engagement and experience need to be addressed as part of this transition. By sharing this perspective, I hope to spark meaningful conversations and debates.

Moreover, I am eager to hear and exchange ideas on how utilities can achieve a multi-fold improvement in customer engagement and experience. The insights and lessons I hope to share with my peers revolve around strategies, technologies, and practices that can enhance the way utilities interact with their customers, facilitating a smoother transition toward sustainable energy solutions. Through this exchange of ideas, I aim to contribute to the collective understanding and advancement of the industry.

________________________________________

Thanks to Madhu for joining me for this interview and providing a wealth of insights and expertise to the Energy Central Community. You can trust that Madhu will be available for you to connect and answer questions as an Energy Central member, so be sure to make him feel welcome when you see him across the platform.

Other expert interviews in this series can be read here, and if you are interested in becoming an expert, you can reach out to me or  apply here