News articles 16.12.2021

Well-planned customer communication secured successful meter change in Oskarshamn

Replacing 12,500 electricity meters is not done in the blink of an eye. It requires cooperation, good planning and not least a well-thought-out customer communication. In Oskarshamn, communication started 1.5 years before the actual change to Aidon’s electricity meters. Once it was time, the project went very smoothly.

Hans Johnsson is marketing manager at Oskarshamn Energi and he is the one who has been responsible for customer communication in connection with the replacement of 12,500 electricity meters. The actual meter change was carried out practically by Aidon’s subcontractor Hydrostandard, from November 2020 to June this year.

Why did you start customer communication so far in advance?

We were careful to reach out to all our customers so that they would have an understanding of what the meter change is about: the reason for the change, and that it would not be perceived as something that you risk having to pay yourself or that would lead to increased network fees.

What information channels have you used?

Almost a year before the installations were to start, we started doing explanatory reports in our customer magazine that reach all our customers twice a year. We started small by informing in article form that there would be a meter change, why we are doing it, and so on. The closer we got to the change itself, the more concrete the information became.

We also used local radio advertising to inform that the meter change was underway and we worked consciously to get articles published in the local press to provide as much information as possible. The basic rule for communication is that when you are tired of it yourself, that is when it begins to have an effect.

Did you succeed? Were the customers prepared when it was time for the meter change?

Yes, now in retrospect it feels like we did exactly the right thing. When we started approaching the time when installation times for the meter change itself were booked, most people had already heard this several times. It came as no surprise.

I do not know how much Aidon’s or Hydrostandard’s customer service had to work, but my feeling is that we would have heard if it had not worked. We are more than happy with how it has gone.

How has the collaboration with Aidon worked?

The collaboration has worked flawlessly. It has been a very good collaborative climate where I believe that the key is that we have had a common goal and understanding that it is the end customer’s experience that is important. Our guys on the grid side have always solved any problems together with Aidon’s staff.

If you look at how big a project this is for a small organization like ours, I have to say that it is with praise approved. I would also like to say that Aidon has been very alert and responsive in the dialogue with us, and quick to change the few times something has gone wrong.