Customer Engagement or Capital Asset Management?

The spending list is certainly much longer for water utilities, but recently I've noticed two program areas receiving more attention in the media - Customer Engagement and Aging Infrastructure. So, given a limited budget to spend on these two areas alone, where should a utility focus its resources - maintaining customer relations, or spending on infrastructure?

Media

Taxonomy

• Infrastructure
• Value
• Willingness to pay
• Investments

3 Answers

1. I agree with you Greg. We must explain to customers the need to properly manage the assets. No infrastructure no service. Rates should include all costs of the service. Also the renewal of assets, although it may not be popular.

2. I would say "customer engagement" if only because there are crucial choices to be made about what sort of water services we want/need in future and preferring asset management here could risk assuming that we already know.

3. Customer engagement activities and actions to address aging water infrastructure must work hand-in-hand with one another. The cost of customer engagement is relatively low when compared to capital asset replacement costs. It is extremely important that customers become aware of the needs that are driving rate increases to fund infrastructure replacements. Creative approaches are required to grab the customers attention and then help them undertsand that water infrastructure replacements and improvements are essential to maintaining their standard of living.