Four CEOs on Innovation: Scott Prochazka

Tom Flaherty of Strategy& (PwC): How have you been driving innovation through the company in the last few years?

Scott Prochazka, CEO, CenterPoint Energy: For the past several years, our strategy has been operationally focused. We've been driven by a goal to enhance the customer experience.

In our electric business, with advanced metering and grid automation, as well as our customer care system, we've significantly enhanced our customer service.

We've reduced outages by twenty-five percent. Advanced metering enables us to see exactly where outages are located. The new customer care system then provides direct messaging to consumers. Our metered customers receive messages within minutes telling them we know their power is out. The notification also explains what the problem is, that we're sending our people to work on it, and estimated restoration times. Finally, we confirm that the work is done.

We've also introduced predictive analytics in our call centers. When we receive a call, the system will evaluate millions of pieces of data in real time. Then, it will start asking the customer questions, based on what we think they're calling for.

Tom Flaherty: Do you feel that these operational technologies have enabled a different customer experience, where the starting point for how you think about innovation is embedded within the company's vision?