A Philosophy of Customer Service: PG&E’s Approach to Serving Customers, with a Special Focus on Commercial Accounts

PG&E has one of the highest number of customer accounts of any utility in the United States. Deborah will share a personal account of her career in customer service and discuss the philosophy of PG&E with regards to working with its customers, with a particular emphasis on commercial accounts. Commercial customers (retail, food retail, food service, hospitality) represent close to $1B dollars in annual revenues for PG&E. This customer segment provides essential services to the customers and communities PG&E serves and is a critical part of everyday living in CA. Energy costs are a significant part of their overall operating expenses.

Deborah T. Affonsa is Vice President, Customer Service for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. She is currently working on strategic initiatives impacting the company’s 5.4 M customers. Most recently, she was responsible for the company's contact center operations, local customer service offices, business customer account management and demand side management sales, relations with third party energy service providers, customer education for PG&E's most impactful work and initiatives, and escalated customer relations, and for the Customer Care organization.

Her previous role at Pacific Gas and Electric Company was Vice President, Corporate Strategy, reporting to the president. Prior to joining Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Affonsa held the position of Senior Director, Corporate Strategy and Development, for its holding company, PG&E Corporation. Affonsa has additional experience in the utility industry, serving as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, for Community Energy, Inc., a privately held, start-up, wind energy company. Prior to that, Affonsa was Chief Operating Officer and Director, New Business Development, for Marketing Crossroads, Inc.; Director, Strategic Planning, for Exelon Corporation; and Vice President and Director, Sales, for Exelon Energy.

Affonsa holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Villanova University and a Masters in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania. She also successfully participated in the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program in 2000.