APPA Introduces New Online Course by Apogee Interactive Targeting Customer Service and Energy Efficiency Skills.

ATLANTA -- The American Public Power Association (APPA) is helping the nation's more than 2,000 community- and state-owned electric utilities hone their customer service and energy efficiency skills with a unique online course developed by Apogee Interactive.

Funded in part by APPA's research program called Demonstration of Energy-Efficient Developments (DEED), an advisory team of APPA member utilities worked with Apogee to design this unique blend of core customer relations skills and energy efficiency education. The course is the latest addition to the association's eLearning library of more than 100 courses located on its Web site and hosted by Apogee.

"Excellent customer service often comes from solving customers' energy issues," said Kevin Cullather, Director of Education for APPA. "This course combines effective communication techniques with a complete tutorial on energy efficiency issues. Everything employees need to help residential and small business customers is at their fingertips, in a Web-based format," he said.

Clint Przymus, communications technology supervisor at Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and member of the Apogee/APPA course development team, recently piloted the course at NPPD. "We believe everyone at NPPD who deals with customers should take this course. It's technically accurate, informative and provides specific customer relations techniques our employees can immediately use."

Titled "Solving Customers' Energy Concerns," the course is modular in design, enabling employees to take it in small sections and at their own pace whenever call volume is slow or bad weather keeps field employees at their desks. Interactive exercises and quizzes enhance the learning process.

From active listening skills to how energy is measured, metered and billed, the course pulls together the essential knowledge and skills every utility employee needs when dealing with customers about energy. An online simulation of home energy-use enables students to test out various energy saving scenarios and see the direct impact on usage and cost.

"We're proud to be a part of APPA's mission to provide current, cost-effective and convenient training to its members," said Randy Edwards, eLearning Director for Apogee. "Their eLearning portal is an important vehicle in attaining that goal." He cited industry studies that show distance learning can reduce training time by 60 percent or more, increase retention rates by over 100 percent, and eliminate travel time and expenses altogether.

Apogee Interactive (www.apogee.net) is a leading provider of online solutions to the energy industry, having pioneered electronic learning in the early 90s. The company now operates the largest Web-based portal of specialized energy courses at www.study-center.com, hosts eLearning portals for a number of energy companies and associations like APPA, and provides custom course development.

APPA is the Washington, D.C.-based service organization for the nation's more than 2,000 community- and state-owned electric utilities that serve 43 million Americans.

Demonstration of Energy-Efficient Developments (DEED) is APPA's research program, dedicated to advancing the research interests and best practices of community- and state-owned electric utilities.