Segmentation, Unplugged

So, you’ve accepted that the “average household” doesn’t exist anymore. Good. That was last week’s homework. Welcome back! Today, let’s talk about what comes next: how segmentation actually works. Not in theory. Not in some consultant’s 200-slide deck. In practice.

Because let’s be honest, it’s one thing to nod along when someone says, “We need actionable segmentation!” It’s another to understand how you actually get from raw energy data to “here’s a household that owns an EV, is on the wrong tariff, that would probably happily switch if you just offered them smart charging at renewal.”

Step One: Spot the Assets

It starts with the home. Smart meter data tells you a lot more than just “how much.” By spotting patterns in load curves, you can tell whether a household has flexible assets like an EV, solar PV, or an electric heating system. That’s gold dust in the form of energy data. 

Because an EV isn’t just a car(*Tesla owner nods enthusiastically), it’s a spike in consumption that can add 2,000 – 5,000 kWh per year (IEA, 2020). A heat pump can double those winter peaks(snowy pun intended). A battery or PV system completely changes the rhythm of the household. 

Step Two: Model the Money, then follow it.

Next comes tariff impact modelling. Tariff what now? Translation: running the numbers. What would happen if this household moved from a flat tariff to a dynamic one? How much would they save? How much margin would you lose (or gain)?

This isn’t about theory – it’s about showing a customer, with confidence, “If you switch to Plan X, you’ll save €120 a year, and we’ll keep you as a happy customer.” Suddenly, renewals aren’t a churn risk; they’re an opportunity, and we love those, don’t we?! 

Step Three: Flex that flex

Here’s where it gets fun. Once you’ve mapped assets and run the tariff scenarios, you can go further: OPTIMISE! Imagine knowing not just that a customer owns an EV, but that if they charged it at 11pm instead of 6pm, they’d save another €80 a year. And you’d flatten your peak load. Win-win-win.

This is where demand-response and automation programs stop being buzzwords and start being a measurable value.

Some real-life examples to wrap it up.

Segmentation isn’t just a dashboard full of charts. It’s the reason you know to:

• Offer smart-charging bundles to EV owners stuck on slow Level 1 chargers (or worse, the ones pulling an extension cord from the kitchen, the horror…)
• Suggest insulation upgrades to homes with high kWh/m² and cold drafts.
• Recommend solar to households with heavy daytime loads but no panels.
• Create tariffs that actually fit, rather than one-size-fits-none.

That’s when segmentation stops being “just marketing” and becomes strategy. *Yes, Marketing, we know, you are already part of the strategy. 

The Takeaway on a Monday night 

How does segmentation work? By combining data detection, financial modelling, and optimisation into one flow. See the assets. Run the numbers. Suggest the right move at the right moment.

Utilities that do this don’t just run better campaigns; they run better businesses. Retention goes up. Churn goes down. Customers rush to tell their friends about their utility that really gets them. Ok, that last one might be a stretch, but ⅔ ain’t bad.

Next week, we’ll dive into what segmentation actually enables, from higher adoption to smarter grid balancing, and share real-life examples of how it plays out. Detection and modelling are only the beginning.

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