As the New Year is almost upon us, I want to take a moment to thank you for your support over the past year and wish you a very Happy New Year in 2026!
2026 will mark the fourth year I’ve been an independent consultant, helping utilities improve their business office operations and better serve their customers. I want to offer a heartfelt thank you to those of you who have engaged my services!
As a consultant, my specialty is business reviews – spending time onsite in your business office, observing and asking questions, to learn how your utility operates. Based on this, I present a report with recommendations as to how your office could operate more efficiently or follow best practices.
I can also assist with developing or updating your policy manual, conduct a fee analysis of your fee schedule, lead the software selection process for a new billing system, or manage the data conversion and implementation process to a new system.
If you are interested in exploring the benefits of a business review, or any of my other services, please give me a call at 919-673-4050 or email me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com.
Most popular blog posts
My five most popular blog posts for 2025 were:
- Paper bill fees
- Have you considered…?
- Door hangers – yea or nay?
- Are you taking phone credit card payments?
- Carrot or stick…?
Sixteen years!
2026 will mark 16 years of publishing the Utility Information Pipeline newsletter. Back in 2011, when I started this newsletter, I never could have imagined writing this many of them! Thank you for subscribing and reading, whether you’re a recent subscriber or if you’ve been here from the very first issue (and there are a few of you!).
As you might imagine, after nearly 16 years, coming up with new things to write about can be difficult. If you have an idea you would like me to write about in an upcoming newsletter, please let me know.
Utility Staffing Survey
2026 is an even-numbered year, which means it’s time for the Utility Staffing Survey again. You can see the results of previous Utility Staffing Surveys on my website. Keep an eye out for the 2026 Utility Staffing Survey invitation in an upcoming newsletter.
Speaking engagements
In 2025, I spoke at seven utility conferences or meetings. I already have three speaking engagements booked for 2026, and have applied for several others. You can always find my current speaking schedule in the sidebar of each Utility Information Pipeline newsletter or on the Speaking Engagements page of my website.
I really enjoy meeting new people and sharing my knowledge with them at these conferences. If you represent a utility trade association or serve on a selection panel responsible for selecting speakers for an event, please reach out to me.
New year’s resolutions and goals
Wishing you and yours the best for 2026!
If one of your goals for 2026 is to improve your utility business office operation, please give me a call at 919-673-4050, or email me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com to find out how a business review could help you accomplish your goals.
© 2025 Gary Sanders