As much as advanced metering is the prepayment enabler, a utility’s ability to tackle customer centric issues will often come down to the performance of its back office billing system.

Prepayment billing systems are now as relevant as the meter

We know cost is only one of several barriers to prepayment metering uptake. The need to address regulatory and social concerns is just as pertinent.   As much as advanced metering is the prepayment enabler, a utility’s ability to tackle customer centric issues will often come down to the performance of its back office billing system. Prepay billing and supporting CRM capabilities should include:

• Embedded CRM - Accurately capturing the details of all potential prepay customers and determining their suitability before they make that switch, is crucial if high risk self-disconnection is to be avoided. Systems with preconfigured call scripts facilitate identification of vulnerable and medically dependent customers, and other information to assist with determining prepayment suitability. The details of the financial counsellor or welfare agency contacts can be linked to each account where required for hardship grants or similar schemes. Capturing and ensuring the continued accuracy of email and mobile contacts for low credit alerts also becomes systematic.

• Flexible Rules Engine - With many utilities running one billing system for multiple jurisdictions or states, the different regulatory rules surrounding prepay customers must also be supported. A system with a flexible rules based engine enables utilities to attribute the correct trial periods, debt recovery caps and “disconnection not allowed” periods to each customer. Regulatory guidelines can be easily configured, updated and due process automatically followed with flags raised for manual intervention as required. Such flexibility can also be used to run special prepay promotions for a restricted period to grow market share or customer value.  For example, a consumer could receive extra credit if they opt for dual fuel or purchase other products via their energy retailer.

• Interoperability - One of the criticisms of existing prepayment meters has been the difficulty many customers have in accessing available energy hardship grants. With the billing and collections systems having a direct interface with welfare agencies, local authorities and other third parties, such as Centrelink (http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/home/index.htm) in Australia, any monies can be automatically credited to prepaid accounts directly, and information to support grant applications is easily accessible. Integration with other payment processing, billing and credit management systems used by the utility is essential to ensure information is shared across the entire organisation to support stronger decision making and prepay customer services.

• Flexible Tariff Handling - In the UK in particular, many consumers proactively opt for a prepayment meter as a budgeting and consumption management tool, even if they aren’t in debt to their supplier. But these consumers still demand a competitive and transparent energy tariff. A system that allows utilities to quickly modify and update tariffs will ensure they can compete for prepaid customers.

THE BARRIERS ARE, AT LAST, COMING DOWN

In the clamber to justify smart metering investment, attention has tended to focus on estimating potential energy efficiency gains and meter reading cost reductions.  The benefits of using advanced metering infrastructure to both recoup debt and prevent further arrears have been largely overlooked.

But as smart meter deployment ramps up across many regions, utilities are beginning to investigate the role this technology can play in providing a customer friendly, competitive, prepay supply option. They will discover that leveraging their smart meter investment will dramatically reduce the cost of prepay supply. However, it will become apparent that it will be the type of back office billing, CRM and collections system deployed that will determine the relative success of any prepay offering.

Certainly there are billing systems that can handle both post and prepayment in parallel. But for those utilities running less agile systems, many will find it cheaper, faster and easier to deploy a more flexible rules based system to manage their prepay  accounts only.  Undoubtedly, there is still work to do. Utilities, regulators, consumer bodies and welfare agencies need to work together to refine existing processes and protocols to ensure the maximum benefit for all parties.

Those utilities actively employing a prepay strategy will agree that the barriers to cost effective, socially equitable, prepay energy supply are, at last, coming down.