Oracle Utilities Opower Bill Ready Notification Cloud Service Product Overview E84744-01 Last Updated: September 14, 2017
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Contents Service Introduction 1 Bill Ready Notification Cloud Service 2 Introduction 2 Requirements and Limitations 2 Customer Experience 3 Delivery 6 Enrollment 6 Providing Customer Support 7 Inside Opower 8 Customer Service Interface - Program Management 9 iii
Service Introduction This document provides additional information about the oracle utilities Oracle Utilities Opower Bill Ready Notifications Cloud Service that is outlined in the Oracle Utilities Service Description document. The Bill Ready Notifications Cloud Service includes products designed to help customers better understand and pay their bills. The following components are available in this service: Bill Ready Notification. See "Bill Ready Notification Cloud Service" on page 2. Inside Opower See "Inside Opower" on page 8. Customer Service Interface - Program Management. See "Customer Service Interface - Program Management" on page 9. For an overview of all cloud services available from Oracle Utilities, see the Oracle Utilities Opower Service Descriptions document online at Oracle Contracts - Cloud Services. 1
Bill Ready Notification Cloud Service Introduction Bill Ready Notifications are email communications that are sent to customers when their bill is ready for review or payment. These communications promote payment and provide the customer with more context about their bill, such as what their balance is, when payment is due, and the factors that influenced their bill. Requirements and Limitations The following data requirements and limitations apply to all utilities and customers in the Bill Ready Notification Cloud Service. See "Customer Experience" on page 3 for featurespecific requirements and limitations. Utility Data Requirements and Limitations Scale: 50,000-1,000,000 customers. Customer Enrollment: Customers must be enrolled in the utility's online billing program. Data Delivery: Data must be sent to Oracle Utilities using the agreed upon standard and at the appropriate frequency. See the Oracle Utilities Opower Platform Billing Data Transfer Standards and the Opower Oracle Utilities Opower Billing Suite Data Transfer Standards for details. Customer Data Requirements and Limitations Fuel Type: Customers can have electric-only, gas-only, or dual fuel. Multiple Service Points: Certain modules require a single service point for each fuel type. If multiple service points for each fuel type exist, that customer may not be eligible for all modules. Delivery Address Validity: Customers must have valid email addresses to receive Bill Ready Notification emails. 2
Customer Experience Emails that are sent to customers in the Bill Ready Notification program provide a simple way for customers to view or pay their bill. At a minimum, the following modules are included in the email: Header, Account Payment, and Footer. The utility also has the option of adding a marketing module to the emails. If the applicable data requirements are met, the following modules can be included: Billing Based Disaggregation and Feedback. Header The Header module displays the utility logo and the customer account number at the top of Bill Ready Notifications. If multiple accounts are associated with a single bill, multiple account numbers will be displayed. Account Payment The Account Payment module displays the amount due and due date for a customer's bill. A button to view and pay is also displayed. Customers who click this button are sent to the utility's website, where they can view and pay their bill. The account payment module format varies slightly under the following conditions: Account Credits: Bills with negative values are treated as credits. The module displays the amount due as zero and a note states the credit amount that will be applied to the future balance. Since no action is necessary, a button to view the bill is displayed. Customers who click this button are sent to the utility's website, where they can view their bill. Zero Account Balance: The amount due will display as zero. A note states that the customer doesn't need to pay anything for that billing period. Since no action is necessary, a button to view the bill is displayed. Customers who click this button are sent to the utility's website, where they can view their bill. Auto Pay: If a customer is enrolled in a utility's automatic payment program, a message located below the amount due remind s the customer that they are enrolled in auto pay and that the bill amount will be automatically deducted on their bill due date. Since no action is necessary, a button to view the bill is displayed. Customers who click this button are sent to the utility's website, where they can view their bill. 3
Billing Based Disaggregation Data Requirements and Limitations Data History: One of the following two conditions must be met. The customer has six bills with temperatures below 65 F and six bills with temperatures above 65 F. These bills can overlap. The customer has at least 12 bills that span at least 18 months. Home Energy Audit: The utility must have the Oracle Utilities Opower Energy Efficiency Web Portal - Classic home energy audit launched prior to implementing the module. Residential Only: The module is available only to residential customers. Deep Linking: Oracle Utilities recommends that the utility have deep linking capabilities. Deep linking allows the user to click the energy audit link in the module, log in to the site, and automatically continue to the intended page instead of being redirected to a landing page, such as the utility's home page. Weather Data: Weather data is required. If weather data is not available, the module will not be shown in the customer's Bill Ready Notification. Estimated Reads: The module cannot be used with estimated meter reads because the disaggregation is already an estimate. Service Points: A single service point per fuel type is required. If multiple service points per fuel type exist, the customer is not eligible for the module. Disaggregation Results: Some customers may not be eligible for the module if their disaggregation has any of the following characteristics. The data does not fit the structured data model. There is only one category with a non-zero energy use value. There is a category that is greater than 75% of the customer's total energy use. The Other category is the largest category and the customer has started or completed the energy audit. The data does not meet the data requirement standards. See "Customer Data Requirements and Limitations" on page 2. Feature Overview The Billing Based Disaggregation module displays an estimated breakdown of the customer's energy use by category for the most recent bill period. The energy use categories 4
are displayed in the form of a pie chart. The sections of the pie chart represent the amount of energy used for each applicable category in proportion to the total amount of energy for the billing period. The category with the largest impact on energy use is highlighted. Only the relative proportion of energy used in each category is shown. Specific energy use amounts or dollar values are not displayed. At a minimum, categories included in the module are Heating or Cooling (both Heating and Cooling may be displayed for dual fuel customers) and Other. The percentage values for each category are recalculated at least once per bill period to accurately reflect the current bill. The view of the Billing Based Disaggregation varies depending on the data available for the customer: Dual Fuel: Customers with both electric and gas service points receive a single Bill Ready Notification that combines both energy types. Gas-Only: Customers with gas-only service points do not see a cooling category in their disaggregation. Home Energy Audit: Customers who have started or completed the energy audit on the Energy Efficiency Web Portal - Classic are provided with additional categories determined by the audit. These categories may include, but are not limited to, Hot Water, Appliances, Electronics, Lighting, and Swimming Pool. Bill Period: If the customer s start and end date for the bill period in question are not provided, the date range will not be displayed below the disaggregated pie chart in the module. Marketing Module The utility has the option of adding a Marketing module to the Bill Ready Notification. This module can include customized text or pictures. Marketing modules are commonly used in Bill Ready Notifications to provide tips to customers for improving the energy efficiency of their home. Feedback The Feedback module allows customers to provide feedback on their Bill Ready Notifications. Customers are asked if they find the Bill Ready Notification to be helpful and are provided with two buttons that allow them to answer the question. Upon clicking either of the buttons, the customer is sent to a utility-branded webpage where a submission confirmation message is displayed. 5
When a customer submits feedback, the customer ID, the timestamp of when the feedback was submitted, and the customer's feedback are recorded. Footer The Footer module communicates key utility information to recipients. While the information may vary from utility to utility, it commonly includes the utility's contact information, links to program information on the utility's website, legal information, and links that allow the customer to manage their preferences for receiving Bill Ready Notifications. The Oracle Utilities copyright information is also included. Delivery Bill Ready Notification emails are sent to customers when their bill is ready for review or payment on a delivery schedule agreed upon between Oracle Utilities and the client. Oracle Utilities coordinates with a third-party to send Bill Ready Notification emails. This company provides Oracle Utilities with information on sends, deliveries, bounces, spam complaints, opens, customer feedback, and clicks. Oracle Utilities does not track web behavior of a customer after they have clicked on a link in the Bill Ready Notification. Enrollment Customers can be enrolled in the Bill Ready Notifications through an opt in or opt out program. In an opt-in program, customers are given the option to sign up, rather than being automatically enrolled. In an opt-out program, customers are automatically enrolled in the program as long as they meet the eligibility criteria. Opting in to Bill Ready Notifications: Customers who actively sign up for paperless billing in their utility's online billing program are opted in to the Bill Ready Notification Cloud Service. Using a predetermined schedule, the utility sends customer information to Oracle Utilities in an agreed upon format that includes which customers have signed up for paperless billing and the data that should be included in their Bill Ready Notifications. Opting out of Bill Ready Notifications: Bill Ready Notifications are considered transactional emails. For this reason, customers must opt out of Bill Ready Notifications and opt in to paper bills in order to stop receiving Bill Ready Notifications. The customer can manage their billing preferences from the utility's website. Using a predetermined schedule, the utility sends customer information to Oracle Utilities in an agreed upon format that includes a data flag to indicate each customer's opt-out status. 6
Providing Customer Support Preference management for a customer's enrollment in the Bill Ready Notification Cloud Service is available through a utility-hosted website, not the Energy Efficiency Web Portal - Classic. The steps to update a customer's Bill Ready Notification preferences vary by utility. Customer Service Representatives must check with their supervisor for instructions on how to update Bill Ready Notification preferences using their utility's system. 7
Inside Opower The Bill Ready Notifications Cloud Service includes access to Inside Opower. Inside Opower is an online, utility-facing suite of tools to help users across a utility stay informed of and manage their Oracle Utilities Opower program. Utility users can access key data such as program insights, analytics, reports, contact information, and documentation. See the Oracle Utilities Inside Opower Product Overview for details. 8
Customer Service Interface - Program Management The Bill Ready Notification Cloud Service includes access to the Customer Service Interface - Program Management tool. The Customer Service Interface (CSI) is an online support tool that provides utility support staff with the information and functionality they need to manage the Oracle Utilities Opower program and answer customer questions. See the Oracle Utilities Opower Customer Service Interface - Program Management Product Overview for details. 9