Smart metering & automated invoicing solution
A leading UK gas and electricity utility, was rolling out a national programme of implementing Smart metering for their household clients. We were engaged by our client to develop the end-to-end inventory tracking and automated invoicing data analytics infrastructure
Department of Energy and Climate Change & OFGEM driven programme
The Smart Metering Implementation Programme aims to roll out smart meters to domestic electricity and gas consumers, and smart or advanced meters to smaller non-domestic consumers, by the end of 2020.
The data challenges
The “cradle-to-grave” Smart Metering lifecycle involved navigating a highly fragmented data landscape:
Delivery of meters
Access to warehousing data to capture the delivery of the device
Installation of meters
Smart meter installation carried out by utility firms and cost of installation charged back to meter providers
Smart Meter revenue assurance
Utilities firms pay rental charges to the meter providers – these charges need to be reconciled to inbound invoices
Meter Switching
Households have the ability to switch utility providers – churn in / out
Each element of the provision, installation and activation stages is captured in disparate systems.
The use of the data analytics technologies allowed key data components to be centralised to construct the lifecycle flow for each individual Smart Meter entering the process.
The disparate data landscape contained information in different formats and with inconsistent record referencing which required extensive effort to normalise prior to the construction of the end-to-end process flow.
Developing the solution
The solution covers Smart Meter Installation, Meter Settlements (all various classes of Meter Rental and stranding) and Meter Readings (both manual and smart).
Meter installation
The solution provides an accurate and single data point to provide the client with Invoice and Invoice backing data for meter installations (pre enriched with internal and external market flows and required data).
This ensures fast and accurate billing to Meter Asset Providers for the installation of the meters, with less or no disputes against the invoices raised.
The data point acts as a invoice backing data provider, dispute manager and source of revenue assurance as well as data quality validation. The solution is fully integrated with SAP.
Meter settlements
The solution provides the golden source for incoming invoice validation and reconciliation against meter and supply data held by the client.
Invoice dispute identification and investigation using data from management information system, industry data, incoming invoice and internal finance system (SAP in this case).
This provides a platform for accurate bill payment and a moral high ground for querying and resolving disputes.
Meter readings
Enhanced data analytics used to drive efficiency in meter reading process.
Ensure meter-reading providers meet SLAs – evidence based validation of invoices submitted.
Fully integrated market-leading smart metering solution
Cutting-edge solution developed using enhanced data analytics to support the cradle-to-grave lifecycle of our clients Smart Metering programme