From integrated energy delivery operations to ebusiness transformation cinery ties it all together as a first mover in the new energy economy

From integrated energy delivery operations to ebusiness transformation cinery ties it all together as a first mover in the new energy economy

Jennifer Krabbenhoeft
Convergent Group
6399 South Fiddler’s Green Circle
Suite 600
Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Greg Ficke
Cinergy
139 E. Fourth St.
P. O. Box 960
Cincinnati, OH 45202-0960

The digital utility
The Digital Utility approach is distinctive because, utilizing a variety of eBusiness Applications, customers and business partners communicate directly with Cinergy’s back office and energy delivery systems. Unlike others who mimic Internet transactions by encouraging customers to generate email requests that ultimately must be reentered by Customer Service Representatives (CSRs), Cinergy will connect customers – real time – to operating systems.

Four components create and define Digital Utility functionality: The Energy Portal; eBusiness Applications; Blended Media Contact Center; and a massive Energy Delivery Systems Integration Program (EDSIP). The Energy Portal will serve as Cinergy’s “front door.” Via the Portal, customers using the Internet can enter the regulated utility where eBusiness Applications provide rich information content and the opportunity to schedule services and perform transactions. Alternately, from the same entry point, customers can select from a variety of unregulated products and services. The Blended Media Contact Center integrates, routes, and manages all contacts, no matter what channel the customer chooses. EDSIP supplies the operating data that eBusiness Applications translate into information meaningful to customers.

Fundamentally, EDSIP is the foundation of the Digital Utility. Faced with combining the operations of merged utility companies and preparing for a highly competitive business environment, Cinergy embarked on a project in 1998 to integrate mission-critical information systems. Forty-four previously disparate systems were consolidated. The five resulting systems provide an integrated approach to:

Outage management
Work management
Resource allocation and computer-aided dispatch
Distribution planning
Graphical information, facility data maintenance, energy delivery asset system reporting, design tool, and graphical design

EDSIP, in addition to enabling the underlying data for the eBusiness Applications, provides business benefits related to improved service reliability and delivery, an optimized workforce and reduced operations and maintenance costs.

The Energy Portal provides web-enabled opportunities to purchase energy online, conduct price discovery, and select from an array of innovative products and services provided by Cinergy or business partners. In the future, the Portal will allow customers to view online energy consumption histories and load profiles or to use the Internet to explore energy management opportunities and real-time pricing options. Ultimately, the Portal will provide the broadest venue for future energy services provided to a borderless service territory.

At the heart of the customer interaction is a Blended Media Contact Center that can handle customer communications via phone, fax, voice response, or Internet functionalities like live chat, FAQ, or directed browsing. The Center’s contact management/CRM system routes and manages all customer interactions – no matter what communication channel is used. Contact management provides a central data repository that remembers each customer interaction and reminds CSRs of the subject of all recent contacts.

The system helps script CSR responses with the use of FAQs and drop-down menus. Multiple screen functionality allows the CSR and the customer to be looking at the same page. With directed browsing, the CSR can work interactively with the customer to complete a form. The content management system also tracks each time the customer seeks help or abandons a transaction. With that data, Cinergy will be able to improve its eBusiness Applications based on continuous customer feedback.

In addition, the CRM capabilities of the system capture information for feedback messages, targeted marketing, and up-sell/cross-sell. Service metrics are collected and fed into intranet decision tools to drive operating improvements.

The eBusiness Applications rely on the EDSIP backbone to handle utility transactions. The applications are presented in an attractive, customer-friendly format. Careful behind-the-scenes programming translates EDSIP’s operating data into customer-useable information. Finally, testing by both novices and experienced Internet surfers determines which wording and navigation instructions are easiest to use.

What’s the real-life impact of the eBusiness Applications?

Service can be scheduled on the web in customer time, not utility time.
Monthly reads from hard-to-read meters (35 percent of all Cincinnati meters are inside) can be entered directly into the billing system.
Addresses, telephone numbers, and employers can be updated.
Budget and electronic billing options can be explored and ordered.
Bills in HTML format can be delivered directly to the customer’s email account.
Multiple accounts can be summarized on one report for landlords or business owners.
Payment information – account balance and status, last payment, next due date – can be accessed. In the future, rate analysis and estimated billing, as well as real-time billing options can be added.
Outages or electric trouble can be reported via Internet. And, continuously updated estimated restoration times can be accessed.
Commercial or industrial customers with sensitive electronic equipment can check reliability and outage history (by specific address) on the web before purchasing or renting property.
Developers or builders can log on to a custom list of their specific construction projects and check the status of each. They’ll know whether the project is being designed, estimated, or built, as well as the planned completion date. And, in the future, functionality can be added to allow a builder or developer to create the preliminary design, submit a digital site plan and receive the approved cost estimate, meter location, etc. – all online and without a long wait.
The Digital Utility enhances Cinergy’s customer focus, improves customer service and reduces costs. The customer gains easier access via new channels, rapid, content-rich information and control of scheduling. In addition to the improved service and enhanced control, the Digital Utility provides differentiation that strengthens loyalty and limits costly churn.
In terms of operational efficiency and savings, the Digital Utility also makes economic good sense. Cinergy will realize major productivity gains and cost reductions in a variety of areas. For example, the end-to-end automated process that allows a customer to schedule an appointment online, moves that appointment directly to the resource allocation/computer-aided dispatch program and prints it on the service worker’s laptop computer reduces costs and eliminates hand-offs. Outage reporting via Internet gives the outage management system more diagnostic information earlier to speed restoration and limit overtime expense. And, obviously, Cinergy saves money when customers assume the responsibility for keeping information up-to-date and for entering routine data such as meter reads.
The Blended Media Contact Center also pays strong financial dividends. Research firm E Source estimates that a call to a service representative costs between $5 and $7, while an email costs between 10 and 50 cents. Live chat falls between the two extremes with costs estimated at $2.50 to $4. This opportunity adds up to an important savings. E Source projects that 30 percent of contact center traffic will shift to the Internet in the next five years.
Clearly, Cinergy has met the challenge of its president and CEO. As a first mover, it has created a new e-economy business model by integrating web applications broadly into its strategy. It’s also harnessed and leveraged new technology to define what it means to be an e-lectric Digital Utility.