OUC History Book

Page 72

rapi� change Revolutionizing the Customer Experience After lowering electric rates twice

water meters in less than a year.

in 2012, OUC moved forward in

As part of this transition,

2013 with an ambitious plan to

OUC closed its three

leverage technology to improve

walk-in customer service

the customer experience.

centers — at Reliable Plaza

As a 24/7 operation, the utility

in downtown Orlando, Gardenia

Fast-Tracking Digital Meters. To give

wanted to extend the same

Avenue and St. Cloud — as

customers the detailed information they need

round-the-clock convenience

part of a commitment to keep

to make better decisions about their energy

to its customers — and did exactly that by launching a mobilefriendly website, adding 500 third-party payment locations where payments are credited immediately, and deploying digital electric and

rates low. Extensive customer

and water consumption, OUC accelerated the

research in 2012 revealed a growing

conversion to digital electric and water meters

preference for convenient payment options and lower fees. Over the next few years, the utility continued

that provide a steady stream of consumption data. In 2012, the OUC Board approved two projects totaling $58.9 million to upgrade about

to improve and refine its model with new

150,000 electric meters and 147,000 water meters,

features, including a digital consumption

beginning in January 2013. The digital meter deployment, along with a new meter data management system, laid the foundation to enhance OUC’s website and allow customers to better monitor their consumption. OUC had already deployed 73,259 electric and 3,117 water meters as part of an advanced metering infrastructure project. Benefits to customers included more proactive customer service, the ability to offer prepaid metering and a reduction in estimated bills. The switch also reduced costs by eliminating manual reads, reducing truck rolls, automating disconnects/ reconnects, and detecting faults, leaks and theft. In 2023, OUC upgraded current meters with advanced, next-generation automated metering infrastructure (AMI) to help ensure continued accuracy and provide enhanced data as customers track water usage.

dashboard, an Interactive Voice Response automated phone system and three convenient options to help residential and commercial customers track their bills, save money, and handle payments seamlessly.

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