OUC History Book

Page 73

2011–2023 Launching the Business Energy Advisor. To help commercial customers make smart energy-related decisions, OUC launched the interactive Business Energy Advisor (BEA) microsite, which was continually updated in the following years. BEA featured an online library with

Expanding Excellence on the Smart Grid. In 2014, CS Week and Electric Light

information on equipment-buying, maintenance tips and low-cost solutions, as well as industryspecific resources to help users learn about

& Power magazine gave OUC its prestigious

energy consumption and load profiles for facilities

“Expanding Excellence Award” for Best Smart

like theirs. The website included calculators and

Grid Infrastructure in the Large Utility category,

checklists to help customers determine how much

which evaluated North American utilities with

they’d save by upgrading equipment, as well as

more than $500 million in revenue. The award

a benchmarking function to pinpoint the most

recognized OUC’s innovative, low-cost and

energy-intensive areas of their business.

comprehensive Meter Data Management

Encouraging Conservation with the OUC Usage Dashboard. The ability to see and adjust usage patterns to lower energy bills was one of the items most

project, the acceleration of digital meter deployment, and the ability for customers to make real-time payments from hundreds of new locations. The following year, OUC was honored

frequently requested by OUC customers. To

by the same publications, this time for

accommodate their needs, OUC released the

Innovation in Customer Service. The award

OUC Usage Dashboard in October 2014 to

was especially significant because it

nearly 20,000 residential customers to test the

placed OUC at the top of a category that

program before the full rollout at year-end.

included all large utilities in North America.

Because the new system also provided high-

OUC was recognized for taking customer/

consumption alerts via email, changes in

utility connectivity into the future by vastly

usage could be made immediately, and costs

increasing the size and speed of information

could be kept in check.

flow and providing a seamless user experience.

Power Pass: A Flexible Way for Customers To Control Energy, Water Usage To make it easier for customers to stay current on their bills, OUC launched Power Pass in 2015, a prepaid pay-as-you-go program for utility services. Power Pass allows customers to monitor their electric or water usage daily from a computer, tablet or smartphone. Customers can then pay when they want, the amount they want, and how they want — online, by phone or in person at over 500 locations around town, including convenience and grocery stores. When consumption gets high, customers get Power Pass alerts via email. Power Pass is ideal for customers who want to avoid paying deposits and late fees, value the opportunity to monitor and control their utility usage, split their utility bill with roommates, or travel frequently and don’t consume electricity and water on a regular basis. Power Pass also drives conservation by increasing awareness of usage, with an 8% reduction in electric energy usage among Power Pass users.

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