Let us begin the discussion by answering the question: What services does a customer require from a power distribution utility? These could be categorised into the following areas:
• fuse off calls/no-current calls;
• billing and metering related issues;
• other service requests, e.g., load enhancement, new connections, etc.;and
•value-added products/services and related issues.
What is the present status of attending to customer needs and providing them satisfactory services? Let us find out.
• fuse off calls/no-current calls;
• billing and metering related issues;
• other service requests, e.g., load enhancement, new connections, etc.;and
•value-added products/services and related issues.
What is the present status of attending to customer needs and providing them satisfactory services? Let us find out.
Present Scenario
At present, in most utilities, the grievances of the consumers are handled on a functional basis, i.e., by respective functional areas. No-current complaints are recorded telephonically or in person and handled by most utilities on a manual basis. The complaint is assigned to a designated electrician from the local substation/area office. Once the complaint is attended to, it is closed based on the feedback of the electrician. No feedback is obtained from or provided to the consumer.
The entire operation is performed manually without any automation in the system for grievance redress. IT is underutilised. No proper MIS or complaint escalation process is existent on the complaint disposal system. Similarly, no proper system exists at most places for resolution of consumer’s grievances related to commercial problems, metering of supply, new connections, etc.The consumer has to run from pillar to post for the resolution of such grievances.
What can be Done?
The Electricity Act, 2003 envisages competition so as to improve the quality of customer service and satisfaction. Therefore, a strong IT-based customer interface involving one or more means is advocated (Box ). The main features of such a customer interface must include :
• Interactive Voice Response System for power complaints;
• Complaint Status Monitoring;
• Utility Staff Networking;
• Web-based access for the Customer for checking status of bill,getting/printing a copy of bill from WEB site; and
• Data Exchange and IT network for integrating with the SCADA/DMS. IVRS
Box : IT Facilities for Customer Satisfaction and Information
• Interactive web site with customers,
• State-of-the-Art Cash Collection Centres,
• Multiple payment gateways,
• SMS based fault management system,
• Interactive Voice Response Systems, and
• Customer Care/Call Centres.
At present, in most utilities, the grievances of the consumers are handled on a functional basis, i.e., by respective functional areas. No-current complaints are recorded telephonically or in person and handled by most utilities on a manual basis. The complaint is assigned to a designated electrician from the local substation/area office. Once the complaint is attended to, it is closed based on the feedback of the electrician. No feedback is obtained from or provided to the consumer.
The entire operation is performed manually without any automation in the system for grievance redress. IT is underutilised. No proper MIS or complaint escalation process is existent on the complaint disposal system. Similarly, no proper system exists at most places for resolution of consumer’s grievances related to commercial problems, metering of supply, new connections, etc.The consumer has to run from pillar to post for the resolution of such grievances.
What can be Done?
The Electricity Act, 2003 envisages competition so as to improve the quality of customer service and satisfaction. Therefore, a strong IT-based customer interface involving one or more means is advocated (Box ). The main features of such a customer interface must include :
• Interactive Voice Response System for power complaints;
• Complaint Status Monitoring;
• Utility Staff Networking;
• Web-based access for the Customer for checking status of bill,getting/printing a copy of bill from WEB site; and
• Data Exchange and IT network for integrating with the SCADA/DMS. IVRS
Box : IT Facilities for Customer Satisfaction and Information
• Interactive web site with customers,
• State-of-the-Art Cash Collection Centres,
• Multiple payment gateways,
• SMS based fault management system,
• Interactive Voice Response Systems, and
• Customer Care/Call Centres.
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| Some IT Facilities for Enhancing Customer Satisfaction |
We shall be discussing each one of these in detail
Information Systems
As utilities strive to use IT for enhancing customer satisfaction, it is important for them to realise that consumers today like to be kept informed about various factors affecting their electric supply, e.g., load shedding, status of new connections, bills and their payments, etc. What makes consumers feel more irritated is the lack of communication from the utility. It should be possible for customers to communicate with the utility through a variety of media, e.g., through telephone, email, fax, online and IVR system as well as through letters or personal visit. You may like to know about the information systems that can be used by a utility to meet the consumer’s information needs.As a customer travels along the value chain of an electricity utility, the following information systems come into play:
• Application Processing System,
• Billing system,
• Collection and payment follow-through system,
• Complaint handling system, and
• Providing customer services.
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| Integrated Customer Management |
These systems account for the bulk of the information captured regarding transactions with customers during the life cycle of a customer in a distribution system. When information remains distributed among disparate systems, the Customer Information System remains a nebulous entity, which is difficult to manage. However, when data is shared among systems, it becomes possible to collate information that most Customer Relationship Management Systems use to keep track of transactions with customers, derive business intelligence from the data and in the end deliver better customer service and retain customer loyalty. For such integration to take place, modelling of data assumes crucial importance. The integrated scheme of Customer Management Module is presented in Fig.Unfortunately, there are few software products available that can address the requirement of processing of applications, billing, collection and receivables management, etc., in the context of electricity distribution in India.
Most utilities have relied on custom-built software solutions to meet their specific needs in the absence of parameterised products with a track record of proven success.
We shall now discuss each component of the IT interface with the customer described in this section. However, you may like to test your understanding of these issues before studying further.
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