Utilities – RPA

Utilities companies have many divisions, departments and manual processes to ensure they not only keep our energy flowing, but also meet their regulatory responsibilities.Utilities-RPA

Energy network management, wholesale pricing and customer service divisions may operate separately, but all have to provide regular reports to Ofgem on performance. It is critical that these companies meet the requirements of the Guaranteed Standards, set by Ofgem, who have the ability to issue financial penalties.

RPA can be used in the utilities sector to improve manual data processes, and save your company both time and money. Robocloud (part of Cleardata UK Ltd) provides RPA as a Service, providing you with a digital workforce of cloud based software robots who carry out these manual processes for you on a 24/7 basis. They do not require an upfront investment, just a simple monthly subscription which can be scaled to suit your needs, and your individual utilities. Our team of RPA experts are also on hand to programme the bots to meet your exact rules and requirements.

How Can RPA Help In Utilities?

RPA technology can automate a variety of manual processes across the various departments of your utility company, such as Bureau, Marketing, Finance and HR. This process automation can be highly beneficial, enhancing employee motivation and customer satisfaction as a result of ease, accuracy and flexibility.

Energy customers today are not as loyal and switching suppliers on an annual basis is common, which in itself will cause administrative tasks. RPA can help with the automation of these manual processes and reduce costs.

Here’s some examples of how RPA can be implemented in your utility company:-

  • Data gathering – we have software robots that, given a list of MPANs or other asset data, can navigate to the different locations where the data is stored and retrieve the required information. This can include internal systems or external portals, as well as data feeds already in place.
  • Automated Data Validation – the bots can validate data against your rules. This could include billing, faults or event prices. Our digital workforce can check data in multiple business systems and provide an exceptions report to the relevant person in your business.
  • System Integration and Data Migration – RPA software can be used in the integration or migration of data between various systems e.g. CRM or legacy platforms, and new cloud based technology. It can be particularly useful in the transfer or migration of customer data between the two systems. For example:-
    • Joint ventures can be common in the utility sector. RPA technology is able to bridge the gap between each company’s individual systems regarding inventory, accounts and CRM, without the need to invest in extensive programming or restructure.
    • It can also be used to ensure that all data is kept ‘in-sync’, and can collate MI across multiple systems.
  • Customer onboarding – RPA technology can automate your onboarding process, or validate the data entered into the CRM database. The bots can check and update the information provided and compare it to the rules set, and send alerts where errors have occurred.
  • Complaints Handling – Monitoring and handling complaints is a key requirement for utility companies, with customer queries centering around the switching process, billing issues and loss of supply.
    • RPA can be used to identify, record and sort incoming letters or emails, and assign them to the correct person in your organisation to handle. Benefit from quicker resolutions to customer complaints and ensure you meet your guaranteed standards of service.
    • It can also be combined with AI technology such as sentiment analysis to provide an initial assessment of the query, e.g. whether the customer is complaining or asking a question.
  • Analytics – RPA can track and analyse statistics for competitor prices, creating alerts and notifications. This provides market insights and enables you to gain a competitive advantage.
  • Billing & Settlements – our bots can automatically process payments and send out payment requests, among other financial activities. Check out our RPA Finance page to find out more.
  • Metering – RPA bots can create a reporting dashboard, pulling data from various business systems to provide real time data and enable employees to process and manage capacity metering accurately and quickly. This enables for the enhancement of billing and reporting processes.
  • Onboarding new suppliers – RPA bots can be used in adding new suppliers updating any details when necessary, and using intelligent data capture to organise the documentation efficiently. This can be highly beneficial and lead to improved relationships. They can even complete automated credit checks, check out the demo below to see how it’s done.
  • Automated Notifications – automatic notifications or emails can be sent out by RPA bots for your Finance, HR or Customer Operations teams.

RPA Benefits In Utilities

  • Save time and reduce costsBook a demo
  • Quick ROI
  • Boost efficiency and productivity
  • Enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty
  • Scalable and adaptable to the needs of each utility
  • Flexibility
  • Full audit trail
  • Increased accuracy with human error decreasing by over 60%
  • Enhance supplier relationships

Call us on 0800 046 8086 or contact us to speak to one of our experts and find out more about how RPA can transform your utility processes today!