18 production-proven solutions for billing, metering, grid management, and customer intelligence, each running as a parallel digital twin with zero risk to your systems of record.
Billing Quality Assurance
Reconcile All Bills · Improve Quality · Easily Update Rates
Problem
Billing system complexity makes billing errors likely
Changes in rate structures and rate plan assignments require additional quality assurance checks
Need to quickly check bills before sending
Need to reconcile billing input values against source meter data
Solution
Delivered parallel billing system to check system-of-record billing system
Reconciled every line item of every bill before being sent to customer
Rate editor enables real-time changes to rate structures and rate plans
Billing inputs reconciled against source meter data and any discrepancies flagged
Rate assignments on every account checked to insure that account qualifies for that rate
Impact
Eliminated need for $35 million billing system rewrite
Why Fractal
Delivered parallel solution with Fractal Programming
Parallel application ran over 1,000 times faster, reduced storage 90%, and eliminated billing errors
Utility is able to update rate models in minutes
Utility now has an independent way of checking billing and meter data
Metering Quality Assurance
Reconcile All Meter Data · Improve Quality · Pattern Detection
Problem
Multiple sources of meter data can lead to inconsistencies
Customers need to see a consistent data view
Billing calculations must produce matching results regardless of meter data source
Meter communication issues create data issues
Solution
Delivered parallel meter data management system to check system-of-record
Reconciled all interval data against all daily data
Reconciled all daily and interval data against billing system data
Machine learning module to identify unusual consumption patterns
Impact
Eliminated need for $10 million meter data management system re-write
Why Fractal
Delivered parallel meter data management system to check system-of-record
Parallel application run over 1,000 times faster, reduced storage 90%, and eliminated meter data errors
Utility is able to bill with confidence that meter data is correct
Utility now has an independent way of checking billing and meter data
Can now accurately measure and analyze program participation and effectiveness
Demand Forecasting
Forecast With Tight Time Constraints
Problem
Forecasting system must run within time constraints
Using major data center, legacy system did not always finish in time
Utility also needed to increase system size and capacity
Utility needed to accurately bid in futures market
Solution
Fractal Programming enabled new demand forecasting system to be written and deployed in a single business quarter
Dramatically increased accuracy and number of scenarios that can be run
Uses full customer data set instead of just a data sub-set
System runs in minutes instead of hours
Impact
Added accuracy of forecasting 100% of the data, not samples, impacts millions of dollars of futures contracts each year
Why Fractal
Fractal Programming enabled the development of a demand forecasting application that runs over 1,000 times faster than the legacy application
Forecasting system was delivered in a single business quarter and is more accurate than legacy system
Key Customer Identification
Identify By · Behavior Patterns · Rules-Based Metrics
Problem
Key customer relationship are not always obvious – especially when customers have a portfolio of locations and multiple billable entities
Ownership of commercial properties frequently via special purpose vehicles, making it unclear who the portfolio customer relationship is with
Qualification for key account status based on spending levels and program participation can be complicated to identify and track
Solution
Implement qualification rules for key accounts
Implement aggregation rules to identify portfolio relationships
Classify every customer at both individual account and aggregate customer portfolio level
Enable utility profitability analysis by key account relationship
Impact
Identify key account customers by evaluating total portfolio consumption and behavior
Enables more focused programs by identifying impactful portfolio level decision makers in customer base
Why Fractal
Fractal Programming enables flexible rules for assigning accounts to a customer based on multiple attributes
Application performance enables rule sets to be applied to entire customer base to identify key account relationships
Automatic assignment of key account status based on qualification rules
Both metered and non-metered attributes incorporated into rules
Key Customer Insight
Insight From Multiple Sources · Internal and External
Problem
Key customer insight data is often located outside of systems-of-record
Valuable customer information is located department-level computers or desktop spreadsheets that are not accessible by systems-of-record
Customer entered and customer maintained data needs to be incorporated into customer insight apps
Public domain information (eg. tax records) must be incorporated into customer insights
Solution
Implement continuous real-time data import from systems-of-record
Implement continuous real-time data import from department-level computers and desktop applications
Implement continuous real-time data import from public domain sources
Implement continuous real-time data import directly from customers
Impact
Deeper key customer insight
Enables all customer information, regardless of where it resides, to be incorporated into 360 degree view of customer relationship and customer activities
Why Fractal
Fractal Programming enables continuous real-time data import
Data import tools work with internal and external data sources, including public domain data
Data import tools work with desktop resources such as spreadsheets and text files in addition to data exports from systems-of-record
Customer data entry / import supported
Rate Assignment & Validation
Validate Rate Class Qualification · Auto Assign Rates
Problem
Assigning rates to accounts can be time consuming and error prone
Rate assignment complicated due to wind, solar, EV and other green energy and distributed generation initiatives
Qualification requirements for rates change over time requiring reassessment of all customer accounts
Solution
Implement qualification rules for each rate class
Test every rate on every customer account
Enable “what if” scenario analysis for key account customers for qualification for different rate
Forecast customer budget impact and utility revenue changes for new rate assignments
Enable utility profitability analysis by rate plan
Impact
Saved half a million dollars in consulting fees for validating rate assignments
100% of customers on correct rate plans
Why Fractal
Fractal Programming enables flexible rules for checking rate assignments
Application performance enables 100% of customer accounts to be validated for correct rate assignment
Automatic assignment of correct rates
Automated customer notification of new rate assignments along with explanation
Rate Design & Simulation
Real Time Planning · All Customers · 100% Accuracy
Problem
Need to plan different rates across millions of customers every year
Rates complicated due to wind, solar and other green energy and distributed generation initiatives
Costs millions of dollars to simulate rates, create financial forecasts, and estimate customer impact
Customers may get billing surprises when rates structures change
Solution
Implement real time rate planning engine
Test every rate, across every customer, using previous bills
Forecast annual revenue to the penny
Eliminate all new rate surprises
Enable utility profitability analysis by rate plan
Impact
Saved $2 million paid to rate consultants for single rate plan
Saved $8 million for subsequent rate planning
Why Fractal
Fractal Programming enables flexible real-time creation of rate plans
Application performance enables rate plans to be run against 100% of customers for dozens (multiple years) of billing cycles in minutes
Utility eliminates all new rate surprises for customers
Utility has highly accurate financial forecasts for itself and its customers
Service Level Agreement Monitoring
Exception Detection · Analysis · Alarming
Problem
Data provider service level agreements can be challenging to monitor, analyze and manage
Data service level shortfalls can lead to billing problems with customers
Quick early detection of data provider problems is needed to prevent downstream issues
Solution
Parallel meter data management system
Analyze all interval and daily data to locate any missing data elements and test against service level agreement metrics
Reconcile all interval data against all daily data to check for consistency
Machine learning module to identify unusual consumption patterns that can indicate meter reading issues
Impact
Increase in bill quality
Reduction is customer billing complaints and issues
Why Fractal
Delivered parallel meter data management system (MDMS) with Fractal Programming
Parallel MDMS application identifies all missing data and meter reading errors
Automatic alerting and alarming of failures to meet data service level agreement metrics
Utility is able to bill with confidence that meter data is correct
Contact information for notification of outages or other problems can be different than billing contact
The scale of customer base can make data management and automated communication challenging
Customers need to be able to update contact information and preferences to track changes in their internal organization
Solution
Customer portal that enables customers to update their contact information and preferences
Internal support portal for use by call center and key accounts team to track and update customer contact information
Identification and classification of critical, priority, and key accounts loads for real-time detection of site-specific outages and other issues
Impact
Customers proactively notified and updated on issues
Organizational and contact changes continuously tracked and updated
Why Fractal
Fractal enables data portals to be easily built for both internal and external customer use
Flexible database definitions enable easy addition of attributes for tracking critical, priority and key accounts
Native email, text and voicemail communication for alerting and alarming
Solution scalability for entire customer base
Customer Data Portal
Customer Data Available On · Desktop · Mobile Devices
Problem
Customers want access to energy and billing data on digital devices
Customers want to do scenario analysis for rate plans
Customers want budget forecasts
Customers want visibility to solar and wind energy usage metrics
Customer want to supplement their data
Solution
Parallel customer care and billing system that is accessible from customer's digital devices
Instant customer visibility to their real time bill
Customer can test different rate plans in real time
Customers have easy access to budget forecasts
Customers can self-service their data needs which frees up key account and call center resources
Impact
$10 million development cost savings and customer support cost reduction for customer information portal
Why Fractal
Delivered a parallel customer care and billing system in 90 days with 90% less cost than legacy system
Application provides customer rate plan scenario analysis, budget forecasts, green energy metrics, and enables customer to enter supplemental information about efficiency projects
Customers can self-service their information needs on web portal from their digital devices
Data API
Web Services · Metering · Billing · Customer & Program Info
Problem
Customers increasingly requesting programmatic access to their data
Large customers want convenient access to their entire portfolio of accounts and associated information
An API is necessary in order to make many third party services available to customers
Solution
Web services API's are exposed as components of parallel systems for managing meter data, billing, and customer information
Customers can access the data both via interactive web portals and via programmatic APIs
Multiple data format supported (JSON, XML, CSV) as well as custom data formats
Impact
Increased customer satisfaction
No additional load on IT resources
Third party services easier to enable for customers
Why Fractal
Delivered parallel data management system with Fractal Programming
Make metering, billing, weather, and other customer data available without imposing any load on legacy systems-of-record
Consistent interface and interaction for customers across all data types and data requests
Weather Data
Data For · Demand & Financial Forecasting · Scenario Analysis
Problem
Weather data is required for many business functions and applications
Consistent weather assumptions must be made across multiple business processes and applications
Required weather data may need to be integrated from multiple data sources
Solution
Weather data management system
Integrates data from multiple data sources
Provides data at multiple levels of time granularity (5-minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly)
Data accessible via interactive graphical user interface(s) as well as application programming interface(s) API
Impact
Increased consistency across business processes
Increased quality and consistency in analysis and forecasting processes and applications
Why Fractal
Delivered weather data management system with Fractal Programming
Integrates data from multiple data sources and reconciles the sources for a consistent data view
Data accessible both interactively and programmatically via web APIs
Insures consistent weather assumptions across business processes and applications
Customer Care & Billing
Transform · Customer Care · Billing
Problem
Billing system too complex to easily modify
Needed 360 view of major corporate customers
Give customers ability to self-service their data needs
Check each bill for 100% accuracy before sending
Give key account team flexible customer info
Solution
Delivered parallel customer care and billing system costing 90% less than legacy system
Reconciled every bill before being sent to customer
Delivered customer data portal to all customers
Entire solution in production in 90 days
Gained deeper understanding of largest customers
Key accounts team and call center increased customer satisfaction
Impact
Eliminated need for $35 million billing system rewrite
Why Fractal
Delivered parallel solution with Fractal Programming
Parallel application ran over 1,000 times faster, reduced storage 90%, and eliminated billing errors
Able to add new features in hours and days rather than months
Ready to see Fractal in your environment?
90 days, your production data, zero disruption to existing systems.
