"Avoiding Utility Bill Shock" A presentation by Gadi Solotorevsky, CTO at cVidya Presented in the "3rd Annual Revenue Assurance Forum for Utilities" conference in Berlin on April 13-15, 2015

1. BUSINESS
PROTECTION
© 2015 – PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF CVIDYA
Avoiding Utility Bill Shock
3rd Annual Revenue Assurance for Utilities - 2015
Dr. Gadi Solotorevsky
CTO – cVidya Networks
Ambassador, Distinguished Fellow and RA Team
Leader – TM Forum

2. 2
Agenda
 Reaction to Smart Meters
 Pushback: a risk to smart meter deployments
 Concerns about the increase in amounts
charged in electricity bills
 The role of Revenue Assurance in
− Preventing Bill Shock
− Demand Response Acceptance
 Using TM Forum Revenue Assurance best practices
 Proactively alerting customers once they deviate
from normal consumption

3. 3
 Loss of investment in smart grid
− Ineffective DR
 Customer satisfaction
− Churn
 Loss of money
− Bad debt
− Penalties
Why Utilities care about Bill Shock

4. 4
 Peak utilization accounts for huge required investments,
and causes many of the grid failures
 Peak shaving is the holy grail of utility companies
 DR and Active DR are key elements in utilization shaping
and peak shaving
 Customers not paying or paying inaccurately are
− Immune to DR
− Consume more energy than normal customers
 RA and FM reduce these customers’ utilization,
and make them sensitive to DR
Demand Response (DR)

5. 5
Stop Smart Meters
Source: http://stopsmartmeters.org/why-stop-smart-meters/

6. 6
Take back your power
Source: http://www.takebackyourpower.net/take-action/10-questions-for-your-utility/

7. 7
Causes of Bill Shock
 Incorrect pricing
 Incorrect billing
 Back-billing
 Problematic transformation projects
 Late billing
 Incorrect penalties
 Meter failures
 Clock accuracy
 Lack of customer awareness
 Fraud

8. 8
Bill Shock cause – Late billing
Source: http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/2014/02/07/why_
hydro_ones_billing_is_under_attack_roseman.html

9. 9
Bill Shock cause - Back-billing
Source: http://www.turn.org/consumer-tools/fight-back/inflated-pge-bills.html

10. 10
Bill Shock cause – Incorrect billing
Source: http://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/it/duke-energy-wrongly-reports-500000-
customers-as-delinquent-bill-payers-since-2010-

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Bill Shock cause - Systematic billing errors
Source: http://www.energychoicematters.com/stories/20141210b.html

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Bill Shock cause – Problematic transformation projects
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/nov/14/gas-electricity-consumers-overcharged-uswitch-study

13. 13
Bill Shock cause - Clock accuracy
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/24/npower-bill-shock-economy-customers

14. 14
 Better consumption control (via DR)
 Competition
− increased revenues by gaining more profitable customers
 Grid Control
 Regulation requirements and incentives
 Costs cuts
14
BTW – Why utilities care about Smart Meters

15. 15
Opt out statistics – hard to tell
Source: http://www.intelligentutility.com/article/12/09/few-and-fewer-opting-out-smart-meters

16. 16
Opt out statistics – hard to tell
Source: http://www.metering.com/smart-meters-canada-hydro-quebec-faces-heat-despite-low-opt-out-rate/

17. 17
The cost of opting-out
Source: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/pges-smart-meter-opt-out-the-ins-and-outs

18. 18
The cost of opting-out
Source:
http://www.bge.com/smartenergy/smartgrid
/commonquestions/pages/can-i-opt-out-or-
choose-not-to-have-a-meter-installed.aspx

19. 19
The impact of opting-out

20. 20
What is your scenario?
Smart
Meters
Smart
Utilization
Cost cut
to utilities
Cost cut
to
customers
More
opt-in
Smart
Meters
Same
Utilization
Cost
increases
to utilities
Cost
increases
to
customers
More
Opt-out

21. 21
Where RA enters the game
Smart
Meters
Smart
Utilization
Cost cut
to utilities
Cost cut
to
customers
More
Opt-in
Customer education
Appropriate DR plans
Correct Billing
On time billing
Fraud mitigation
Correct measurement

22. 22
Revenue Assurance and Bill Shock
RA Exists
There are best practices
There is methodology
There are products
Don’t waste time re-inventing it
Adopt and adapt it to your needs

23. Use of RA Best Practices Documents by TM Forum Members
20 Respondents, 180 Indications less 38 N/A = 142
13% 19% 19% 19% 25% 27% 33%
44% 38% 44% 50% 38% 33%
47%
63% 56%
44% 44% 38% 31% 38% 40%
20%
6%6%
38%31%
(16) (16) (16) (16) (16) (15)(15)(16)(16)
0%
100%
GB941-B (RAMM) GB941 Guidebook TR131 GB941-E [1] GB941-D GB941-A(RASK) GB941-E [3] GB941-E [2] GB941-C RFX
Not familiar withit and not using it Familiar withit but not using it Familiar withit and using it
23
Use of TM Forum Best Practices1
1: Source, TM Forum, Revenue Assurance Survey 2012

24. 24
Reactive, Active
and Proactive
Proactive
Monitor problems
in real time
to investigate
corrective response
before any revenue
loss takes place
Identify and resolve the cause
of revenue loss that already
took place
Reactive
Active
Implement controls
and other measures
to prevent problems
Revenue
Assurance

25. 25
TM Forum - Revenue Assurance Maturity Model
Organization Process Measurement Technology
RA strategy
RA objectives, goals &
incentives
Organizational fit
Sponsorship, ownership,
accountability and
responsibility of RA
Skill set of RA team
Business knowledge
Relationship with other
departments
Staffing levels
Communications
RA planning & review
Use of risk management
techniques
Change management
involvement & sign-off
In-life product reviews
Operation of primary
controls
Operation of secondary
controls
Investigation of
discrepancies
Correction of identified
issues
RA reporting
Adoption & sharing of
industry best practice
Measurement framework
RA control structure
Risk mitigation
RA control coverage & data
quality
Leakage & benefits
RA control efficiency
RA control effectiveness
RA productivity metrics
Unmeasured leakage
Technology strategy
Technology acquisition
Functionality of RA tool set
Access to information
Data analysis
Use of RA technology
Ease of use
Degree of automation
Revenue coverage
Supplier management
Provides a method to assess the maturity of business activities that should deliver
revenue assurance objectives based on a quantitative maturity model
Maturity Model Assessment Areas:
RequiresSome
AdaptationtoUtilities

26. 26
Product &
Offer
Management
Customer
Management
Partner
Management
Finance
Accounting &
Collection
Rating &
Billing
Grid
& Usage
Management
Order
Entry &
Provisioning
Based on the the Business Processes Model
Assess the completeness and efficiency of existing controls
Assess the level of RA coverage in the entire organization
Assess the known and unknown leakage risk areas (per business process)
Map the systems involved and prioritize the data sources
Set priorities for new control implementation and improvements needed
Core Business Processes (Order to Cash Flow)
 Risk Model based on 7 Business Processes
 Pre-defined risks per Business Process
Risk-based RA Methodology

27.  Catalogue of Metrics - 31
 Catalogue of Risks - 52
 Catalogue of Sub Risks -246
 Catalogue of Measures - 231
 Catalogue of Leakage scenarios - 125
RequiresSignificant
AdaptationtoUtilities27
TM Forum - RA Catalogues

28. 28
MoneyMap® Building Blocks
cVidya Platform - Analysis Layer:
Leakage Resolution, Discrepancy Analysis, Leakage Reporting
MoneyMap®
Configuration
MoneyMap®
Usage
MoneyMap®
Rating & Billing
Verification
cVidya Platform, ETL
Administration
Collecting &
reconciling
configuration
information from
various data sources
such as MDM, CRM,
Billing, Accounting
Monitoring and
Recovering revenue
lost due to missing or
incorrect usage data
along the Meter-to-bill
route
Verifies the rating
and billing
accuracy based on
contract, tariff,
meter readings
and estimations

29. 2929
Bill Shock – how to prevent
 Incorrect pricing – Price simulation
 Incorrect billing – RA Rating and billing controls
 Back-billing – RA Billing to CRMs and invoice controls
 Late billing – RA Billing to CRMs and invoice controls
 Problematic transformation projects – proactive RA
 Incorrect penalties – RA Rating and billing controls
 Meter failures – RA usage controls
 Clock accuracy – RA usage trends analysis
 Fraud – both RA and FM techniques adapted to Utilities
 Customer unawareness – market education
StandardRA

30. 30
Revenue Leakage Risks
 Perform RA Maturity and Risk Assessment
 Prioritize key risk areas
 Deploy the RA modules that address the key issues
30
Suggested Next Steps

31. 31
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Founded: 2001
300 employees in 15 locations worldwide
Deployed at 7 out of the 10 largest operators in the world
150 customers in 64 countries
Processing 2.45 Billion subscribers in deployments globally
Actively and constantly engaged with leading standard bodies and industry forums
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What you should know about us

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32
USA
AT&T, Sprint, Alaska Telecom,
Sovernet, ATN, Commnet, Islandcom,
CellularOne, Choice
Canada
Bell Canada, Rogers
South Africa - MTN, Vodacom
Uganda - Uganda Telecom
Zimbabwe - TelOne
Ivory Cost - MTN
Namibia - MTC, Telecom Namibia
Angola - Angola Telecom
UK - BT, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Colt,
Three, Sky, VirginMedia, Cable &
Wireless, EE
Germany - DT, Vodafone, E-Plus, 1und1
France - France Telecom, Orange
Spain - Telefonica, Telefonica Moviles,
JazzTel
Italy - Telecom Italia , TeleTu
Switzerland - Swisscom
Austria - A1 (Telecom Austria Group)
Sweden - Tele2, Telia, Telenor
Denmark – Telia, Telenor
Netherlands - KPN, Telfort, Orange,
Vodafone
Ireland - O2
Lithuania - TEO, Omnitel
Finland - DNA
Portugal - PT, ZON
Liechtenstein - Mobilkom
Belgium - BICS
Brazil - Vivo, TeleSP, TIM, Embratel, Algar
Mexico - Movistar/Telefonica, Iusacell
Argentina - Movistar/Telefonica, Telecom
Argentina
Peru - Movistar/Telefonica
Chile - Movistar/Telefonica
Ecuador - Movistar/Telefonica, CNT
Colombia - Movistar/Telefonica
Venezuela - CANTV, Digitel, Movistar/Telefonica
Guatemala - Movistar/Telefonica, Telgua
El Salvador - Movistar/Telefonica, Claro
Panama - Movistar/Telefonica, Cable & Wireless
Nicaragua - Movistar/Telefonica, Claro
Costa Rica - ICE
Caribbean’s - Cable & Wireless, Digicel
Puerto Rico - PRTC
Guyana - GT&T
Uruguay – Antel
Jamaica - Lime
India - Vodafone, Airtel
Vietnam - MobiFone
Philippines - Bayan, Globe
Australia - Three (H3G), Optus
Thailand - CAT
Singapore - MobileOne
Macau - CTM
Israel - Bezeq, Bezeq International,
Cellcom, Orange, Pelephone,
YES, HOT
Palestine - PalTel
Fiji - Digicel
Papua New Guinea - Digicel
Sri Lanka - Mobitel
Russia - RosTelecom,
Uralsvyazinform
Ukraine - Kyivstar
Belarus - BelTelecom
Georgia - Magticom
Kazakhstan - KazakhTelecom
Turkey - Vodafone
Greece - Cosmote, HOL (Hellas
Online), Forthnet
Albania - AMC (Cosmote), Plus
Romania - Cosmote
Serbia - Telekom Serbia, Vip mobile
Slovakia - Orange Slovakia
Bosnia Herzegovina - Telecom Srpske
Croatia - Croatian Telecom T-HT
Bulgaria - Mobiltel
Poland - T-Mobile
Macedonia - Vip operator
Slovenia – Simobil
Hungary - Telenor

33. 33
Questions?
Gadi@cVidya.com

34. THANK YOU!
www.cvidya.com