(Paderborn, Germany). March 12, 2013: Electricity utility Meralco has successfully launched its Prepaid Electricity technical pilot in the Philippines with 40 households, with a view to roll out to 40,000 soon. The pre-paid electricity service is based on Orga Systems’ OS.Energy solution for Smart Utilities.
In the first roll-out phase in Meralco’s regulatory period, 40,000 customers will be equipped with smart meters and will benefit from a full budget control, consumption transparency and real-time notifications. According to Orga Systems, real-time balance management and mobile notifications deliver best customer experience and promote consumption management.
Convenient reload is guaranteed by full integration with the multi-channel payment infrastructure that ranges from traditional ‘mom and pop’ stores as well as convenience stores through to Meralco’s business centres. Based on the pilot, Meralco will apply for approval from the Energy Regulation Commission of the Philippines (ERC), thereby giving customers transparency and control over their electricity spending.
Real-time threshold management reportedly enables energy budget predictions and keeps customers up to date. Knowing three days in advance that their energy budget is about to end avoids disconnection periods.
“A pre-paid electricity offering with real-time customer engagement is an essential step in our ambitious customer satisfaction strategy,” said Jose Antonio Valdez, Meralco’s vice-president and head of Marketing and Customer Solutions. “Orga Systems OS.Energy enables us to put the customer experience into focus while complying with regulatory requirements. This increases profitability and customer satisfaction at the same time,” he added.
