Denver Water Enhances Billing Capabilities and Customer Service with Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing

Utility Replaces Legacy Customer Information System to Improve Service for Approximately 1.3 Million People
Oracle OpenWorld, San Francisco, Calif. -- Denver Water, a provider of high-quality water and a promoter of its efficient use to 1.3 million people in the City of Denver and many surrounding suburbs, has implemented Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing to replace a legacy customer information system (CIS) – helping the utility enhance billing capabilities and customer service and better understand customer needs.
Prior to the implementation of Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing, Denver Water relied on its legacy CIS, Account Information Management (AIM), which had served as the center of Denver Water’s billing functions and the main source of customer information since 1994. The solution was highly customized and not scalable enough to meet Denver Water’s current or future needs.
Denver Water implemented Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing, in part, to move from bi-monthly to monthly billing, helping the utility to realize revenue more quickly. The utility now has access to more timely information regarding its customers’ consumption habits, enabling Denver Water to provide its customers with a clear picture of the relationship between their consumption and environmental impact, and then encourage them to make wise water usage decisions.
Denver Water has also consolidated its customer care and billing solution with its water sales system, eliminating customer data duplication and providing the utility with higher quality information regarding its customers. Further, Denver Water has integrated Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing with its computer telephony integration (CTI) solution, enabling the utility’s service representatives to view customer data instantly when a customer calls with an inquiry or to report a problem.
In the near future, Denver Water plans to enhance its rate design to further promote water conservation. The utility intends to send price signals that encourage wise water use, urging customers to minimize run-off while watering lawns and – over the long term – install efficient irrigation systems, appliances and fixtures. It expects to integrate the Oracle Utilities application with other utility systems and provide the real-time information critical to efficient operations and strategic decision making.
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“Prior to our implementation of Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing, we were working with a 15-year-old, highly customized legacy CIS that could not handle our current and future business needs. With the Oracle solution, we have been able to move from bi-monthly to monthly billing, while also supporting our water conservation initiatives and meeting the needs of our customers,” said Christopher Dermody, chief information officer, Denver Water.
“With Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing, Denver Water has been able to streamline payment processing and collections while also enabling the utility to meet other short- and long-term goals. The solution enables utility companies, like Denver Water, to provide excellent service and contain costs for their customers,” said Quentin Grady, senior vice president, Oracle Utilities.