Transcript Document

2011 Utility Payments Conference
Case Study: Best Practices and MultiPayment Channels – PGE’s Innovative
Programs & Initiatives
Tuesday, Sept 20th 10:45 – 11:45
Presented by Wes Friesen,
Manager – Revenue Collection & Community Offices
Portland General Electric
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Managing Payment Programs Can be
Stressful!
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Identical Dolphins…
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But Managing Payment Programs Can be
Very Satisfying!
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Company Overview
Portland General Electric
 Oregon’s largest utility
 Headquarters is located in Portland, Oregon
 Fully integrated electric utility that serves 825,000 residential,
commercial and industrial customers
 PGE is a recognized leader in the utility industry and has safely
and dependably powered northwest Oregon since 1889
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PGE’s Print & Mail Team
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Print & Mail Services
InfoPrint 5000 Color Printers; Pitney Bowes Inserters (APS, FPS); other print
and mail related equipment and software
Only electric utility in the nation that is MPTQM certified
Have earned multiple national awards for Excellence (e.g. 2008, 2009, 2010
earned NAPL’s Gold/Silver Awards)
100% Same Day production of bills for over 9 straight years, with zero
significant errors!
Maximize postal discounts ($3m savings) via selective/intelligent inserting and
automation/sortation work sharing; early adopter of Intelligent Mail
BarCode
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Customer Bills (June 2011)
Paper Bills = 742,977 (87.7 %)
E-Bills = 103,977 (12.3%)
E-Bills are growing in number and %; paper bills are relatively flat in numbers
Multi-Channel Bill Redesign initiative in process (moving Bills & related communications
from very good to great)
Paper comes from PGE Customer Boise Cascade, using sustainable fiber sources:
construction/lumber mill wood waste; re-cycled paper; sustainable and certified tree
farms/forests
Environmental Certification (SFI) in place for envelope & forms vendors; certification in
process for print & mail services SFI certification
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Payment Departments
Cash Remittance
Mail-in Payments
Electronic Billing and Payments
Electronic and Third Party
Community Offices
Walk-in payments
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Payment Trends
70%
60%
50%
40%
Mail-In
Electronic
30%
Walk-In
20%
10%
0%
2005
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2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
PGE’s Cash Remittance Team
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Cash Remittance
 Processes all mail-in payments for PGE
 Light and Power
 Agency
 Non-Light and Power
 Process 80+% of payments ARC
 Implementing Image Cash Letter for remainder
 Hardware:
 Utilize OPEX 7.5 and 51s w/3690i
 Burroughs Quantum's
 Software
 Running on a UNISYS Lockbox platform
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Cash Remittance
 Marksense
• Redeem PGE Gift Cards
• Address changes/customer
comments
 Bangtail envelopes for promoting
PGE programs
 One Check and Consolidated Bill
payments
 Archive of Bill Stub and Check
Images
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ISO 9001 Certification
Background:
Goal is Continuous Improvement
Became Certified in 2009
111 Procedures, 85 Forms and full-day Audits
Benefits:
Vendor reviews resulted in better service and
Changes:
Quarterly Review of Vendors/Suppliers
Issues Database
Documented Procedures
Quality Manual
Change Management System
Training Manual
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relationships
Clear training setup
Changes tracked to procedures
Communication of changes made more quickly
Pride in meeting goals and passing audits
Agency Portal
 Allows Agencies to view PGE customer’s account with
permission from customer
 Able to view any commitments previously made on an
account, view account balances, and create a
commitment on the account
 Reduces calls and call times for both PGE and agency
personnel
 Automatically deletes commitment from account once
money is posted
 Huge success with Agencies – high satisfaction!
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PGE’s Electronic Bills & Payments Team
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Electronic Bills & Payments
 Express Pay Locations
 VCOM Kiosks
 BillMatrix
 Mobile Payments via Text Message
 Automatic Monthly Payments
 PGE IVR check payment
 Online Payments
 EDI
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You are enrolled in
Auto Pay
Express Pay Locations
PGE’s Express Pay stations let you pay your PGE bill at grocery stores, pharmacies
and other convenient places.
PGE has contracted with vendors for this service.
There is a $1.50 convenience fee charged for each payment made at an Express Pay
location. The $1.50 convenience fee must be paid in cash.
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VCOM
Advantages For Customers:
Convenient Locations (7-11 Stores)
Customer can use the system in English or Spanish
Pay 24 hours a day, 7 days a week depending on the store
location
Ability to pay by cash or debit card (no credit cards or money
orders)
For PGE:
Provides another convenient payment option for customers
Very low cost to process payments because the customer is
paying a $1.50 fee for the service and completing the
transaction on their own.
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BillMatrix
Advantages For Customers:
A COMPANY OF
Customers can use the system in English or Spanish
Payments can be made via the web from a link on PGEs website or
over the phone
Customers can use VISA, MasterCard or Discover card, as well as any
ATM / debit card that displays the StarSM System logo. Note: There is a
$600 maximum per transaction
For PGE:
Provides another convenient payment option for customers
Very low cost to process payments because the customer is paying a
$3.95 fee for the service and completing the transaction on their own.
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Mobile Options
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Other Checking Account Options
 Automatic Monthly Payments
 Auto Pay
 PGE IVR check payment
 In house w/no fee
 Online Payments
 Recurring
 One-time
 Future dated
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PGE’s Community Offices Team
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Community Offices
•
Processes walk-in and drop box payments at
7 different locations
•
Created PGE Gift Card Program
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Process MasterCard credit and debit cards
with no fee to customer
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Started processing checks via Remote Deposit
in February 2008; BOC in 2009
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Electronic surveying of customer experience
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Elder Friendly Certified Offices
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Community Offices
Remote Capture/BOC
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
Checks are captured and sent to the bank along with MICR info from the checks

Eligible items are converted to ACH

Reduction in bank fees

Bank deals with Administrative returns

Slight reduction in float time of checks

Payback period was less than 6 months
Gift Cards
History:

Before 2007, PGE had a Gift Certificate program

Had to know address or PGE account number

Red tape did not allow PGE reps to give out personal information or verify amount
owed

Money went directly on account and card was sent to PGE customer informing
them of gift applied to account

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Not a very popular program
Gift Cards
Challenges:
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
Public Utility Commission’s rule on 1 year “suspense” payment rule

How to buy or redeem gift cards

Tracking redemption of cards

Cost of gift cards
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Reconciling Redeemed/Paid accounts
Gift Cards
In 2007: 979 cards sold = $36,124
In 2008: 1,574 cards sold = $63,720
In 2009: 2,539 cards sold = $76,829
In 2010: 1,499 cards sold = $71,653
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Credit Cards

Currently receiving MasterCard payments with no fee in Community offices

VISA and MasterCard can be used through Bill Matrix with a $3.95 fee

Customer feedback supports wanting more credit card options

Challenges in getting approved in revenue requirements; looking at trying to get
residential fees covered in 2013 test year

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Looking at future opportunities on PGE website
Future Plans
 Real-time (More Frequent) Payment
Posting
 Quick Response 2D barcode
(payments, marketing)
 Pre-paid metering
 Credit Cards accepted on PGE website
for residential customers for a small
fee or free starting in 2013 (free only if
covered in rates)
 Company focus on Payments
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Questions
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Have questions or need more info? Contact Wes at:
[email protected]
Work #: 503-612-4771
Or Contact Kay Limbaugh or Darla Buyas 
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Thank you
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