Project Overview
Energy process automation was central to OVO Energy’s partnership with Transparity, where manual and fragmented operations such as call-centre workflows, direct debit adjustments, tenancy changes and disputed meter reads were slowing service and increasing risk.
Transparity developed an integrated software solution connecting agent-facing web apps with BizTalk-orchestrated processes and core systems including billing, CRM, APIs and scheduling platforms. This approach streamlined customer operations, improved data accuracy and enhanced cash-flow management. The project demonstrates our expertise in App Innovation and data integration within Data Consultancy.
The Challenge
Anyone who has tried to understand their electricity bill knows that deregulation has brought fierce competition and real complexity to the market. Estimated or disputed reads, difficulty switching suppliers, and long waits for the call centre are common complaints levelled at the big energy suppliers.
When OVO Energy entered the market, it set out to do things differently – offering simple, efficient, transparent customer service alongside energy at attractive prices. With a business built on ‘big service, not big profits’, OVO’s call centre needed real efficiency: software that delivered fast response times, managed transactions that depended on data from other parties such as suppliers and new tenants, and integrated fully with the core systems used to track usage and billing.
Improving cash flow was just as critical. When wholesale energy prices rise while customers continue paying a fixed monthly direct debit, cash costs can quickly overtake cash revenue. With hundreds of thousands of customers, recalculating direct debit values, applying them and communicating the changes is no small task – and getting it right was essential to the new system’s success.
The Solution
Transparity is one of the UK’s foremost experts in energy-sector software development and integration, with a track record of delivering for many of the sector’s major players. The relationship with OVO Energy dates back to 2010, when Transparity was contracted to build their software system on BizTalk Server 2010, ASP.NET 4.0, and SQL Server 2008 R2 and 2012.
ASP.NET web pages are used directly by call-centre operatives, while BizTalk Server, the backbone of Transparity’s application integration approach, handles the business processes, long-running transactions, and integration with the account management and financial systems that run the business.
The resulting software system, built through Transparity’s custom software development practice, automates a number of functions, including:
- Direct Debit Refunds: refunds calculated and issued to customers based on their energy consumption
- Direct Debit Review: recalculating customer direct debits based on their consumption patterns
- Direct Debit Batch Review: batch-reviewing large numbers of accounts to ensure direct debits are correct
- Change of Tenancy: managing the switch of an account between outgoing and incoming tenants
- Disputed Reads: managing disputes that typically arise when customers switch suppliers and readings differ
- Collection Management: managing payments from customers who have fallen behind on direct debits, including via pre-pay meters
- Smart Meter Installation: an automated booking system for Smart Meter installations, used by both the call centre and customers directly online
Ongoing application managed services began at go-live, with hours purchased on account and called off as needed – a flexible, uncomplicated model used for fixes, updates, routine maintenance and system health checks.
Transparity continues to partner with OVO Energy on new initiatives that let the organisation keep advancing its service. Recent projects include extending the Smart Meter booking system to allow closer management of booking patterns, ensuring there’s enough capacity to meet market demand, and extending the collections management system to automate more of the data transfer between OVO Energy and third-party debt collection organisations.
We believe in the simplicity of making things work better. Technology evolves so quickly, so even when software is implemented and working perfectly, we’ll look at it afterwards and see how we could build upon it. This modus operandi aligns well with OVO because they too are always looking for ways to improve. We’ve been working with them since 2010, and the relationship continues to grow because we both believe so strongly in customer satisfaction as the end result. Transparity
The Outcome
Eight critical processes automated
From direct debit refunds and reviews to disputed reads and Smart Meter bookings, processes that once relied on manual handling now run through one integrated system, reducing risk and freeing up the call centre to focus on customers.
Stronger cash-flow management
Accurate, timely direct debit recalculation across hundreds of thousands of customers helps protect OVO Energy from rising wholesale prices outpacing fixed monthly payments.
A decade-long, evolving partnership
The relationship between OVO Energy and Transparity, running since 2010, continues to expand into new automation projects – from smarter Smart Meter booking management to deeper collections automation with third parties.
Flexible, on-demand support
Support hours are purchased on account and called off as needed, giving OVO Energy a flexible, uncomplicated way to access fixes, updates, maintenance and system health checks without a rigid contract structure.
