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Category: G.E.T CONNECTED

Five Years and Fifty Blogs Later

Posted on by Getchoice!

Choice! Energy Management’s blog, The Burn, is an extensive and diverse selection of posts on all the latest energy news including technology, politics and business. Our goal is to open pathways for productive conversation, as well as examine Choice’s place in the world of energy.

Where has the time gone? Five years ago, Choice! Energy Management began publishing monthly blogs to help our clients, future clients, and anyone interested in energy market current events stay informed. We have written about things as small as how to read your commodity supply contract, to things as complex as global trade affecting domestic energy markets. Our light-hearted themes have ranged from Joe Dirt to Alex Trebek (may he rest in peace), crossing Sporting Events, TV Shows, Movies, and Music. As we look back on our first fifty blog posts, we reflect on the good, the funny and the outrageously accurate predictions.

The Good

Taking complex topics and boiling them down in to blogs is no easy task. Whether explaining complex market dynamics, or presenting new technologies in the field of energy services, our blogs strive to make things simpler. Below are two of our favorite blogs that we feel exemplify our succinct style.

DOMO ARIGATO, MR. ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION: In the theme of the classic Styx song, we present an in depth look at what sets our proprietary platform Choice! Data Connect apart from other energy invoice and data collection platforms.

ERCOT DISASTER: MYTHBUSTERS: We look to the popular 2000’s TV show MythBusters, for a way to analyze the ERCOT power market. We debunk divisive and untruthful myths in the immediate aftermath of Winter Storm Uri in Texas.

The Outrageously Accurate

The mission of The Burn is to start conversations in the energy world. We don’t often tip our hand on our market intelligence, but do like to point out fundamentals and trends that could ultimately affect energy market prices. Below are a couple of the blogs that panned out just the way we foretold.

STRANGE TIMES: NATURAL GAS STORAGE LEVEL: Published 10/16/2018, this Stranger Things themed blog highlighted the bullish market fundamentals that eventually led to the highest NYMEX natural gas prices we have seen in the last 7 years. NYMEX Prompt traded at $3.20/MMBtu at the time of this blog, and a month later skyrocketed to as high as $4.92/MMBtu.

ENERGY PURGATORY: SOCAL: Published on 8/22/2018, this blog came fresh off the Natural Gas and Power market chaos in Southern California at the time. We suggested hedging against “purgatory-like” price uncertainty in the region. Everything that can go wrong is still going wrong in this market, and prices continue to climb today. 

The Funny

Energy markets and energy industry services are not the most humorous topics to write about. Nevertheless, we persist, adding in what we perceive to be top shelf, grade A humor; chasing that dream of being the first energy consultants on Saturday Night Live. Read below and judge kindly.

STRATEGERY: An SNL skit themed dive into why Choice! is distinguished from the rest when it comes Strategic Procurement of Natural Gas and Electricity.

HOLIDAY MOVIES AS NATURAL GAS FUNDAMENTALS: A nostalgic Christmas blog comparing six classic movies to natural gas market fundamentals. The blog is informative for those who know nothing about energy markets.

We look forward to writing more energy market blogs in the future and appreciate you as an audience. Energy is a complex topic and as witnessed by recent blackouts and pipeline outages, it is growing in importance, deeply impacting our lives and businesses every day. It is our passion and mission at Choice! Energy Management to provide the knowledge and services necessary to keep your business doing what it does best. For more information on how we can best serve you, please reach out to a Choice! consultant today.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Robotic Process Automation

Posted on by Getchoice!

By: Matthew Mattingly

Styx Mr Roboto GIF from Styx GIFs

The term Robotic Process Automation may have a different definition depending on the person or reference.  To my wife, the term Robotic Process may conjure the image of a dance move that her husband does WAY TOO early and often at parties. However, we will not be talking about dance moves in this blog entry. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a new coming, game-changer in the utility bill management world. RPA is an automation tool that uses software bots to handle high-volume, repeatable, rule-based tasks (Insert Wikepedia definition). Our bill management software, Choice Data Connect, has been using RPA to help clients streamline the bill management process to extract invoices, organize data, and automate Accounts Payables. Clients are now getting their data faster and more accurate than ever before.  As we will further explain, the old bill management process is making way for the new. Domo arigato Mr. Robotic Process Automation!

Invoice Extraction – The Old Way

Utility bill management (UBM) programs have been around for years, but typically requires a manual process. The process involves changing billing addresses to a centralized location, paper invoices to be opened/scanned, and human interaction to physically monitor/input data. Although this UBM process does provide value in a centralized process, it still requires a time consuming and costly human touch. Human touch leads to human error, which leads to payment delays and billing errors.  Basically, people ruin everything, they are the worst.

Old Technology – OCR and EDI

Another complaint of UBM providers is aging technology. Many providers still rely on OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to view and extract data from scanned invoices. OCR can be helpful, but the process depends upon high resolution images of invoices and may have difficulty with poorly imaged scans.  Just think how many times you looked at a scanned invoice and wondered, is that an eight or a nine?  Heck maybe it’s a niner?  OCR technology will have the same issues. Additionally, OCR technology is could never accurately report the hand-written invoice sent by the rural county water department.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is also a technology used by several UBM providers to receive utility invoices. EDI allows utility vendors to directly transmit data, providing a prompt and paperless delivery. BUUUUUT, there is a major flaw with EDI invoices and that is they are not the true invoice copies.  In fact, EDI invoices look more like binary code, making it impossible for someone to review and interpret cost and usage data from the file. See the example below.

New Way – Robotic Process Automation

Choice Energy Management takes invoice extraction to the next level.  By using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) our bill management team can DIGITALLY download over 80% of our client’s accounts. Software Bots take the place of human interaction and manual invoices, by pulling digital invoices directly from a supplier or utility portal.  The diagram below illustrates the process flow chart of the software bots within the utility/supplier portal.

Invoice Validation

As shown by the above diagram, our Robotic Process Automation doesn’t stop with invoice extraction. Invoice templates are created to extract ALL invoice data and import directly to Choice Data Connect. However, the data is not imported into Choice Data Connect unless it passes a 225+ audit checklist. Failure of the audit requires a Choice Data Analyst to review the invoice and data before submitting to Choice Data Connect.  This ensures all data within Choice Data Connect is 99.5% accurate. Basically, Lloyd Christmas has the same chance with Mary (Samsonite) Swanson as an invoice error of hitting Choice Data Connect.

Summary

Through leading technology (such as Robotic Process Automation), Choice Data Connect is taking utility bill management to the next level.  Our clients are now getting faster, more accurate data, all while having access to the true invoice copy. This is just the beginning for Choice Data Connect. In the next year, Choice plans to incorporate Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to reach our goal of having 100% digital invoices within Choice Data Connect. This will lead to even less human touch. In the meantime, we will celebrate the advances Robotic Process Automation has provided Choice Data Connect.  In fact, the lyrics of Styx’s 1983 #1 hit, Mr. Roboto may say it best.

Thank you very much, Mr. Robotic Process Automation
For doing the jobs that nobody wants to
And thank you very much, Mr. Robotic Process Automation
For helping me escape just when I needed to
Thank you, thank you, thank you
I want to thank you, please, thank you

Confidential: Choice Energy Services Retail, LP.

7 Ways CESConnect Provides Automation to YOUR Business

Posted on by Getchoice!

by Nicole Bushong and Matthew Mattingly

We live in an age of automation.

Manual processing has been eliminated; replaced by technology improvements that are both quicker and more efficient. Of course you don’t need an energy consulting firm to tell you this simple fact. Just look around in your daily lives to see how much faster you communicate, receive data or share information than a decade ago. Or, if you really want to appreciate the current technological environment, watch a 90s movies (i.e. Speed) and wonder how the world worked with payphones, VHS tapes, fax machines and walkie talkies. It makes you wonder how anything ever got done 20 years ago. Our culture today is simply running at a faster pace, coinciding with vast improvements with technology and automation.

When we want something, we want it NOW!

So, it is imperative for businesses to embrace automation and technology improvements to separate themselves from their competition. At Choice! Energy Services, we not only embrace automation for our own business, but we also provide automation solutions to our clients. Through our bill management platform, CESConnect, we have provided our clients seven unique ways to improve time and save money…

1. Reduce Costs
Automation allows us to take mundane tasks out of the hands of our clients, which frees up time to focus on more important tasks in the workplace. CESConnect reports on performance against budget and optimizes operating expenses. The platform rids you of backtracking purchasing decisions.

2. Make Processes Faster
There’s no question automated processes run a lot faster than manual processes. CESConnect eliminates the hassles of logging into hundreds of online portals, deciphering different billing formats, wasting time typing and creating spreadsheets. It also allows you to receive all of your invoice data electronically immediately after an invoice is created.

3. Provide Consistency
Automation ensures processes are consistently carried out, eliminating the possibility of forgetting a step or cutting a corner. Since data transfer between CESConnect and Energy Star Portfolio Manager is automatic, Portfolio Manager is always up-to-date with the latest utility bill data received for all enrolled properties. Likewise, CESConnect will always be up-to-date with each property’s benchmark performance.

4. Reduce Errors
Humans make mistakes. It’s a fact of life. Choice Energy Services’ invoice validation will help identify errors, allowing for reconciliation. Once errors are identified they are communicated directly back to the client in a detailed report. If savings are recovered, 100% of the recovered savings belong to the client (no shared savings). Choice evaluates the following invoice errors:

  • Billing errors
  • Late fees
  • Improper rate charges
  • Supplier bill vs. supplier contract
  • Meter read estimates
  • Usage anomalies

All these steps ensure the quality and reliability of your energy and utility data.

5. Make Metrics Easier to Track
Our CESConnect system makes tracking energy and billing metrics easier than ever. It allows customers to manage all utility invoice data for power, natural gas, water, sewer and trash across regulated and deregulated regions. Since CES Connect is built in–house, we have the capacity to customize settings and reporting capabilities for our clients, including customized csv reports that can be provided on a client’s specific schedule.

6. Improve Organization
CES Connect provides our clients with substantial reporting tools to easily manage all utility invoice data. The tools include: cost & usage reporting & notifications, energy star reporting & metrics, budgeting, contract management & expiration notification, while housing the actual invoice and contract documents. Additionally, all of your billing and usage information can be viewed online, saved to file or downloaded from CES Connect into Excel format.

7. Centralize Communication
Automation ensures the information you need is automatically sent where you need it. CESConnect provides a centralized space to access your energy management data. Also, our clients electronically receive all of their invoice data immediately after an invoice is created, without any mailing or processing delay.

Confidential: Choice Energy Services Retail, LP.