Change Management for Utility Billing Relief

Project Description

A City’s Water Utility contracted SDI to provide water, sewer, and tax billing relief to the City’s non-metered customers through billing modifications which include:

• Change bill frequency from billing every six months to every month.
• Change bill schedule to bill for the previous month’s service vs. billing for up to six months in advance.
• Stop and start billing for documented service disconnection and reconnection.

These changes require extension modification within the Customer Information System (CIS) to undo customizations made to support the 6-month billing requirement.

Additionally, when the billing is switch to monthly, there are business process impacts to billing, payments, collection, and reporting; technical impacts to system storage and performance; impacts to 3rd party vendors who support bill print, bill images, payment processing channels, customer service center, IVR, and the websites; as well as impacts to over 1/3 of the City’s customers.

A detailed change management strategy and plan is being utilized which includes:

• Identification and Assessment of Key Stakeholders
• Impact and Readiness Assessments/User Role Mapping
• End-User Training
• Detailed Communication Plans.

Project Goals

Provide improved customer service by reducing the financial burden placed on non-metered customers who currently receive 2 large semi-annual utility bills for water, sewer, refuse, water tax, and sewer tax services.  Customers will receive a much smaller bill and will be able to budget monthly more easily for this reduced cost.

Customer charges also continue to accrue on non-metered accounts even if the City shuts off the water.  The billing modifications will provide compliance with the new ordinance which requires billing to be suspended for a documented water service disconnection.

Provide all parties impacted by the change with the awareness, desire, knowledge, and ability to support and engage in the change to help ensure the business objectives related will be successful.

Services Delivered

SDI services delivered, include but are not limited to the following:

• Project Management
• Change Management
• Solutions Integration and Professional Services
• Subject Matter Expertise
• Software Configuration
• Training Development with Train-the-Trainer Approach

Project Results

• Improved Customer Service with more timely, smaller, and easier to budget bills.
• All 180,000 non-metered customers receive a monthly bill with monthly rates calculated correctly.
• Compliance with the City’s Ordinance which promotes fairness and supports billing relief to customers who are not using their water service.