UNCLE Wembley - Metering & Billing Services Including The Glass App

Whilst the metering and billing solution was of paramount importance, UNCLE also had a strong desire to provide a positive customer experience.  As a first step to achieving this we created a visitor welcome pack which was given to each household.  This guide introduces the various elements of their metering solution, explains how bills are calculated, introduces important information such as payment methods and has essential contact details.

On a day-to-day basis our customer service team are available to answer any questions residents have, record maintenance requests or help with issues such as debt recovery.  We have experience of delivering customer service for third party applications and all our customer service operatives have a deep understanding of the metering systems we install.

The Operation & Maintenance services are being delivered by a third party and we have worked with them to put comprehensive procedures in place.  This means that we act as first contact for any issues with hardware, recording details of all faults and passing this information to the O&M provider.

UNCLE Wembley saw the first deployment of our Glass app and portal which was developed with the needs of both operators and residents in mind.  Glass is available on laptops, desktop, phones and tablets and, as the name implies, is designed to bring visibility to energy consumption and spend.

The app and portal were made available to all residents on UNCLE Wembley and provides visibility, control and flexible payment methods for residents. Importantly, it also has the facility to estimate usage based on historical data and weather forecasts.  This gives residents the opportunity to budget with more certainty.  In addition to presenting the information in an intuitive, graphical way, the app also serves as a communications channel with the operator able to deliver messages straight to the customer.

From a resident perspective, the app streamlines some of the more traditionally time-consuming aspects of the energy billing process, such as making moving in and out a simple app-based task.  On this project all residents pay by direct debit, which can easily be set up via Glass and, should their energy costs for the month exceed this, they can top up their account via a range of convenient payment methods.

The Glass operator portal is the ideal tool for operators and landlords as it provides financial optimisation of their property portfolio.  Clients can take a macro view of their projects, looking at the performance across multiple sites, or drill down into the granular data of individual dwellings to give them full visibility of the information they need.

Managing debt is important for both clients and residents. Glass provides the tools for landlords and operators to proactively manage debt and has been an effective tool in reducing outstanding rents.  The dashboard allows clients to view levels of debt, identify people who are in arrears and reach out to help.  Options can range from sending reminders via the app switching to prepayment to help residents pay down arears in a manageable way.

Glass also gives landlords  the ability to analyse and monitor the usage of vulnerable residents, allowing landlords to offer support where necessary.  By identifying under or over energy consumption and advising clients regarding energy efficiencies to ensure that residents get the best value for money.

The Heat Metering & Billing Regulations have made Glass a particularly effective tool in reaching legislative compliance.  As it allows energy customers to only pay for the energy they consume, Glass gives users and operators the ability to view their real-time consumption data and enables operators to easily reconcile energy cost vs revenue generated.