Oracle Utilities Opower Affordability Identification and Analytics Cloud Service
The Affordability Identification and Analytics cloud service is a process for identifying limited income customers for utilities. The process involves a combination of data and metrics to categorize customers according to their relative financial vulnerability. This information can then be used to segment customer experiences and send targeted communications to limited-income customers about available financial assistance programs.
On this page:
- Identification Using Multiple Datasets
- Identification Using AMI Data
- Inside Opower
- Opower Analytics Visualization
- Requirements and Limitations
Identification Using Multiple Datasets
Oracle Utilities Opower uses data from a variety of sources to identify customers who are likely to have a limited income or who are behind on their bills:
- Utility-Provided Data: Customer energy use data, account data, and other data sent from utilities to Oracle Utilities on a regular cadence as part of an Opower product or program.
- Third-Party Data: Data from third-party vendors about customer demographics, such as customer income levels or the number of occupants living in a household.
- Open-Source Data: Energy affordability data from the US Census and other reputable US government sources.
By combining and analyzing data elements from these different sources, Oracle Utilities Opower generates insights about customers' energy burden and ability to pay their utility bills. Utilities can then use these insights for their own analysis, or as part of an initiative to reach limited-income customers with information about the financial assistance options available to them.
Identification Using AMI Data
Oracle Utilities Opower can use AMI data to continually predict which customers are likely to be eligible for financial assistance programs. This component of the cloud service requires AMI data, as well as the purchase of an AMI platform and setup fee. Contact your Oracle Utilities Opower sales representative or Delivery Team for more information.
Inside Opower
The results of the affordability identification process can be presented in Inside Opower, an online suite of tools to help users across a utility manage their Oracle Utilities Opower program. For example, the application can display graphics or metrics related to customer interactions such as survey completions and clicks on links that lead to financial assistance information. Contact your Oracle Utilities sales representative or Delivery Team for more details about what data can be made available in Inside Opower.
Opower Analytics Visualization
Affordability data can be displayed as charts, dashboards, and other types of graphics in the Oracle Utilities Opower Analytics Visualization application. For example, the application can display data such as customers’ income level or the age of their homes. This data can be then analyzed and visualized in different ways by staff at the utility to answer questions about customer affordability. Contact your Oracle Utilities sales representative or Delivery Team for more information about what data can be made available and the tasks you can perform with the data.
Requirements and Limitations
- Data Requirements: At a minimum, billing data is required from the utility to accurately identify customers who are likely to be limited income. This data is augmented with demographic and census data from other sources as part of the affordability identification process.
- AMI Platform and Setup Requirement: AMI data is required to perform program eligibility prediction for financial assistance programs. In this case, utilities must purchase the Oracle Utilities Opower AMI Integration and Platform Cloud Service Setup Fee.