Bill Comparison Module
The Bill Comparison module is a component of the Bill Advisor interface that provides CSRs with a concise summary of the customer's bill and how it compares to last month's bill, as well as to the same month's bill of the previous year.
Fuel Selector and Date Range: A selector at the top of the module shows which fuel type is being viewed (electricity or gas) and allows the CSR to switch to a different fuel. Arrow icons on either side of the date range allow CSRs to view comparisons for other billing periods.
Notification Banner: The following notifications may be displayed in a banner at the top of the module. These notifications are designed to help CSRs more effectively target their answers to the customer's situation and expedite the call.
- Estimated Bill Notification: A notification is displayed whenever the selected bill is an estimate. An estimated bill is an approximate monetary amount that is calculated based on the energy that a customer has consumed in the past, rather than the energy that the customer has consumed in the present billing period. Estimated bills are calculated when unusual circumstances prevent Oracle Utilities from obtaining meter reads for the customer.
- Program Enrollment Notification: A notification is displayed if the customer was enrolled in one or more utility programs during the selected bill period. For example, a customer may have enrolled in a solar power program or a low-income payment plan with their utility. Such programs may give customers a discount on their energy use and thereby affect their bill.
Bill Period Data Overview: The module displays relevant information about the selected bill period. This information includes the cost of the energy used (without fees or taxes included), the amount of energy used, the average temperature for the period, and the length of the period.
Comparison to Last Month: A comparison statement describes why the customer's bill is more or less than last month. For example, the statement may say, "Compared to last month, the bill was $24 more due to weather." A CSR can click a link to the right of the statement to show more information. The drop-down displays a comparison bar chart and a table that compares the following elements:
- Programs: An indication of whether the customer enrolled in a utility program or is no longer enrolled in a program. This row is not displayed if there is no applicable program change. A tooltip is available to show the programs that are available at the utility. See Program Enrollment Notification above for more information about utility programs.
- Rates: The energy cost per kWh, therm, or so on for each compared bill period. The value displayed is a calculation that includes specific rate variations, such as tiers or time of use, that may be part of a customer's rate plan. A tooltip is displayed that describes the rates calculation.
- Weather: The average temperature in each compared bill period.
- Bill Period: The number of days in each compared bill period.
- Energy Use: The total amount of energy (electricity or gas) consumed in each compared bill period. A tooltip is displayed next to this element that calculates a customer’s average energy use for each day in the billing period. CSRs can hover over this tooltip to view a more granular insight about how the customer's average daily energy use differed between the compared bill periods.
Comparison to Last Year: A comparison statement is shown that describes why the bill is more or less than the same month last year. For example, the statement may say, "Compared to last year, the bill was $4 less due to lower electricity use." A CSR can click a ink to the right of the statement to show more information. The drop-down displays a cost comparison bar chart and a table that compares weather, energy use, and bill period length.