Bill Forecast Module

The Bill Forecast module informs customers how much their bill is projected to be by the end of the billing period. Dual fuel customers see a combined bill forecast for both electric and gas use. The purpose of the forecast is to encourage customers to lower their usage before the bill period ends.

Design

The image below is an example of the Bill Forecast module for dual fuel customers.

Configuration Options

For each element listed in the table, indicate the desired configuration in the Input Value column. If you do not provide an input for optional configurations, the default will be used.

Configuration Option	Input Value
Bill Projection, Bill-to-Date, or Bill Hybrid Experience The Bill Forecast has three variants: Bill projection experience: Displays the customer's estimated cost or usage for the end of the bill period Bill-to-date experience: Displays the customer's current usage or cost. Bill hybrid experience: Displays both the customer's estimated use or cost (for the end of the bill period) as well as the customer's current usage or cost. Default: The default is the bill projection experience.	Optional Choose one of the following: Use the default (bill projection) Use the bill- or usage-to-date option Use the bill hybrid option

Configuration Option

Input Value

Bill Projection, Bill-to-Date, or Bill Hybrid Experience

The Bill Forecast has three variants:

Bill projection experience: Displays the customer's estimated cost or usage for the end of the bill period
Bill-to-date experience: Displays the customer's current usage or cost.
Bill hybrid experience: Displays both the customer's estimated use or cost (for the end of the bill period) as well as the customer's current usage or cost.

Default: The default is the bill projection experience.

Optional

Choose one of the following:

Use the default (bill projection)
Use the bill- or usage-to-date option
Use the bill hybrid option

User Experience Variations

The user experience varies for customers depending upon their service types, available data, costs, and locale. Note that the following list indicates the primary user experience variations, not all possible variations.

Gas-Only

Gas-only customers see "therms" or "CCFs" (whichever unit of measure is appropriate for the utility) displayed in the bill forecast rather than kWhs.

Rates Not Modeled If the customer does not have rates modeled, the Bill Forecast displays energy use instead of cost. Electric-only customers are displayed in kWh. For gas-only customers, Therms or CCFs are displayed rather than kWhs. Only single-fuel usage forecasts are supported.