Email High Bill Alerts AMI
Email High Bill Alerts AMI are digital messages sent through the email channel to inform customers when they are on track for a high bill or high energy use. The appearance of an email alert varies based on whether Oracle Utilities has modeled a customer's rates. The major components of the email are described below.
Subject Line and From Address
The subject line appears as: "Unusual [electric/natural gas] usage.” The From email address uses the following format by default:
info@{clientcode}.opower.com
Replying to the alert forwards an email to the global email address for the program. This, in turn, sends the email to the appropriate utility parties and Oracle Utilities.
Header and Footer
The header includes a logo provided by the utility, the customer's name, and the last four digits of their utility account number. Most of the numbers in the account number are displayed as asterisks for security purposes.
The footer includes components that provide more context about the alert. The footer consists of a manage preferences link, the utility’s contact information, a copyright statement, an unsubscribe link, and a customizable disclaimer that indicates the actual bill or cost may vary.
Warning: Unsubscribing through the email is permanent. Customers will never receive emails alerts again and will be unable to opt back in at a later time. Opting out in this way also unsubscribes the customer from other email communications, including Weekly Energy Updates and Email Home Energy Reports. Also, note that unsubscribing through the email only unsubscribes the customer from email alerts. It does not unsubscribe the customer from alerts received through other channels, such as voice alerts.
Forecast
The forecast shows how much more energy the customer could use if they continue their energy-usage behavior through the end of the billing period. The forecast percentage is an estimate, not an exact amount, and is based on the estimated length of the bill. The billing period is provided above the forecast. Beneath the forecast is an insight about how much more energy the customer is expected to use compared to the same period last year. If a customer’s rates are modeled, the forecast section shows the customer's projected cost for the billing period. Moreover, the insight beneath the forecast includes a cost value instead of a usage value.
High Usage Period
The High Usage Period identifies the time of day in which the customer tends to use the most energy and expresses this as a percentage, so that the customer knows when to focus on being more energy efficient. The usage value represents usage-to-date within the current bill period. The six-hour time period with the most usage is highlighted, while the other three time periods display in a faded color.
Other components of this module include:
- Insight Statement: The insight statement indicates when energy was used the most. The statement varies slightly depending on which time period is highlighted.
- Time Period: The time period is displayed near the bottom of the email and describes the date range that the data represents. The time period covers the period-to-date—that is, the day that the bill period began to the day that the communication was generated.
Behavioral Load Shaping Insights
Behavioral Load Shaping insights are designed to educate High Bill Alert AMI customers about their time of use (TOU) rate plans and encourage them to shift energy use to off-peak hours. These insights are provided within the BLS High Usage Period module, which can be included within the High Bill Alert AMI email communications for customers on TOU rate plans.
Peak and Off-Peak Usage Table: This table displays a row for each period during the day, and identifies the following.
- Whether the period is a peak, partial-peak, or off-peak period
- Which hours the period covers
- How many hours are in the period
- Expected cost for energy used during that period
The table identifies peak periods using a different color icon to draw the customer's attention to how much they are spending during peak hours.
Utility customers must have both the Proactive AlertsCloud Service and the Behavioral Load ShapingCloud Service to provide these insights to their customers. See the Oracle Utilities OpowerBehavioral Load ShapingCloud ServiceProduct Overview for additional information.
Weather Insight
The Weather Insight module educates customers on how changes in temperature can affect their energy use. It also provides a comparison between the current month's average temperature and the average temperature from the same month of the previous year. For example, "On average, this month was 13°F hotter than the same time last year." If there were no signifiant changes in temperature, the module includes a link to a utility web page where customers can learn more about what other factors may have contributed to their energy bill.
Ways to Save
The Ways to Save module provides energy saving tips to encourage customers to take action to lower their energy bill before the end of the billing period. Customer can click See More Ways to Save to view more tips in the Oracle Utilities web portal.
Marketing Module
A marketing module can appear either directly below the header or in the slot between the High Usage Period module and the footer. The marketing module can be used to promote a utility program, such as redirecting customers to the Oracle Utilities web portal or advertising a utility-specific rebate or discount.
Dual Fuel Email Alert
Dual fuel customers receive a single alert that includes details about both electricity and gas use. The dual fuel alert contains the same insights as the single fuel, including a forecast, high usage period details, weather insights, and energy saving tips. The dual fuel alert also contains an electricity and gas breakdown. The breakdown shows a comparison of projected electricity and gas use to the customer's use for each fuel type from the same billing period of the previous year. The comparison includes two bar graphs: one for electricity use and one for gas use.
Usage Versus Cost Information
Cost information can be included in the High Bill Alerts AMI if a utility's rates have been modeled. In short, this means that the cost of energy use, and the calculators used to generate that cost, are modeled in the Oracle Utilities Opower system. As a result, the appearance of the alert changes to display the increase in energy use in terms of cost. For example, the forecast section shows the customer's projected cost for the billing period, instead of the customer's projected energy use percentage as compared to last year.
Budget Billing
If a customer is on budget billing, their email alert will contain messages about it. Budget billing is a type of billing in which the customer pays a set amount of money each month for their bill. The utility will look at the amount the customer spent last year, add a percentage to this amount to cover the cost of inflation, and divide the amount over twelve months. The messaging on the alert encourages customers to lower their usage since their costs may increase when their payment amount is adjusted.