Want to learn how to streamline your utility bill and interval data collection processes? Urjanet's Director of Product Management D.j. Amis describes the variety of ways in which utility bill and interval data can be accessed and gathered. He also shares why it might make sense for your organization to partner with a service provider that can automate the entire process for you, so you can focus on what really matters to your business.

1. How to Access Utility Data
D.j. Amis
Director of Product Management

2. 1
DATA SERVICETEXT FILE XML FILE
Ways to Receive Utility Bill Data
PAPER BILLS SCANNED IMAGE STRUCTURED PDF
ELECTRONIC DATA
INTERCHANGE

3. 2
Paper Bills
Cons
• Environmentally wasteful
• Unmanageable when bill volume is
too high
• Requires manual data entry and/or
OCR technology to input data points
into back-end systems
• Receipt of bill can often come weeks
after statement date, resulting in old
or delayed data
• Data format not standardized across
utility providers
• Error-prone if manually entered into a
system
Pros
• Easy to read
• All utilities support paper
Paper was the original method of transferring utility bill data. Millions of paper
bills are still circulated in the mail each month.
Utility Bill Data

4. 3
Scanned Image
Cons
• Requires manual data entry and/or
OCR technology to input data points
into back-end systems
• Receipt of bill can often come weeks
after statement date, resulting in old
or delayed data
• Data format not standardized across
utility providers
• Error-prone if manually entered into a
system
Pros
• Easy to read
• Portable due to electronic nature
Physical bills can be scanned and reproduced in .jpeg, .png, .pdf, and other
formats for easy electronic viewing.
Utility Bill Data

5. 4
Structured PDF
Cons
• Manual data entry and/or OCR
technology are often used to input
data points into back-end systems
• Data format not standardized across
utility providers
• Error-prone and slow if manually
entered into a system
• Not scalable if data is manually
entered
Pros
• Easy to read
• Portable due to electronic nature
• Environmentally sound alternative to
paper bills
• Higher quality image than a scan
• Structured file format can facilitate
technology-based collection methods
PDF files generated by the utility can typically be downloaded from the utility’s
website or sent via email.
Utility Bill Data

6. 5
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
Cons
• Requires time to invest in data
interpretation tools
• Variability and lack of standardization
among providers
• No bill image
• Historical data typically not provided
• Need to directly coordinate with each
utility provider
Pros
• Direct B2B communication
• No manual data entry needed
• Environmentally friendly
• Data deliveries typically occur less
than 48 hours after statement date
• Standardization within a utility across
tariffs
Some utility providers will generate invoices in Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI) format and post it directly to bill payment systems.
Utility Bill Data

7. 6
Text File
Cons
• Often limited number of data points
• Need to request data from utility
account representative
• No bill image
• Data format not standardized across
utility providers
• Few utilities offer this format
Pros
• Portable due to electronic nature
• Environmentally friendly
• Data is often available sooner than it
would be with traditional mail
• Ability to set parameters and
generate ad hoc requests
• Structured file format can facilitate
technology-based collection methods
Utility providers have also been known to offer invoice data by way of .xls
or .csv file formats.
Utility Bill Data

8. 7
XML
Cons
• Need to request data from utility
account representative
• No bill image
• Data format not standardized across
utility providers
• Few utilities offer this format
Pros
• Portable due to electronic nature
• Environmentally friendly
• Standardization within a utility across
tariffs
• Structured file format can facilitate
technology-based collection methods
• There is a broad knowledge base
among developers and systems
Although not a popular option amongst utility providers, the XML format has
been chosen by a few of them.
Utility Bill Data

9. 8
Data Service
Cons
• Investment of time required to choose
the right service provider
• Some data services are expensive
• Must understand data service’s
methods of collection in order to
determine data quality
Pros
• Can capture everything on the bill
• Data format standardized across all
utility providers
• Structured repository stores all
collected data throughout time
• When collection process is automated:
• Process is extremely scalable and
data is delivered quicker
• Data is much more accurate
• Single solution for collecting data from
all locations
• Can leverage deep utility data
expertise to increase data quality
Utility bill data service providers can collect data from many different types of sources and can fully standardize how the
data is presented. Superior service providers will leverage technology to acquire and normalize the data where
possible.
Utility Bill Data

10. 9
Source scorecard
Comparing ways to recieve your utility bill data
Paper BillsCriteria Scanned Images Structured PDF EDI
Data Detail
Timely
Standardized
Scalable
Easy Integration
Image
Storage
Text File XML Data Service

11. 10
SUBMETERING DATA SERVICE
Ways to Receive Interval Data
GREEN BUTTON
PROPRIETARY
UTILITY SYSTEM
COMMERCIAL
SYSTEM FOR
UTILITIES
ELECTRNIC
DATA
INTERCHANGE
(EDI

12. 11
Green Button
Cons
• Not fully standardized or adopted
identically by each provider
• Adoption by utility providers is slow
and few utilities currently offer Green
Button
• Some adopters only make a subset of
data available
Pros
• Usually free
• Simple to use and export data
• Well-publicized
Green Button is an industry-led effort to provide utility customers with easy and secure
access to their interval data in a simple and consumer-friendly format.
Interval Data

13. 12
Proprietary Utility System
Cons
• Often a high price barrier because
utilities are not incentivized to make
the data free
• Data format not consistent from
provider to provider because they
may use other systems
• Different utilities provide different
data points
Pros
• More data points and additional
viewing options than Green Button
• Easy to receive data if you use only
one utility provider
Some utilities develop their own systems to provide their customers with
interval data.
Interval Data

14. 13
Commercial System
Cons
• Often a high price barrier because
utilities are not incentivized to make
the data free
• Data format not consistent from
provider to provider because
providers may use other systems
• Different utilities provide different
data points
Pros
• More data points and additional
viewing options than Green Button
• Easy to receive data if you use only
one utility provider
• Robust visualization, reporting, and
notification tools
• Established and well-tested in the
market
Utilities often purchase commercial systems that not only provide customers with
interval data, but also turn customer usage data into actionable information.
Interval Data

15. 14
Submetering
Cons
• Capital expense
• Incompatible software platforms
• Increased complexity due to many
different device types across locations
• Different vendor contracts and
design specs
• Challenging to replace and
manage life cycle of old
submeters
• Responsible for managing network of
submeters and their parameters
Pros
• Set desired interval frequency
• Able to check against the master
meter
• Asset and functional-level data
• Receive data in real-time
• Direct control over what you are
monitoring
• Can reduce up-front costs by only
submetering high energy-consuming
facilities and equipment
• Easy for small organizations to keep
submetering devices and platform
consistent
Certain companies and organizations that want to monitor specific pieces of equipment or
other individual loads for more robust analytics usually utilize submetering.
Interval Data

16. 15
Data Service
Cons
• Sometimes data can be subject to
utilities’ hardware and software issues
• The majority of the data will not be in
real-time
Pros
• Single format type
• No cross-platform communication
and translation challenges
• Single point of contact for data
questions and issues
• Extremely scalable
• Consistency in data format across all
locations
• Few technical internal resources
needed
• No need to manage complicated
system
• Standard pricing
An interval data service provider can gather interval data from a variety of sources. Some leverage utilities’ smart meter
infrastructure and can collect data from customers’ utility portals, standardize it, and deliver it into business systems.
Interval Data

17. 16
Source Scorecard
Comparing ways to recieve your utility bill data
Green ButtonCriteria Proprietary
System
Commercial
System
Submetering
Price Consistency
Standardized
Real-time
Control Interval
Easy Integration
Analytics Tools
Data Detail
Data Service

18. www.urjanet.com
info@urjanet.com
678.439.8752Streamline your utility bill & interval data collection processes
Contact Us