How utility companies reduce delinquent bills and accounts with OCR meter reading
Ebin Thomas
Account Executive at Anyline
With the various shutdowns that were put in place and restrictions that were imposed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people across the country are having a hard time making ends meet. Countless are even struggling to pay their monthly bills, unfortunately causing them to become what are known as delinquent utility bills and accounts.
Thankfully, there are things that utility companies can do to help relieve the financial stress of this situation for all parties – including making sure that meters are being read accurately in the first place and more.
What is a delinquent bill or account?
As the name suggests, a delinquent account is one that has gone unpaid by the customer for an extended period of time. In most cases, even a partial payment will not impact the delinquent status of the account in question as the remaining unpaid amount is the focus.
What can utility companies do about delinquent bills?
One of the most important things to understand about all of this is that it’s largely impossible to tell which customers will pay a bill on-time and which ones won’t. Everyone’s financial situation is different, and they can all change very quickly.
Having said that, utility companies need to clearly identify which accounts have fallen into delinquent status and keep records of how much each delinquent bill is valued at. This will make the process of collecting on those delinquent bills easier and more effective.
Likewise, utility companies need to make sure that meters are being read accurately to begin with. Only then will they be able to properly bill an account in accordance with its actual consumption.
How OCR meter reading works
In this situation, many utility companies are turning to new technologies for help. AI-based OCR technology is one of them.
OCR meter reading uses artificial intelligence and OCR to enable automated meter reading. This allows utility company employees in the field to use any smart device with a camera to accurately scan a meter in seconds. Not only does this virtually eliminate the possibility of a reading error, but it also helps make sure the correct meter is being read at the same time.
All told, OCR meter reading brings with it a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to ones like:
- Superior accuracy. With Anyline’s OCR technology, for example, utility companies and their employees are guaranteed a 99% accuracy rate. At that point, it’s virtually impossible for a worker or even a customer to make a mistake.
- Incredible time saving. Automated meter reading is equal parts efficient and fast, allowing those employees in the field to focus on matters that truly need their attention. OCR meter reading is estimated to be up to 20 times faster than traditional manual meter reading.
- Significantly reduced stress. Many take for granted the fact that manual meter reading can be a highly complicated job. No worker will go through their day error-free – to err is human, after all. Thankfully, by automating the process utility companies can take a bit of the burden off of those employees, leading to a much more stress-free experience for them as well.
How OCR can help with delinquent bills
OCR meter reading can help with delinquent bills by giving utility companies the most accurate information to work from at all times. If a customer is already having a hard time paying their bills, charging them too much money for power they’re not using isn’t going to help the situation. OCR meter reading can help prevent this type of situation from happening thanks to far more accurate and efficient reading.
For many utility companies already using OCR technology for their meter reading processes, this technology can also help them reduce NTLs and fight energy theft. Will OCR meter reading help to totally eliminate delinquent accounts? No – but it does go a long way towards helping people avoid these types of situations in the first place.
Integrate OCR meter reading with Anyline
With Anyline’s OCR meter reading solution, this technology can easily be integrated into the existing software, systems and even mobile applications that a utility company is already using. Anyline makes mobile meter reading integration easy thanks to a helpful SDK (software development kit). Meter data is transmitted securely and quickly via the SDK, all so that customer service teams are supported by their employers and customers are supported by their providers.
It’s a solution that works for both Android and iOS devices, and it supports the popular integration frameworks Xamarin, Flutter, React Native, and Cordova.
If you’d like to find out more information about the major benefits of mobile meter reading and OCR, or if you have any additional questions that you want to go over in more detail, please contact us today! You can also download our Energy & Water Demo App to test its capabilities on your own terms.
