Duquesne Light Co. (DLC) is using Blastpoint software to conduct customer data analysis to determine who they should proactively reach out to during these turbulent times. BlastPoint is a B2B provider of big data and analytics solutions.
Marie Tamilia, general manager of credit and collections at Pittsburgh-based DLC, sees firsthand the number of electricity customers whose late bills have piled up since COVID-19 hit the region. Watching the numbers of at-risk households tick upward, she wants more people to know about the financial support that is available to help them.
The DLC has been working to analyze its customer payment patterns so they can better understand which households are exhibiting financial stress and how severely. With this knowledge, it is able to steer customers in need to the appropriate resources that will keep them out of delinquency and safe from a future shut-off.
"It's hard to distinguish between which customers can pay and which cannot. For customers that aren't paying anything, an extended moratorium is going to hurt them more than help," said Tamilia. "The goal is never to shut someone's power off. For those that need help, we offer payment arrangements and guide them to agencies where they can find assistance."
Alison Alvarez, CEO of Blastpoint, said: "BlastPoint's analysis of late customer payments throughout the pandemic shows that the more money a customer owes (or the more months that go by where no payment is made), the harder it will be for that customer to recover financially. On the other hand, if they can continue to make some payments to keep their overdue balances under about US$300, they're more likely to survive pandemic-related financial setbacks. However, once a customer's balance tops US$1000, our data indicates they will be less likely to pay anything at all."
Tamilia's team provides energy assistance information, whether it's for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which reopens on Nov. 1; a hardship grant through Dollar Energy Fund; the DLC's Customer Assistance Program; or a flexible payment arrangement. Earlier this year, the DLC launched its Here to Help and Business Center resource centers to help its residential and small- to mid-size business customers who are facing financial hardship.
