My Journey to Building an App I Knew Utilities Needed — Part 2: The Beginning

Opening with Janis Joplin's wisdom about doing one thing well, adapted to utilities' two core functions: providing safe, reliable service and sending accurate bills on time.

I didn't initially build a Meter to Cash app. My 2021 journey began with process mining in Work Management, specifically the New Construction process for New Connections — when customers request utility hookups.

The "new connection" process involves planning, procurement, design, logistics, construction, and navigating changing customer circumstances. It's a complicated dance between what the customer needs and what the Utility can actually deliver.

The Situation

A 2021 utility was drowning in complaints about delays, unexpected costs, and broken promises. Regulators were involved. Traditional BI reports showed average connection times exceeding 100 days but lacked context about root causes.

The complexity wasn't simply internal inefficiency — customer actions contributed significantly to delays. Using Celonis process mining, we discovered customer actions could layer up to 40 days on the total duration of the process.

Detailed reporting revealed true performance across service regions through event-by-event analysis, pausing the metaphorical timer whenever the Utility was waiting on the customer.

Without this detailed insight, the Utility was stuck using broad-stroke BI reports that didn't reveal why delays were happening.

At the end of the day, every Utility wants to do right by its customers. But without detailed, real-time data, they're essentially operating without a map.

A Message to Utility Leaders

Traditional BI solutions lack the ability to investigate your processes. Process mining with Celonis can distinguish internal inefficiencies from external, uncontrollable factors — particularly useful for rate cases and regulatory interaction.

Stay tuned — next time, we'll explore the development of the Meter to Cash app and how it's being prepared to address even greater challenges ahead.

The Good Quarter Company helps utilities focus on their existential needs — providing reliable service, maintaining regulatory compliance and accurate billing — through actionable insights leveraging AI and Process Analytics on the world's pre-eminent Process Intelligence platform — Celonis.