HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-2022-202 - Ontario's Energy Data Regulation - Green Button
Infrastructure Services Department www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: May 16, 2022
SUBMITTED BY: Greg St. Louis, Director, Gas & Water Utilities, 519-741-2600 ext. 4538
PREPARED BY: Khaled Abu-Eseifan, Manager, Gas Supply and Engineering, 519-741-
2600 ext. 4826
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All Ward(s)
DATE OF REPORT: May 3, 2022
REPORT NO.: INS-2022-202
SUBJECT: Green Button
RECOMMENDATION:
That sole source of the Green Button certified e-billing solution from Smart Energy Water
(SEW) be approved in order to comply with O.Reg 633/21 implementation deadline of
November 1, 2023; and,
That the implementation costs of the Green Button certified e-billing solution of $530,000
be funded from the gas utility and the SAP capital account as outlined in staff report INS-
2022-202; and further,
That future operating impacts be considered through the 2023 and 2024 budget
processes.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
The purpose of this report is to provide information on the Ontario Regulation 633/21 related
to Energy Data (Green Button) and recommendations to comply with the new requirements.
The key finding of this report is that the gas utility can meet the legislative requirements of
-billing solution with Smart Energy Water. This new
customer facing portal will enhance the customer experience to the residents of Kitchener.
The report also recommends that the new solution be sole sourced from SEW as it is the
only certified SAP solution that meets the requirements of the Green Button legislation.
The financial implications are $530,000 to be funded by the Gas Delivery Capital Reserve
for $200,000, Gas Computer Software operating account for $65,000 and Enhancements to
SAP capital account for $265,000 and $165,000 per year for operational costs to be
considered during the 2023 & 2024 budget processes.
This report supports Great Customer Service by enhancing customer experience online.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
BACKGROUND:
(O.Reg.633/21)requires electric and natural gas utilities
across the province to implement Green Button Connect My Data solutions that adhere to the
Interface (ESPI) version 3.3 standard (commonly known as the Green Button), by November 1,
2023. To ensure critical benefits of the Green Button standard are gainedincluding customer-
data privacy and seamless data interoperability and scalabilitythe utility-provided Green
Button implementations are required to be certified by the Green Button Alliance as compliant to
the standards.
Green Button energy data access solutions will empower Ontarians with detailed knowledge of
their energy-usage patterns and will support energy-efficiency, cost-savings, deployment of
clean energy solutions, and decarbonization in the province. Green Button grants households
and businesses access to their utility data or authorize the automatic, secure transfer of their
data from their utility to applications or third parties.
Staff have been participating and actively involved in consultation with the Provincial Green
Button task force and the Ontario Energy Board. Although not rate-regulated, Kitchener
Utilities (KU) is required to comply with the Green Button legislation. Once implemented
this technology can be applied to provide KU customers with information on all utilities and tax
billing information and provides a solution to the customer facing portal requirements to
implement Advanced Metering Infrastructure at a later date.
REPORT:
Legislative Considerations
O.Reg 633/21 Energy Data is applicable to all energy distributors in Ontario except to some
distributors who are explicitly exempted by name or the ones who are exempted by Ontario
Energy Board (OEB) Act, 1998. Although Kitchener Utilities is exempted from parts of the OEB
.
Only very small distributors selling less than 3 million cubic meters of natural gas annually are
covered in the O.Reg 633/21 exemption. As KU sells more than 200 million cubic meters of gas
annually, we must comply with the legislation. Further, staff have confirmed the requirement to
comply with external legal counsel, OEB staff and . Based on this
the City must comply by November 1, 2023 with this regulation.
Customer Feedback Considerations
customer e-billing solution (Multi-channel Foundation (MCF)) implemented
early in 2016 is very limited in capabilities and does not meet customers expectations. Through
surveys, the City received the following feedback from customers related to the current e-
billing solution:
How easy was it to find what you were looking for? 53% responded that it was
extremely difficult
Overall, how easy was it to use the e-Billing portal? 55% responded that it was
extremely difficult
Overall, how satisfied were you with your experience? 62% responded that it was
extremely difficult
Approximately 100 customers completed and provided feedback through the survey. The
results demonstrate that there is low satisfaction with the current e-billing solution.The solution
also has further limitations including:
Third party account holders cannot sign up for e-billing to view bills. Example: a property
management company cannot enroll for e-billing if a customer has multiple properties.
The current solution has very limited capability and is not fully compatible with mobile
devices or tablets. This is frustrating for customers and has led to many complaints.
Customers currently cannot pay their bill directly from the e-billing portal. This capability
would require significant investments in support and enhancements which are required
for this functionality to be made available.
Technical Considerations
The current e-billing solution is past its end-of-life for further development and has several
limitations. It will also not meet the requirements of the new Green Button legislation.
Additionally, formal support from SAP for the existing solution has ceased. This is a significant
risk to the City as any defects/upgrades required to the system are costly and will need to be
customized, developed and supported through limited internal resources or external
consultants and may still not meet the certification requirements.
To meet legislative requirements and improve customer service, staff are recommending that
the existing e-billing solution be replaced.
Smart Energy Water (SEW) Solution
Smart Energy Water (SEW) is the only SAP certified solution in the market while also being
-of-
strategic alliance with SAP ensures that the City is provided with a solid foundation and
integration with our current SAP environment. SEW is solely committed to supporting the utility
come.
I-billing
solution and includes the opportunity to include automated meter reading reporting/monitoring
capabilities as part of their solution offering, if the City chooses to invest in Advanced Metering
Infrastructure (AMI).
reading is implemented, customers will have the ability to get real-time data and alerts (i.e., high
water alerts) among many other value-added features.
It is recommended that the City sole source the new e-billing solution from Smart Energy Water
(SEW).
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This report supports Great Customer Service by enhancing customer experience online.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The updated online billing functionality of a new e-billing system will benefit property tax and
utility customers with the added benefit of meeting O.Reg.633/21. Based on this, it is proposed
that the total project implementation costs of $530,000 be divided as follows:
Gas Delivery Capital Reserve $200,000
Gas Computer Software operating account $65,000
Enhancements to SAP capital account $265,000
Total Implementation costs $530,000
It is recommended that the implementation costs be financed from the accounts as noted above
due to the urgency and the time sensitivity of the Green Button legislative requirements.
As this cloud-based solution is based on a subscription license, the future annual operating costs
estimated at $165,000 will be brought forward through the 2023 and 2024 Budget processes.
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
There are no previous reports/authorities related to this matter.
APPROVED BY: Denise McGoldrick, General Manager Infrastructure Services
ATTACHMENTS: None