Util-Assist is pleased to announce the successful launch of an outage management call centre in partnership with PowerStream Inc. This new collaborative service between PowerStream and Util-Assist—named PowerAssist—provides support to PowerStream’s 365,000+ customers residing in communities north of Toronto and in central Ontario. Util-Assist’s solution enables faster and more responsive customer service by providing PowerStream’s customer base with access to live agents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When PowerStream customers call the utility to report an outage or other power-related issues, and choose to speak with a live agent, they are now routed to the Util-Assist call centre. Upon receiving a customer call, the Util-Assist agents conduct an investigation using multiple utility software systems in order to identify the root cause of the outage, answer questions, and report incidents. These systems include the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system, the Customer Information System (CIS), and the Outage Management System (OMS).
Util-Assist’s call centre solution represents a marked improvement over previous methods of managing outage calls. Prior to the launch of PowerAssist, PowerStream customers reported all outage problems through an automated process, with no option to speak to live agents. Implementing Util-Assist live agents allows PowerStream to improve the customer experience and meet the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) call standards.
With the successful implementation of PowerAssist standard services, Util-Assist has recently introduced valued-added services. These services include responding to customers’ outage-related social media inquiries as well as analyzing AMI operational reports to identify alarms, such as tampers and high/low voltage.
Util-Assist is now working with other utilities to expand this service throughout Ontario. For more information, please contact us at info@util-assist.com.