The Edmunds GovTech Blog

This issue marks the fifth anniversary of the Utility Information Pipeline! About five and a half years ago I had a “what if…” idea. What if I took my accumulated experiences and wrote about them…

The last issue discussed reading inactive meters for vacant accounts and included a poll asking if your utility reads inactive meters. While only ten utilities responded to the poll, I’m pleased to see that 70% of the…

The last issue revisited how the number of days between meter readings and sending bills can adversely contribute to increased days of exposure. Poll results That issue included a poll asking how many days pass between reading meters…

I’ve written previously about minimizing days of exposure, and it’s a topic that deserves revisiting. Components of days of exposure If you remember, the total days of exposure is comprised of six different components: Days between…

Quite the surprise to me, two different utilities I visited in the past month both honor payments postmarked by the due date as on-time payments, even if the payment isn’t received in the utility office…

From time to time, I get asked about the best way to handle returned checks. Let’s take a look at a couple things I always recommend. Do post the returned check to the customer’s account…

Sometimes, when doing a sales presentation, I will ask if a utility prints payment barcodes on their bills. On more than a few occasions, I’ve had people confuse the postal barcode with a payment barcode.…

What happens when one of your customers files for bankruptcy? Do you have a procedure in place to be sure you comply with the law? This issue takes a look at some best practices for…

In a previous article, I wrote about factors to consider when deciding whether to use an outside contractor or your own staff to change meters in preparation for the transition to an automated meter reading system. Should you…

This is the last of three consecutive Utility Information Pipelines reporting the results of the 2015 Utility Fee Survey, an update to the original Utility Fee Survey I conducted in 2012. 106 utilities, representing 19…