We’re using data to reduce unpaid energy bills while increasing revenue recovery for utility companies.
Households at risk of defaulting on their bills often forgo energy usage putting themselves at risk of heat or cold-illness despite the availability of energy assistance programs. Simultaneously, utilities lose money on these customers via unpaid bills but struggle to identify them and direct them to assistance programs. Peoples Energy Analytics is using data to connect at-risk households to energy assistance before they ever default on their bills. While other companies identify at-risk zip codes, Peoples Energy Analytics identifies the specific addresses that need help.
By the end of 2020, there was $32 billion in owed bills to utility companies, while hundreds of millions of energy assistance funding go unused each year. There was no simple way to identify energy-poor households and connect them to assistance funding. The unused assistance dollars get lost in the system or go unused, and the owed bills get written off as losses by utilities while vulnerable households get disconnected from vital utility services.
We bridge this gap in the electric utility’s revenue stream and protection of vulnerable households by proactively identifying the most vulnerable households and connecting them with assistance. We identify abnormal energy usage and find at-risk households before they ever default on their energy bills. Our company benefits the households, utilities, and our society in the long run by alleviating energy poverty and identifying households that need to be aided during the energy transition.
CEO Destenie Nock is the founder of the “Society, Policy, Infrastructure, Climate, and Energy” (SPICE) lab at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Nock has over 10 years of experience in the energy industry. She has successfully raised academic research grants (valued at over $1 Million) over the last three years to support the academic research that developed our algorithm.
CTO Shuchen Cong is the lead researcher in developing, refining, and scaling the algorithm. Dr. Cong is a recent graduate from Carnegie Mellon University and has deep expertise in energy behavior modeling, energy assistance programs, and data analytics.
COO Seth Zimmerman is an experienced early stage company executive. He has over 15 years of experience advising and leading tech companies, most recently serving as COO of Aionx Antimicrobial Technologies, which he led from idea to successful exit. He focuses on building scalable businesses around disruptive technologies.
-Contacts at utilities that have a focus on customer relations, customer satisfaction, bad debt, reliability, meeting regulatory requirements for low income customers (assistance, reliability, investments).
-Contacts at public utility commissions and NGOs that oversee low-income utility and energy efficiency programs.
-Contacts that work at or with state and local Low Income Housing and Energy Assistance Programs (LIHEAP).
Website: https://peoplesenergyanalytics.com/
Social Media: LinkedIn
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xh0X9Onu0A
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