PECO’s Meter Defender Discourages Electronic Theft and Accelerates Revenue Recovery
Like many utilities, one of PECO’s most intractable billing and payment challenges is recovering payment from customers that steal power on an ongoing basis. In response to this revenue collection challenge, a group of Customer Operations employees kicked off a homegrown effort to develop Meter Defender, an Internet of Things (IoT) device that mounts to a meter and provides 24/7 instant tampering notifications. Meter Defender has enabled PECO to respond faster and more reliably than their existing notification systems – critical to returning repeat theft accounts to active payment status. Attend this session to learn how Meter Defender, launched in 2021, enabled PECO to:
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Drive a 425% improvement in returning repeat theft accounts to active billing status in less than 30 days, accelerating revenue recovery
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Double the number of theft accounts resolved with a single field visit, improving productivity
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Reduce exposure to hazardous conditions, keeping customers and employees safer
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Break the cycle of repeat theft, returning the most challenging customers back to active status
Speakers:
Keith Steger, Supervisor, PECO
During Keith’s 17-year tenure at PECO, a Philadelphia based utility and subsidy of Excel, he has held both field and supervisory positions in Underground Construction and Maintenance, Residential and Commercial Metering, and Revenue Protection. Keith’s current role is the co-inventor and field facilitator of the Meter Defender program at PECO.
Jason Zola, Manager of Finance Operations, PECO
Jason is responsible for supporting IT and Customer Operation financial analysis and reporting. He has over 12 years of experience in the utility industry focusing on advanced analytics and forecasting across Customer Operations, Energy Trading and Enterprise Risk. Jason has an MBA and a Masters In Electrical Engineering from Villanova University.
