Services

NEMA A to Z

MANAGEMENT

The overall management requirement of the products and services provided by NEMA to its clients is determined by the client and will form the schedule of services in a contract of services. This will vary from client to client as each client may want to participate in the on-selling process to varying degrees.

ADMINISTRATION

NEMA provides all administrative processes and tasks, based on the client's needs and their requirements associated with the on-selling of electricity and other utility services such as hot water service into the target market. These include, but are not limited to:

• Customer information management
• Customer billing
• Payment collections
• Reporting processes and tasks
• Complaints management and dispute resolution
• Updating financial management system
• Monitoring the performance of the Utiligy solution

CONSULTING

The following consultancy services may be required by the client, but again during negotiations the client will indicate their requirements to assist in the implementation of the on-selling activity.

Gaining Exempt Retailer Status - in most states owners / occupiers wanting to on-sell electricity have to gain exemption for the retail licence fee applicable to market participants, which are significant. Exemption means that the Exempt Retailer must purchase electricity from a licenced retailer. This can be a rather long drawn out process but with NEMA's assistance can be progressed quickly to assist owners and occupiers wanting to on-sell electricity and also meet all legislative requirements.

Purchase of electricity - the purchase of electricity has a number of components and pricing is affected by the variety of deals registered retailers have been able to establish with generation companies. NEMA has secured the services of an experienced Consulting Company to assist clients in negotiating the best market rates for bulk electricity purchase. This is a very important element in the profitability for those sites on-selling electricity and must be negotiated in the best interests of the client, taking into account their specific site profile and requirements.

Selling rates for electricity - another critical element in the profitability of those sites on-selling electricity is the revenue to be gained from the activity. State legislation sets upper limits for the sale of electricity to certain groups of customers and it is incumbent on the on-seller to not charge above these tariffs.

It is also important in the marketing to tenants and residents that a significant or attractive discount is offered to encourage them to participate in the activity. In most instances variable discounts up to 10% on regulated charges is possible, which still provides a reasonable benefit to the entity on-selling.

Energy management - not only does the Intermoco Utiligy solution provide invoices and customer management applications, it is also a sophisticated energy management tool. Data collected can be displayed in a number of ways and can be used to further reduce operational costs for the common area and in some cases individual tenants / residents. Consultancy provided by experienced electrical engineers is very much focused on reducing the peak demand and providing monitoring of energy saving initiatives within the site.

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT

Signing up tenants / residents - this is a significant activity in already tenanted sites and one which requires a great deal of sensitivity, communication and timing. This is the single most significant activity for the Body Corporate to manage the on-selling process themselves. A detailed implementation plan has been established to guide and involve all stakeholders in the process.

Remote automated meter reading of utility services - this task is done automatically by the Utiligy technology. From a building and customer management perspective, being able to have a detailed profile of the building and customer usage in ½ hourly intervals allows the building management to negotiate better supply prices and to implement building wide "Demand Management" policies. These capabilities are far in excess of any offering in the franchised utility sector. In fact, this could become the benchmark for such service offering as customers will demand access to such information to manage their own energy consumption.

Invoicing of tenants / residents - this is an important service provided by NEMA. The invoicing application has to be accurate to ensure customers are only invoiced for their actual usage. The automated meter reading service ensures an accurate and defensible bill.

Invoicing common area - again this is a requirement to ensure all energy is accurately billed and billed in accordance with the policies of the Body Corporate.

Collection of payments - NEMA will provide a collection process capable of meeting all current and future payment options and customer payment plans. Trust accounts have been established to protect the Body Corporate and clients and to ensure appropriate parties are paid in accordance with payment guidelines.

Payment of Wholesale electricity bills - this activity will be managed to optimise cash flow impacts. It will also provide an opportunity to check the accuracy of the retailer's account based on total energy consumed against all on-selling meters. This way any over billing will be identified early in the process and accurate account can then be obtained from the Supply retailer.

Resolution of customer enquiries - this is a critical activity and one that is foremost in the approval of Exempt Retailer status. It is important to resolve complaints promptly and to provide the customer with every opportunity to pay the account before disconnection takes place.

Project financing - NEMA will establish a relationship with a key financier to fund the installation of the system and project costs. These costs will be offset against revenue gained from the on-selling process. The finance contract will have the same period as the wholesale supply contract. Finance requirements will be established to meet project requirements. Where buildings are staged developments the finance requirements will be staged accordingly.

System maintenance - NEMA will undertake communication system maintenance under warranty for the first twelve months. After this time a maintenance fee will be charged. First in maintenance and customer notification processes will be the responsibility of NEMA.