Impact of process automation on the energy sector

The impact of process automation on the energy sector

The energy sector, like companies in other sectors, faces a double challenge: on the one hand, that of digitalization; and, on the other, that of progressive decarbonization. In both cases, betting on an automation strategy can be extremely useful, eliminating information silos in the company and making it much more agile and efficient towards those goals.

Key benefits of successful process automation

· Many processes in the industry are automatable. In the energy sector, there are dozens of processes that can be automated, not only at the administrative level (which may seem to be the most obvious given the burden it must face), but also in its facilities, support and sales and marketing areas. In addition to gaining agility and capacity, sector studies indicate that the reduction of errors in these automated processes can exceed 60%.

· Opportunity to modernize the sector. RPA technology is essential in any digital transformation project of a company in the energy sector. Its adoption completely modernizes the company's operations by having more and better metrics that help with decision-making. Thanks to this automation technology, companies can know in real time how long it takes them to process certain orders, how many transactions they have in queue or which areas generate the most support problems.

· Cost reduction. Although it is true that it is not the main factor that drives RPA projects —others such as improving efficiency prevail-, the cost savings derived from these projects are important. This is demonstrated by studies such as those carried out by the consultancy firm Capgemini, which estimate that this reduction in costs could move in the global energy sector in the range of 237 billion and 813 billion dollars.

· Scalability and availability. The total availability (24x7x365) of bots makes it possible to develop more consistent processes and in greater numbers. This makes it possible to increase productivity in the most diverse areas, whether in support, which results in greater customer satisfaction, or in sales and marketing, reducing sales cycles and increasing the number of leads, who is able to qualify and redirect the most appropriate sales person.

· Robotic process automation increases the possibility of profitable collaborations. The energy sector is subject to strict regulation and in segments such as the renewable energy sector, a phenomenon of concentration is taking place. These alliances and/or acquisitions of companies can be difficult to digest, for which one of the best antidotes is RPA technology, which eases the integrations of both customer data and processes.

Most Common Use Cases

· Billing.Some of the largest electricity companies in Spain have more than ten million customers, which is a real challenge when it comes to managing their monthly billing and the status of their accounts. Performing this task manually would require a workforce that companies prefer to allocate to other areas that generate more value. The automation of billing processes brings greater effectiveness, since it is able to detect in real time any anomaly (incorrect charges, defaults...) and can anticipate incidents.

· Daily operation. Daily operations encompass the most diverse tasks that can be optimized through automation. Two good examples of this are the reading of meters, for which it is no longer necessary to displace an operator—which means extraordinary cost savings—or the management of the relationship with the marketers that sell for the energy matrix, avoiding duplication of data or inconsistencies that can lead to subsequent errors.

· Customer support. Given the high number of customers handled by the energy sector, inquiries from customers and potential customers multiply compared to other verticals. Los Bots are decisive in alleviating the workload of this department, being able to automatically respond to a high percentage of inquiries that are received. The added circumstance is that customer behavior increasingly points to promptness, seeking answers in the moment through channels such as Apps mobile phones or WhatsApp, something for which RPA technology is ideal. Along the same lines, Artificial Intelligence (AI) associated with RPA can identify behavioral patterns, identifying potential customer leaks quite precisely, so that it is possible to anticipate them.

· Incident Management. As was the case in the previous point, the reception of incidents, complaints and complaints can be carried out through RPA bots that either solve the simplest cases or generate a support ticket and send it to the most appropriate agent for preparation and workload at that time. In this way, the traceability of case management is recorded in each customer file. In addition, thanks to the predictive maintenance provided by RPA, by analyzing data from high-voltage lines, gas pipeline pressures, etc., it is possible to anticipate breakdowns or network failures.

· Financial management. Manage manually entering orders, registrations of contracts or the same financial exchange with the respective dealers involves many hours/person of work. Automating these processes gives companies in the energy sector a practically immediate return.

· Regulatory compliance. As we indicated before, the energy sector is subject to strict regulation. RPA technology is an exceptional ally for any audit, whether at the accounting or energy supply level, and can provide exhaustive dashboards in each of the areas to analyze and identify errors or margins for improvement.

Adea process automation service

One of Adea's areas of expertise is the energy sector. In it, he has developed numerous highly complex projects, both due to the high number of automated processes and their requirement, integrating various sources of data coming in many cases from agents, installers and technicians in continuous movement.

Adea's cutting-edge technology has allowed it to incorporate new technologies to amplify the reach of RPA, combining AI with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, among many others, in order to extract all the benefits of intelligent automation.

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