Centric

Shackled by Software

When a software package supports a critical business function, a dependency develops which is not always in the best interests of the business.  A large electric utility, needed to decide how much more to invest in upgrades, customizations and licensing fees for the software that tracked usage, rates and tariffs for the utility’s 500,000 customers.

A Practical Solution

Rather than pay more than $1.5 million in licensing fees for the upgrade, the utility turned to the utility consultants at Practical Solutions (PSI), a business unit of Centric Consulting.  PSI worked with the utility to develop a “rate engine” that accurately accommodated real time pricing and time of use billing.  In addition, PSI designed a web-based tariff modeling application to enable the client to maintain the various rate structures and provide real-time testing of new rates.

The solution leverages a combination of technologies, and eliminates the costly dependencies on a software vendor.  Key components include:

• A COBOL Rate Engine which ties to the existing mainframe CIS
• A Tariff Modeler developed in Java
• A Rational Unified Process (RUP) to support web-based Tariff Modeler components

The team from PSI worked closely with the utility in all areas, providing deep skills in:

• Project Management
• Detailed Requirements Analysis
• Application Design, Development and Testing
• Implementation

Positioned for Success

As a result, the utility gains a robust billing engine with the flexibility to support the future adoption of Time of Use and Real Pricing offerings as mandated by the state’s Public Utilities Commission.

Client Quote

“We made the right decision.  PSI has knowledgeable, reliable problem solvers – not just project managers.  I have every confidence in PSI.” – Supervisor of Systems Analysts