Customer relations energized by new self-service portal at Stockholm Exergi

– Our new self-service portal has radically transformed our digital customer service and customer communications. It’s now so much easier for our customers to find relevant information and to manage and analyze their properties’ energy usage and subscription plans. It’s also a lot easier for us to communicate with them and to market new targeted campaigns and services, says Camilla Emretsson, Product Manager My Pages, at Stockholm Exergi.

Much simpler with role-based access

Owned by the City of Stockholm and energy company Fortum, Stockholm Exergi is commonly known as “the Stockholmers’ energy company”, producing and distributing sustainable district heating and cooling to buildings all over the city. Their 3,000-kilometre district heating network keeps 800,000 Stockholmers warm in the winter and the world’s largest district cooling system ensures that the temperatures of more than 400 hospitals, offices, shopping malls, data centers and other facilities are always kept at a comfortable level.

Stockholm Exergi has about 700 employees and their aim is to have their entire production of district heating based on renewable and recycled energy resources by 2030. Other corporate objectives are to be more visible to their 10,000 customers as well as being easier to communicate and do business with. As part of this improvement work, the company changed its name in 2017 from Fortum Värme to Stockholm Exergi. At the same time, they remodelled their website and customer communications strategy, with the upgrading of their self-service portal constituting a vital element of this revamp.

– We previously had an out-of-date iFrame based solution, which we called our Energy account. The portal gave our customers access to their bills and subscription plans, but very little else. The solution was also restricted to only contain information about one property per account. This was obviously very impractical for many of our customers managing more than just one household, property or building. What we needed was a more customer-oriented solution, facilitating both customer communications and the management and analysis of energy usage for more than one property. We accordingly initiated a procurement process in 2017 in order to find an IT solutions partner who could help us build a new self-service portal. Precio Fishbone’s offer and competence matched our specifications and needs perfectly, Camilla concludes.

The development project started in 2018 and the self-service portal My pages was launched in March 2019. One of its most appreciated new features is role-based access control, designed to meet each customer’s unique needs.

– It’s a huge improvement for customers who manage more than one property. Our customers can now efficiently manage their entire property portfolio in a single account, which saves them time and gives them a complete overview. With the role-based control functionality, they can also easily configure their users’ access to various kinds of information. This makes the information both more secure and more accessible, Camilla points out.

Proactive functions allow better planning

My pages comprise advanced analysis functions that make it possible for customers to produce reports, KPI’s and aggregated data for several properties. Other appreciated new features are functions enabling users to simulate and forecast energy usage and costs.

– The new service has been given a very positive reception by our customers and we’ve noted intensive use of the analysis functions, especially by customers managing several properties in one account. Being able to consolidate, group and compare the energy usage over time of different properties or buildings is invaluable for many of our customers. The new portal makes it so much easier to plan ahead and take action on energy improvement investments, new subscription plans etc., Camilla explains.

Users can also activate alarm notifications set to go off when various parameters, such as return temperature, are registered.

Easier and safer login with BankID

A cornerstone of the new solution is the new BankID-based login process. In the previous portal users logged in using their email address and a password.

– We have radically heightened security by integrating BankID in the login process. It’s also easier for users since they no longer have to remember their password. Using his or her personal BankID, a facility manager can now log on via the Facility manager role and access the company’s complete property portfolio. When the same person logs on via the Private housing role, only his or her private household will be shown. Very easy and very safe, Camilla concludes.

Visits to My pages have shown a rapid upswing since the launch on account of its greatly enhanced security, user-friendliness and improved access to information, analysis functions and other value-added services. Previously, about 15-30% of Stockholm Exergi’s customers were using the self-service portal. Today, more than 45% of customers are logging in on a regular basis.

– We are very satisfied with the outcome and with Precio Fishbone’s contribution. Their competence and ability to listen, coupled with their fast-moving development methodology, have ensured high quality and efficiency throughout the project. We feel confident that our partnership with Precio Fishbone will enable us to successfully manage and continue to develop the solution. My pages is of key importance in our work of further strengthening our customer relations, concludes Camilla.