Commerce Energy Teams with Structure to Synchronize Customer Billing Information with ERCOT Load Service Data
April 01 2008 - 5:00AM
Business Wire
Commerce Energy Group (Amex:EGR) and The Structure Group�, have
announced the successful completion of a Texas Electric Reliability
Council of Texas (ERCOT) market synchronization project at Commerce
Energy that has reduced discrepancies and variances between ERCOT�s
SCR 727 ESIID Service History & Usage Extract data and internal
customer billing data to less than one percent. The project was
initiated in September 2007 and returned these results in less than
four months. Commerce Energy, based in Costa Mesa, California, is a
leading retail power and gas marketer with a national presence.
Over the past two years, Commerce Energy has experienced tremendous
growth in its Texas ERCOT customer base. Acquiring new customers at
a rapid pace, the company wanted to closely track and manage
customer ownership discrepancies between its internal customer
billing records and ERCOT�s SCR 727 ESIID Service History &
Usage Extract data. Utilizing Structure�s proprietary Load Analysis
Tool (LAT�), which was customized specifically for Commerce Energy,
Structure consultants helped Commerce Energy to create a system to
extract, compare and reconcile data from both ERCOT and the
Commerce Energy billing system. As a result of this combined
effort, Commerce Energy has reduced the discrepancy to less than
one percent of its total base of 70,000 ERCOT customers. The
project was initiated by Mark Podorsky, vice president of
Operations for Commerce Energy. �Energy marketers work on tight
margins,� said Podorsky. �In order for us to sustain aggressive
growth in Texas, we need an accurate assessment of customer revenue
and cost to serve. This is only going to happen if ERCOT and
Commerce Energy agree on the customers we serve. The new system
provided by Structure has allowed us to complete reconciliation
between two of the three entities of our Texas ERCOT market
synchronization efforts and will greatly expand our reporting
capabilities, enhance our billing system and have a positive impact
on our bottom line.� �The Structure Group�s deep energy industry
expertise, considerable ERCOT experience, and solid software skills
were a great complement to our in-house IT team,� said Kathleen
Lindner, Chief Information Officer at Commerce Energy. �We were
able to achieve impressive results in only about four months.� In
the next phase, Commerce Energy will integrate Transmission
Distribution Service Provider (TDSP) data. This will provide
Commerce Energy with a complete ERCOT market assessment and
synchronization. �Based on the success of these projects to date,
Commerce Energy and Structure are looking to extend this capability
across all the markets and customers we serve,� said Podorsky.� The
Structure Group has nine years of experience with more than 25
clients in ERCOT and similar qualifications across North America.
�Commerce Energy�s vision for ERCOT data reconciliation and
reporting was an excellent fit for our consultants� energy industry
expertise, software delivery skills and enhancement of an existing
solution. Extending this to other regions that are less standard
than ERCOT is the next logical step that we�re ready to tackle,�
said Structure Principal, Michael Cutler. �We have enjoyed working
on several successful projects with Commerce Energy, and we look
forward to expanding and enhancing our relationship in the future.�
About Commerce Energy Group, Inc. Commerce Energy Group, Inc.
(Commerce) is a leading independent U.S. electricity and natural
gas marketing company, operating through its wholly-owned
subsidiaries Commerce Energy, Inc. and Skipping Stone Inc. Commerce
is publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange (Amex) under the
symbol EGR. Commerce Energy, Inc. is licensed by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission and by state regulatory agencies as an
unregulated retail marketer of natural gas and electricity to
homeowners, commercial and industrial consumers and institutional
customers. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, the company
also has an office in Dallas, Texas, as well as several area
offices located around the U.S. For nearly a decade, customers have
relied on Commerce to deliver competitive pricing, innovative
product offerings and personalized customer service, in addition to
quality gas and electric services. For more information, visit
www.CommerceEnergy.com. About The Structure Group� Celebrating its
10th Anniversary in 2008, The Structure Group� has helped launch
many of the energy markets it serves today with consulting,
software and services. Structure has assisted more than 70 market
participants through nearly a dozen market implementations or
redesigns, spanning every North American ISO/RTO. Whether it�s
transitioning to Texas Nodal, California MRTU, the Midwest ISO ASM,
or enhancements across the northeast markets, Structure's seasoned
professionals have the experience necessary to help market
participants capitalize on new opportunities, improve
profitability, and mitigate risks. Structure has subject-matter
experts in almost every North American market, a proven market
transition methodology, and a full suite of consulting services for
every stage of market development and implementation. In addition
to the Structure nMarket� software suite, the industry standard for
ISO market transactions and settlement, Structure offers
comprehensive consulting services and deep energy industry
expertise through five consulting practices: Market Solutions,
Energy Trading & Risk management, Generation Operations &
Optimization, Energy/Utility Enterprise Asset Management, and
AMI/MDM - SmartGrid. For more information, visit
www.thestructuregroup.com.
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