The EEMonitor Solution

Nottingham City Council’s EEMonitor is a smart and adaptable multi-functional device for use inside the home which shows how much energy is being used and what it costs. Developed to fulfil heat metering and billing regulations, the EEMonitor provides landlords and residents with effective management, cost-benefits and control over energy bills and CO2 usage.

Nottingham City Council’s Energy Services are leading the way in embracing the commercial agenda within a local authority setting. Delivering on commercial opportunities in order to support budgets and provide additional internal benefits, the Council is insourcing to build greater capacity, flexibility and cost effectiveness in order to deliver its project and service aims.

The latest example of an innovative in-house solution is the EEMonitor. On the back of operating one of the largest district heating schemes in the country, Energy Services have created a team with extensive knowledge of the district heat market in order to deliver heat metering and billing services to over 9,000 customers across 30 sites nationwide. This experienced workforce manages the process from design, through to installation and commissioning, and provides ongoing billing services for both credit and prepayment customers.

A growing customer base enables Energy Services to build on their commercial success. By delivering these services in-house, the Council is ensuring that the knowledge and expertise around district heating, heat metering and billing are growing within the organisation. This generates additional income and helps to protect frontline services, with Energy Services focused on embedding a business-like approach within the department and across the Council. The award-winning Energy Services team pride themselves on collaboration, innovation and knowledge sharing, and are looking to continue to grow their national customer base and to continue to support other local authorities across the country who wish to enter into the heat market.

Operating a heat network can come with a number of challenges, varying from maximising efficiency to keeping the customers happy and the prices low. Nottingham City Council promotes and practices a deep focus on knowledge sharing which helps to address the hurdles faced when operating a heat network. Energy Services collaborate with existing clients as well as a number of partners across the country to provide advice around heat networks but also to learn and improve our own service. To other local authorities that are operating heat networks, the EEMonitor solution a secure and cost-effective proposition. The London Borough of Waltham Forest have worked collaboratively on both new build and retrofit projects with Energy Services; recently installing 330 EEMonitors across their portfolio.

New regulations are expected to come into place within the next 12 – 24 months, which will affect the way heat network organisations operate. These will include stronger consumer protection, a nominated market regulator and a focus on transparency from the heat suppliers. As the operator of one of the largest district heat networks in the UK, Nottingham City Council has the benefit of unique expertise and knowledge. This knowledge combined with local authority perspective means the council is able to ensure regulations and consumer protection is of the highest priority. Energy Services are able to provide advice and guide operators on best practices in order to stay compliant during the changes.

The EEMonitor is designed to be flexible for property owners as well as tenants, and was developed as a solution to some of the challenges mentioned above, particularly to make it easier for the customer to view and manage their heat charges.

Some of the benefits of the EEMonitor include:

• Available in two communication protocols to suit new builds and retrofit

• Ability to integrate with most heat meters

• Multiple payments options available for residents

• Colour touch screen

• Designed and manufactured in the UK

• Easy to budget with flexible debt recovery options available

Nottingham City Council manage all of their customer service provision in-house through Energy Services. This is a service offered to other councils or housing associations who wish to invest in a heat network but don’t have the capability of taking on the on-going heat metering and billing services. The customer service offerings include:

• Tailored Utility Billing

• Payment Services

• Credit Control

• Energy Efficiency Advice

• Debt Advice

For further information contact: Elin Hultgren, Senior Energy Projects Officer – Metering & Billing - [email protected] You can also visit the EEMonitor site at: www.eemonitor.co.uk