The AUB Story
Since 2015, energy providers and their customers have relied on Alberta Utility Billing Inc. (AUB).
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Anne Glass (second from right) celebrating with staff and clients
The Alberta Utility Billing Story
The energy business is complex. Energy providers and their customers know that. Alberta’s deregulated energy system is an excellent training ground for operators. Thirty years ago, Alberta began restructuring, moving to a multifaceted, market-based system with many buyers and sellers. Anne and Steve Glass established AUB to simplify and strengthen the business for energy retailers. AUB would ensure that its clients and their customers would enjoy accurate, timely and well-managed services. Albertans could depend on their power, while energy suppliers could depend on steady revenue.
Building complex billing software
For Anne Glass, the story started shortly after Alberta passed the 1996 Electric Utilities Act. She joined ATCO I-Tek, which was adapting to the new legislation. Anne led the team that built ATCO’s Complex System (ACS)—new billing software for large industrial customers. She also led the team that calculated and produced the bills.
Drafting the rules
After almost a decade with ATCO I-Tek, and two years with a major retailer, Anne moved to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), which regulates investor-owned natural gas, electric and water utilities, as well as certain municipally owned electric utilities. The AUC is responsible for ensuring that customers receive safe and reliable service at reasonable rates. Anne collaborated with stakeholders, drafting many of the rules that govern the electricity and natural gas retail market.
Through industry consultation, she helped shape and improve the rules that retailers and distributors must follow to make the mechanics of the competitive marketplace operate smoothly.
From that vantage point, she saw a need. Companies, like ENMAX and Direct Energy, can build their own billing systems. But what about the other energy retailers? Who can they rely on?
Anne left the AUC to fulfil that need. She and her husband, Steve Glass, formed Alberta Utility Billing—AUB. While Anne knew energy, Steve understood customers. He had spent years in customer service.
Applying decades of knowledge
Starting in January 2015, Anne began applying decades of energy knowledge to their new billing software. She designed a secure ORACLE database application that uses a software-as-service model. The system makes both service and accuracy easier.
AUB would also offer an Alberta call centre. The retailers who signed on with Alberta Utility Billing could offer exceptional service to their customers. When their customers called the customer care line, they would reach AUB. They would talk to Albertans who know how important their power or heat is. Staffing a local call centre also meant reversing the trend of utility jobs moving out of the province and overseas. And by answering calls live, customers experience a level of support that is not matched by other retailers offering only email or chat responses.
Sharing energy expertise
AUB has grown into a team of billing and energy experts.
“I enjoy it,” Anne says about billing. “I enjoy the programming, analysis and importance of doing things right in this industry.”
The entire team shares that tenacity, which makes AUB your reliable energy partner. Custom software. A local call centre. Bills that communicate. Data that adds up. Advice that reflects significant industry and operational experience in Alberta, the most complex electricity market in North America.