MYHYDROEYE is a product and service specifically designed for
Local Distribution Companies (LDC’s), those companies that
distribute electricity.
Today Whitecap developed web presentment portals service over 50% of
residents and small businesses in Ontario, Canada, via those custom portals
developed for Hydro One, Hydro Ottawa and Toronto Hydro in addition to
those LDC's supported by the MyHydroEye service including Burlington Hydro,
Grimsby Power, Halton Hills Hydro, Horizon Utilities Westario Power, Woodstock
Hydro and the Fortis Ontario Inc. companies including Canadian Niagara Power,
Fort Erie, Port Colborne and Algoma Power. MyHydroEye supports three
different pricing models including Time-of-Use (TOU), Block tier and Block TOU.
Whitecap’s web presentment portal, marketed as MYHYDROEYE, is a customer self-
service web portal. It is fully and seamlessly integrated into an LDC’s existing web site,
enabling an LDC’s customers to gain quick and easy access to their electricity consumption. It also lets customers set up personal usage alerts that can actually help them manage their electricity costs downward!
In Ontario, Canada, MYHYDROEYE is integrated with the province’s MDM/R system, and provides a simple facility for graphical viewing of electricity consumption. Graphs help customers understand their usage patterns and how they use electricity based on time-of-use.
In addition, Whitecap has extended the application to all major smartphones platforms including Android, BlackBerry® and iPhone, enabling an LDC's customers to convenientlymonitor and manage their consumption while on the go.
The MYHYDROEYE portal is offered as a service in the Software as a Service (SaaS) model for one low monthly fee. Whitecap maintains the infrastructure and all integration points associated with an LDC's ODS, MDM or as is the case in Ontario, the province’s MDM/R system. An LDC’s monthly fee includes high-
performance, secure hosting at a top tier hosting facility, as well as 24 x 7 x 365 support of your portal.
The portal also provides secure integration points for interfacing with the LDC’s internal Customer Information Systems (CIS).
MDM/R Integration
Whitecap’s interface to the centralized Meter Data Management and Repository (MDM/R) allows for secure, up-to-date access to your customers’ smart meter usage data. In Ontario MyHydroEye is fully integrated with the provincial MDM/R and all usage information presented to customers is obtained, in real time, from the MDM/R system. Since MDM/R data is in a “raw” form, it requires processing prior to being presented to end user customers. This processing, which is also done in real time, involves the application of loss factors and time-of-use prices to the data, along with grouping data into customer-friendly periods, e.g. daily, monthly, billing cycle.
Endorsed by the EDA
 In March 2010, MyHydroEye was officially endorsed by the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) in their communication to all LDC’s in the province. A copy of this endorsement which was sent to company presidents can be viewed by clicking on the following link (EDA Endorsement).
Easily Branded to LDC Standards
As part of an initial set up, MyHydroEye can be branded by Whitecap’s experienced design team to meet any LDC’s branding standards. The end result is that MyHydroEye looks like a seamlessly integrated part of the LDC’s own web site.
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Seamless Integration with LDC Websites
Many, but not all, LDC's have web sites that allow customers to sign in to their web site for the purpose of serving themselves to information, for example to view bills online, or set up a move. Other LDC web sites do not support this capability. MyHydroEye accommodates both of these scenarios. For LDC’s that do support customer sign-in, MyHydroEye can be integrated using a single-sign-on approach. In this case, a signed-in customer could seamlessly transition between the LDC web site and the MyHydroEye portal without being asked for any further authentication.
For LDC web sites that do not support customer sign-in, a link to MyHydroEye is placed on an LDC's web site and customers are only asked to sign-in, with credentials provided to them by their LDC, when they attempt to view their usage or set up an electricity cost alert.
Energy & Cost
Management Tools
Prediction & Alerts
With the introduction of smart meters and different billing models including TOU billing, consumers are becoming more aware of the true cost of electricity. Right now, your customers may assume that smart meters simply mean higher electricity bills. MyHydroEye provides an LDC’s customers with predictions and alerts - tools to assist them to monitor and actually manage their electricity consumption and costs downward.
Online Help Robot
Online customer help using Whitecap’s own multilingual-capable software robot (Amanda), has proven to reduce call centre volume. The portal can be configured with or without this optional integrated feature at no additional cost to an LDC.
Smartphone Extensions
 Whitecap has extended the application to smartphones such as Android, BlackBerry® and iPhone, enabling your customers to conveniently monitor and manage their energy consumption while on the go.
Simple, Intuitive User Experience (UX)
People who browse the web span the entire spectrum in terms of web-savvy sophistication. The last thing any LDC needs is an increased volume of phone calls to their call centre from frustrated customers who simply cannot understand their consumption information.
Whitecap’s MyHydroEye web portal is designed to be extremely simple and intuitive to navigate.
Software as a Service Model
For one low monthly fee, MyHydroEye is established and deployed in a matter of weeks. It is securely hosted, maintained and supported
24 x 7 x 365 at a top tier hosting providor's facility and supported by Whitecap’s highly competent staff, saving you time and expense of a costly internal development effort. No installation of software is required at the LDC’s end. |