DTE Energy, a Detroit-based diversified energy company that provides electric and natural gas utilities to over 2 million customers, was recently confronted with a pressing challenge: how to provide timely energy assistance to its low-income customers while avoiding service disconnections due to non-payment.
Delays in payment processing had become a source of frustration for customers and operational inefficiencies for the company. These customers often relied on government assistance programs to pay their energy bills, but DTE’s system for managing this assistance lacked the speed and transparency to provide timely support. Disconnections not only impacted customers — who depended on continuous service — but also burdened the company with regulatory risks and revenue disruptions.
To address these issues and empower the agencies that process their requests, DTE Energy launched a digital transformation initiative aimed at overhauling the outdated system. The utility company partnered with Smart Energy Water (SEW) to implement a new, SAP-integrated solution that streamlined processes for more than 300 agencies and improved transparency across all stakeholders.
Confronting Challenges
Before implementing the new platform, DTE faced several operational hurdles. Its batch-based system led to delays in payment processing from agencies, resulting in a situation where low-income customers, even those eligible for assistance, were at risk of disconnection.
“Disconnecting customers due to non-payment is a bad experience for them, and it’s also bad for DTE,” said Srinivas Sastry, IT Architect at DTE Energy, in a recent interview with ASUG.
Delayed payment processing caused additional issues, including manual onboarding processes for agency representatives and the use of shared passwords, posing security risks and inefficiencies.
The team sought a modernized system that could untangle these processes and, most importantly, ensure the timely and reliable delivery of utility services to low-income customers. Rather than developing a custom solution, DTE opted for market-proven, scalable technologies integrated with SAP to ensure a secure, user-friendly system.
The new system would process payments in real time and enable agencies to handle payments promptly and transparently. Ultimately, it would reduce administrative burdens on DTE personnel and allow customers to avoid service disconnections. The new platform transformed how DTE interacted with customers and its partners. Over 2,700 agency representatives gained real-time capabilities, enhancing DTE’s regulatory compliance efforts, accelerating collection processes, and yielding a seamless experience for internal teams, external partners, and low-income customers.
Customer-First Innovation
The initiative to implement the new platform demanded the engagement of multiple teams, vendors, and technologies. Sastry described the collaboration between DTE Energy, SEW, and SAP as pivotal to the project’s success.
“We had to ensure the seamless integration between our SAP backend systems and SEW’s frontend solution,” he explained. The project was also heavily focused on compliance with federal and state regulations, particularly regarding customer data management and payment process security.
“We had to ensure the seamless integration between our SAP backend systems and SEW’s frontend solution.” — Srinivas Sastry, IT Architect at DTE Energy
Before the new system, DTE personnel had to manually onboard agency representatives, managing passwords and account resets for over 2,700 users across more than 300 agencies. As with any manual process, this approach was time-consuming and prone to human error. “The previous system posed several risks, from shared passwords to inconsistent onboarding practices,” said Sastry.
The new system offered a much-needed solution to these concerns. Automated processes and a self-service portal that allowed agency administrators to manage their own accounts eliminated the need for intervention in day-to-day user management tasks. According to Sastry, the platform eliminated the workload equivalent of one full-time employee by automating account management — reducing the risk of errors, improving overall security, and opening up more time for value-added activities.
Transparency was another key goal. The real-time aspect of the platform is a game-changer that overcomes the previous batch processing and its related delays while increasing visibility into assistance requests. The new platform allowed agency representatives to see the current status of their clients’ requests and know whether holds were placed on accounts. With real-time insights, open communication between parties and a more cooperative environment emerged — and customers were no longer left in the dark.
“Getting them assistance and payment as quickly as possible through the agencies is one of the definite improvements,” said Angela Lipscomb, IT Manager at DTE Energy.
Meanwhile, security improvements remained a key priority. The application that was running was on unsupported technology, and there was a lot of security risk. “If that particular application went down, then we would have been in violation of the regulatory requirements,” Sastry explained.
Practices like password sharing across users also posed a significant security risk. “We were not able to track who did what, and we were not able to get the right auditing information,” he noted. The SEW platform addressed these security concerns by introducing more robust password management and auditing capabilities.
Operational and Financial Impact
The new platform had a positive ripple effect beyond just operational efficiency. DTE Energy strengthened its relationship with agencies and customers by offering proactive engagement and addressing communication gaps. Previously, no system was in place to notify agencies and customers of the status of assistance requests. The new system resolved this by offering instant updates to keep all parties informed throughout the process.
From a financial standpoint, the platform’s real-time payment capabilities had a major impact on DTE’s revenue cycle. Under the old system, delayed payment processing meant that DTE often waited for funds to be transferred, which affected cash flow and resulted in avoidable disconnections. “We’ve been able to secure approximately $64 million in commitments from state agencies, which is a major increase,” said Sastry. “That’s revenue that comes in faster and helps us avoid disconnecting customers who are in financial difficulty.”
"We’ve been able to secure approximately $64 million in commitments from state agencies, which is a major increase." — Srinivas Sastry, IT Architect at DTE Energy
Additionally, operational costs were significantly reduced because DTE no longer had to support an outdated, highly customized system. Now that the company has adopted a cloud-based SaaS solution, it has fewer ongoing costs. This shift has allowed teams to focus more on strategic initiatives and less on maintaining legacy systems. Due to its customizations, the old system was costly, time-consuming to update, and required specialized skill sets. “That was another push to get it into an environment and get it with a partner for a SaaS solution that was more tailorable to the customers and the business needs,” said Lipscomb.
The overall goal for DTE is to create a more seamless, customer-centric experience across all platforms. “This project was a big part of that because it allowed us to make the process of getting energy assistance much more smoothly for our customers,” Lipscomb noted. The new platform’s efficiency enables the company to serve more customers with the same level of resources. This has not only been a win from a business perspective, but it also means DTE can help more people stay connected to its energy services, which is the company’s ultimate goal.
The response to the new system from customers and agencies alike has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers are getting the assistance they need faster, and DTE can prevent more disconnections, which is a win-win for everyone. For agencies, the system’s transparency and ease of use have helped them assist customers more efficiently. “We wanted to keep the process transparent so that the stakeholders, in this case, the nonprofit organizations, the DTE personnel, and the customers, all have transparent communication so that they understand where their request for the energy assistance is in the process,” said Sastry.
Lessons Learned and Future Plans
Throughout the digital transformation, DTE Energy focused on not only the immediate benefits but also the invaluable lessons they will carry forward. Principles like “cloud-smart,” “fit to standard,” and “vision to value” were guiding lights that kept teams focused and ensured decisions were made with the long-term benefits in mind. Sastry noted that any organization going through a similar transformation should establish those kinds of principles at the outset, as they help guide decision-making when challenges arise.
One of the invaluable lessons was the importance of flexibility and adaptability. Even with thorough planning and foresight, unforeseen challenges — whether it’s funding, delays, or technical obstacles — are inevitable. The ability to adjust when needed is paramount.
It’s not just about solving today’s problems; it’s about setting up the organization and its customers for future success. Sastry, after emphasizing the role of collaboration and vision alignment in achieving results, elaborated on DTE’s forward-thinking ethos: “Whatever the digital transformation that we are going to bring in, it has to be adapted well, and we should be able to demonstrate the long-term benefits and avoid short-term thinking.”
Although this initiative was a laudable step forward for DTE that meaningfully impacts low-income customers, it’s just one part of a broader, continued effort. “We’ve put a lot of investment into our platform to be able to be more fluid, keeping up with the technology and taking out some of the customization that is out there that will ultimately impact our customer community, as well as our employees that use the systems to help the customer community,” said Lipscomb. “That is an investment we’re always looking to manage and research.”
Looking ahead, DTE has its sights set on improving customer document submission and billing processes, among other initiatives.