Tianjin Electric Power Corporation：“Internet+ power service” improves the convenience of payment

Company profile
 
Tianjin Electric Power Corporation, a subsidiary of State Grid Corporation of China, owns 10 subordinate power supply units and 9 supporting units, and is responsible for the planning, construction and operation of power grid in Tianjin, with a mission to provide safe, economical, clean, and efficient power supply for economic and social development of the city. The company provides power to over 14 million people in a power supply area of 11,900 square kilometers. By the end of 2015, the total assets of the company has reached RMB 75.6 billion with an annual electricity sales amount of 64.461 billion kilowatt-hours and 11,440 employees. The company upholds the principle of service first and customer-oriented firmly to deepen its service and create values for customers continuously.
 
Challenges
 
In recent years, Tianjin municipal government has pushed forward the action of information service benefiting the mass comprehensively and promoted the intelligent development in the field of public service so as to build a smart Tianjin. As one of the essential public services in daily life, power supply service needs to catch up with the trend of “Internet+” urgently and devotes to facilitating convenient electricity payment benefiting the mass. Electric power customers in Tianjin have developed the habit of using mobile network and wish to enjoy a more convenient and real-time payment service by the way of mobile and intelligent payment. However, Tianjin Electric Power Corporation is only in beginning stages in mobile payment, with payment channels and functions still remaining to be improved. Power failure caused by inconvenient payment not only brings down people’s life quality, but also influences the company’s electricity sales amount negatively. Apart from this, with the introduction of the state power system reform, power companies are allowed to be involved in electricity sales and to tap the market directly, which will greatly impact the current business model of power supply enterprises. Therefore, the key project for Tianjin Electric Power Corporation to tap new market growth points is how to combine its advantages in power service with the development of mobile network closely so as to build a new interactive intelligent service platform connecting customers and power supply enterprises and to improve the convenience of payment.
 
Solutions
 
Tianjin Electric Power Corporation adapts to the rapid development of mobile Internet, cooperates with partners from the perspective of “for the convenience of citizens and benefit the citizens”, and continuously develops the innovative service to create more interests for the enterprise and customers by using their own professional advantage
 
To building new interactive and intelligent service platforms
 
The third party intelligent technology platforms, such as WeChat, Alipay, based on the appeals for economic interests, drawing attention for them and expanding their use, are willing to cooperate with power supply enterprises. Therefore, Tianjin Electric Power Corporation, based on their customers’ demands of intelligent and mobile payment services for the convenience of payment, actively has cooperated with third-party intelligent technology platforms and launched three mobile Internet payment channels, namely “Alipay service window of SGCC Tianjin Electric Power Corporation”, the official WeChat account of Tianjin Electric Power Corporation and mobile APP  “hand-held power”.
 
Innovating in providing personalized and convenient payment service
 
A survey targeted for existing customers conducted by Tianjin Electric Power Corporation shows that 68% customers wish to enjoy intelligent prompt of insufficient balance; 32% hope to pay electricity bills for their parents; 34% are concerned with the step toll system; 25% would like to sign a deduction agreement to realize auto-recharge; 21% pay attention to family power consumption. A further analysis indicates that different group has different definition for convenience. Office workers expect more convenient and real-time payment through mobile and intelligent payment service. Disadvantaged groups, like the old and the handicapped having difficulties in going out to pay electricity bills, would like the company to develop personalized functions targeted for them. In a word, customers expect to pay electricity bills and acquire power consumption information more conveniently.
 
In order to settle the problem of forgetting to pay the electricity bills for busy office workers, the company developed an intelligent payment method with prompt of insufficient balance to conform to their consumption and living habits. Customers can select among the different balance levels, and when the remaining balance is below the chosen level, Alipay will send insufficient balance messages to customers, thus enabling them to pay electricity bills timely and avoiding sudden power failures. The company also provides customers with intelligent deduction service. Customers can select insufficient balance levels and deduction amounts at the same time. When the remaining power amount is below the chosen level, Alipay will deduct a certain amount of money as chosen by the customers from their balance of the treasure or a bound bank card, and send successful deduction messages to them, thus removing troubles brought by forgetting to pay electricity bills or a delayed payment.
 
The company also developed the function of every day electric power consumption publicity, calculating, analyzing, comparing and displaying power consumption of customers each day. Customers can know their power consumption every day in a real-time manner and get to know their expenditure in electricity well according to the step toll system, which also supports them to use appliances reasonably and to purchase household appliances of low power consumption. As for the payment difficulties facing disadvantaged groups of the old and the handicapped, the company introduces the function of family payment, that is, binding the mobile accounts of family members and friends of disadvantaged groups with the electric power user accounts of disadvantaged groups and querying and paying electricity bills through mobile devices, thus exempting disadvantaged groups from inconvenience and hardships of going out to pay the bills. Besides, after the introduction of payment through mobile devices, the recharge amount will be added to the ammeter automatically and customers no longer need to insert electricity cards into ammeters, thus removing disadvantaged groups’ the trouble of climbing.
 
Targeted communication to promote payment channels more accessible
 
After the intelligent payment channels and function were developed, only the customers are familiar with the process and apply them, they can truly improve the convenience of service. The company actively carried out communication and promotion. According to different customer groups, the company, with the help of the media strength, their own resources, cooperated with partners to conduct targeted social communication, in order to promote the transparency of the power supply service mode and let more customers understand and choose the right means of payment.
 
Tianjin Electric Power Corporation organized the mainstream media to hold “100-day Press Conference on Interactive Service Platform Online”. By leveraging internet, television, newspapers and other media, it made all group known the payment ways by mobile Internet promotion to improve the popularity of online payment in maximum.
 
Given that the activity areas of these special groups, the old and the disabled, are mainly concentrated in the community, the company launched community electric power purchase teaching activity, distributing pamphlets in electric power business offices of communities and in communities as well, explaining mobile payment method patiently and helping customers to bind their electricity user account with their mobile devices. In light of the fact that office workers pay high attention to mobile media, the company implemented the activity of winning electricity fare targeted for its Weibo fans. The company also launched activities of sending red envelops and providing Tmall electric city bonus for electricity bill payers in collaboration with Alipay.
 
Achievement
 
Social benefits
 
Provide a convenient service for the customer
 
The officer workers can make full use of their commute and lunch time to pay electricity bills, which resolves the payment trouble due to time limit, and saves time cost and transportation fee for queuing. the function of family payment facilitate the elderly and disabled group to enjoy a more comprehensive and more convenient, more efficient power service when they do “ not left their homes”. At the same time, it also strengthens the interaction and communication between relatives and friends. By the end of 2015, the number of customers who use mobile Internet has increased 14 % from 3.6%. More than 2031 customers have signed “intelligent deduction” agreement and “family payment” customers have reached 21,540 households.
 
Economic benefit
 
Reduce the company's operating cost
 
The mobile Internet payment moves a part of offline payment group to online and has greatly reduced the costs of investment and operation for the real business sites. By the end of 2015, the company has reduced about 489,000 yuan in agency fee of sales network, saved about 2.02 million yuan in the investment of sell electricity equipment and reduced about 1.07 million yuan in buying power purchase card.
 
Prospect
 
The integration of traditional industry and Internet will be enhanced further, which will bring a rosy prospect of “Internet + power service”. In the future, Tianjin Electric Power Corporation will deepen the cooperation with the third party intelligent technology platforms, to provide technical support for innovating the payment service. At the same time, the company will further subdivide the target customers to fully excavate and satisfy customer demands and improve the service so as to enhance market competitiveness.