Easy way to send information to utility customers

Most consumers would like to be notified by their utility company if there are planned interruptions to the hot water or the radiator will be cold on a winter morning. Disruptions are always inconvenient for consumers, and therefore it is also an area where utility companies tend to explore new ways to send information to customers.

Topic Digital Communication

e-Boks

92 percent

want to get notification via e-Boks in connection with e.g., power outages or closed water supplies.

Until now it has been a difficult task to reach Danish consumers, who either have a secret number or a prepaid phone card, via text messages. It has also been difficult for the utility industry in Denmark to use the digital platform e-Boks for customer dialogue, but now it is possible for them to communicate with customers via e-Boks through a partnership with Blue Idea.

Usually digital post in e-Boks comes from the bank, the municipality, or the health service. But so far there have been several industries where using e-Boks' secure communication platform has been difficult for them.

"It has always been a challenge for us to serve the utility industry, because the companies have not registered their customers with a Social Security Number (SSN), unlike, for example, banks or insurance companies. Suppliers of water, heat or electricity typically register their customers based on addresses, and this conflicts with e-Boks' setup, where an SSN is needed to be able to identify and reach the right recipient", explains Ulrik Falkner Thagesen, CEO of e-Boks.

"But now we can also offer these industries to send information to their customers through e-Boks using address information as an identifier, provided that the user has given consent to this", further explains Ulrik Falkner Thagesen.

"Easy access to utility services is a large part of Danes' everyday life, and the need for information sharing is great so we see a large potential here", Ulrik Falkner Thagesen believes.

Ulrik Falkner ThagesenCEO of e-Boks

“But now we can also offer these industries to send information to their customers through e-Boks using address information as an identifier, provided that the user has given consent to this.”

Notification system, but also much more

Initially, e-Boks can, among other things, help utility companies with the business-critical notifications - both in the case of planned and unplanned operational disruptions.

"It is critically important for the utility companies that they can communicate with their customers. Until now, they have communicated via text messages, but this has often only been to a selection of their customers, and the form of communication has limitations in scope and is often expensive", explains Ulrik Falkner Thagesen. He points out that the utility companies have an obligation to inform their customers about operational disruptions, and therefore the task is important. Improved information will further mean that the utility companies can save resources in the customer service departments in the event of operational disruptions.

"Over the past few weeks, we have asked our Danish e-Boks users if they want notifications via e-Boks in connection with e.g., power outages or closed water supplies. 92 percent replies that they would like to. 75 percent replies that they would very much like to", he says and adds:

"Today, we have obtained consent from 3.8 million e-Boks users to process their address information. So, e-Boks is something you trust".

According to the CEO, the perspectives of using address information extend far beyond the utility industry.

"This opens a lot of business opportunities for us, and therefore it is something we look forward to with great satisfaction".

Another example of a completely new business area is the telecommunications industry because they need to send quick information if the fiber network is down. By using e-Boks they avoid burdening their call centers.

e-Boks has already received interest from business partners and distributors who want to use the service.

Learn more about the solution:

e-Boks without SSN

[In Danish]

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For more than 20 years, we have helped public authorities and businesses securely digitise their communication flows.
We proudly provide the governments of Denmark, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland with national digital post solutions.
Well-renowned international banks, insurance companies and energy service providers have chosen to use the e-Boks platform instead of pursuing their own solutions.

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Easy way to send information to utility customers

e-Boks

92 percent

“But now we can also offer these industries to send information to their customers through e-Boks using address information as an identifier, provided that the user has given consent to this.”

Notification system, but also much more

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