Khatib & Alami (K&A) has been awarded an integrated Water Revenue Collection System project which includes meter reading, revenue and collection management solutions and services in Kurdistan’s Erbil and Duhok Governorates.
Our success will be measured against international best practice key performance indicators (KPIs) in order to ensure the project meets world class standards. The proposed system will collect and intelligently utilize vast amounts of digital data to deliver major improvements to customer services, while adding value to the quality of sustainable network management and operations.

K&A is set to implement a comprehensive, world-class water billing and revenue collection system for more than 1 million water subscribers in the Kurdistan Region.
Launched by the General Directorate of Water and Sewerage (GDWS), the project will systematize the collection of water revenues by building an effective IT platform, digitizing the revenue management processes, and enhancing customer services.
This ambitious project uses Oracle Utilities Customer Care & Billing (OUCCB), a mature, flexible, highly-scalable customer information system, enabling GDWS to securely manage critical and complex customer information, deliver superior customer services, and adapt to a fast paced industry.
 

Building a Customer Database

K&A is set to deliver a comprehensive customer survey using advanced mobile devices which have been integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. Existing and potential water customers will be accurately located on highly detailed satellite imagery procured for this project. The customer survey is set to collect personal and address details about the customer, along with meter information, location, and water consumption usage. The data collected will be migrated into OUCCB for billing, in accordance with a new tariff structure that was issued by the local government.

Digitizing Meter Reading and Bill Collection

The Meter Reading and Bill Collection process will be fully digitized through the use of handheld devices. Households’ barcodes will be scanned to identify the Water Meter ID and then capture water consumption data through OCR technology and built-in cameras, enabling real-time synchronization of information with the central OUCCB in the Data Centre. This smart solution is fully automated, consistent, error free and time effective. The bills are then generated by OUCCB and printed for further collection through various methods including: mobile bill collection; walk-in customers at client cashiers; online payment customer portal; bank transfer; and mobile operators. In the near future, kiosks will be deployed at various locations (e.g. shopping malls) to facilitate the payment experience of customers.

Enhancing Customer Services

The OUCCB solution will transform and increase the efficiency of billing, collection, and revenue management through the implementation of Oracle Utilities’ best practices solution (financial and contract accounting, billing, customer service, device management, customer relationship management and materials management), and by addressing the functional requirements of GDWS’s billing, CIS, and CRM systems. Business Intelligence (BI) will provide the GDWS’s management reports and will fulfill their reporting requirements.

Empowering the IT Platform

The IT infrastructure and platforms are key elements for the project’s success. Deploying robust applications that link departments and their workflows will increase revenue, minimize cost and enable monitoring of all departmental activities. K&A has designed and built advanced data centers (main and disaster recovery) based on international standards and best practices that are proven, expandable and modular, allowing integration with additional systems and layers and the evolution of smart utility concepts.

This vital project will establish solid management solutions by strengthening the capabilities, control, and operational skills of staff, while boosting technical, commercial, financial, and administrative performance on a permanent basis. It will deliver efficient and effective water revenue collection in the Kurdistan Region, while potentially integrating with the local electricity utility for consolidated water and electricity bills. Furthermore, it will promote the deployment of smart services and advanced metering infrastructure for remote meter reading and automated billing and collection.