The Spanish water technology company, Idrica, is to implement a digital platform to centralize all the billing and subscriber processes for Balsas de Tenerife (BALTEN), a public utility owned by the Tenerife Island Council. This will enable the company’s systems to be streamlined, automated and standardized.
The Billing One and Customer Portal technological solutions, which are part of the Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua platform, developed as a result of the agreement between Idrica and Xylem, will also organize, automate and standardize the utility’s meter network, as well as streamline its work orders. The tool also includes a GIS and BALTEN's web portal, among other potential features.
The project consists of two main phases: a first stage to supply and implement the tool, lasting a year, and a second maintenance phase over a four-year period
The main benefits of this implementation include the optimization of the utility's management and billing processes, thus increasing and improving efficiency, decision-making capabilities and customer service. In addition, they also pave the way to deploy a tool that can perform remote meter reading in the future. According to Jesús Rodríguez, a civil engineer in BALTEN's Water Management and Customer Service Department, the objective is “to optimize the management of the irrigation water supply service, along with its material and human resources. Rodríguez believes that “the option of being able to deploy remote meter reading in the future makes the solution a key tool to support the entire utility's digital transformation strategy. Subscriber management will be improved with the customer website portal, as will the field work of the operators with their work orders.
This tool has been rolled out in other international utilities, reducing costs by 20%, thanks to greater efficiency in communications, transport and work orders.
The project consists of two main phases: a first stage to supply and implement the tool, lasting a year, and a second maintenance phase over a four-year period. The initiative is part of BALTEN's comprehensive digital transformation project. Its infrastructure consists of a total of 20 irrigation reservoirs and water tanks with a storage capacity of over 5 hm³, three desalination plants (two for treated water and one for saline water), over 1,500 kms of conduits and pipelines for transport and distribution, three wells and one groundwater gallery. It supplies irrigation water to over 10,000 customers in Tenerife.
