City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's largest city and the fifth-most populous in the country.¹ With nearly 6 million residents and 40+ million more tourists visiting the city's historic sites every year,² the city's government must have a top-notch electricity plan. When the stakes are that high, a good plan means more than a budget-friendly price. The City of Philadelphia depends on a company who can provide flexible, customized solutions and superior customer service. And that's why they turned to Direct Energy Business to help.

Keeping Costs In-Budget

Direct Energy Business provides electricity services to hundreds of government buildings across several areas, including aviation, water, prisons, health, fire, police, and street lighting, all public services supported by public funds. The city must be thoughtful about spending taxpayer dollars, so electricity rates that stay within budget are very important.

Making Information Accessible

One of the biggest challenges the city faces is communicating to all of their energy stakeholders. "There are many people with different interests and levels of understanding across many areas. The city must tackle the challenge of ensuring that everyone has the information they need to do their work, and that all communications are relevant to each stakeholder’s area," explains sales manager Kevin George of Direct Energy Business.

To solve this challenge, the team created a custom set of portfolio and invoice reporting templates to help the city communicate with their stakeholders. This solution was particularly helpful during the electricity services transition, when it was essential for all parties to be on the same page. The Direct Energy Business team continues to routinely prepare approachable energy communications in language accessible to experts and non-experts alike, and in a format consistent with the energy bill many people receive at home.

"Our team's goal has been solve the unique energy challenges governments face – and that especially includes helping city officials stay up-to-date about their electricity plan," George reiterates. "We are here to meet their challenges head on and look at every possibility to provide them with the very best customer experience."

1 National League of Cities "The 30 Most Populous Cities" Retrieved October 7, 2016. http://www.nlc.org/build-skills-and-networks/resources/cities-101/city-factoids/the-30-most-populous-cities

2 Visit Philadelphia "Visit Philadelphia Annual Report" Retrieved September 1, 2016. http://www.visitphilly.com/visit-philadelphia-annual-report/#sm.0000l0k6aikzhfscpsu1ql9a8uccx