Utilities are increasingly outsourcing specific tasks, and one of the most common outsourced functions is bill printing and mailing. About one-third of utilities are outsourcing their bill printing and mailing functions, according to a 142-page report from Chartwell Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia).

Chartwell's Outsourcing 2003 report concludes that utilities are increasingly moving toward outsourcing but only for specific functions where it makes sense. U.S. utilities still shy away from completely outsourcing their customer service and instead take a piecemeal approach, while some Canadian utilities outsource all of their customer service operations, states the report. The Canadian utilities taking this approach have turned their existing customer service operations over to outsourcers rather than simply shutting them down.

Some utilities also report outsourcing other billing functions, including hosting of customer information systems and remittance. Outsourcing 2003 features 10 case studies in chapters focusing on meter reading, billing/customer information systems, customer contact and IT. The report's in-depth analysis is based on information from two separate surveys of utility professionals as well as a database that lists outsourcing activities of 140-plus utilities.
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