HCL Technologies selected by Direct Energy for customer care operations

BANGALORE, INDIA: Direct Energy, a leading energy and energy services company in North America, reached an agreement with HCL Technologies to implement and manage its residential billing and customer care operations in the Alberta market.

The underlying solution will leverage a variety of leading technologies, including multiple technologies from SAP. HCL will provide infrastructure hosting, application management and business process services.

The agreement is an outcome based model which includes efficiencies gained through customer-focused self-service channels. This will enhance delivery on current and future customer expectations while providing new capabilities to strengthen customer retention and acquisition. In addition, optimization initiatives are expected to reduce overall operating costs for Direct Energy.

"In the Alberta market, regulators and customers seek enhanced service standards. With HCL, we have a provider who understands the complexities of our business with a record of running large scale retail business operations in such markets," said Steven Murray, president, Direct Energy Residential. "We are impressed with HCL's service delivery model, industry experience and leadership in this area."

"As a market leader, Direct Energy, is focused on continuous improvement in delivering customer service in an environment of maturing customer expectations. HCL will drive cost savings for Direct Energy's customers within evolving regulatory regimes, based on its domain expertise and experience of having executed several such transformational projects in the past," said Todd Crandall, executive VP, Public Services & Emerging Industries, HCL Technologies.