01
VEE for one commodity
Validation and estimation rules for electric interval data, replayed against past billing cycles.
Energy / Utilities Analytics
Energy utilities analytics that starts with billing-grade meter data
Interval reads arrive with gaps, spikes and reverse flow, and analysts end up arguing with billing over which number is right. Agnotic Technologies builds the validation, estimation and editing layer, revenue protection analytics and customer usage sharing on top of the AMI data you already collect.
VEE
Validation, estimation and editing
Green Button
Customer usage sharing
Audit trail
Every estimate recorded
Trusted by global innovators
Industry Overview
What is energy utilities analytics?
Energy utilities analytics is the software that turns interval data from electric, gas and water meters into numbers a utility can bill, audit and share. Agnotic Technologies builds it around validation, estimation and editing (VEE), so every read is checked, gaps are estimated by a stated method, and revenue protection and customer reporting use the same data.
Industry Challenges
Why does raw AMI data fail at billing time?
Head-end systems deliver reads on schedule, but not every read is usable. These are the conditions that turn a meter data project into a billing dispute.
Intervals go missing after a communication outage, leaving a register read with no interval profile behind it.
A meter exchange in the middle of a cycle splits one service point across two meter IDs, so usage is counted twice or not at all.
A wrong multiplier or CT ratio produces spikes that look like real demand until the customer calls about the bill.
Net-metered solar customers show reverse flow that a rule written for consumption-only meters fails as an error.
Estimated reads are overwritten by actuals with no record of what was billed, so a rebill cannot be explained.
Gas and water meters report less often than electric, and one set of thresholds applied to all three commodities produces false failures.
VEE rule table
Which VEE checks does billing-grade meter data need?
This is the rule set we start from on a scoping call. Your tariffs, your state's rules and your meter fleet decide the final thresholds; the structure of check, method and audit record stays the same.
| Validation check | What it catches | Estimation or edit applied | Audit field recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gap | Intervals not received after a network or head-end outage | Linear interpolation for short gaps; a like-day or historical profile for longer ones, scaled to the register read | Estimation method, intervals estimated, source read IDs |
| Spike | An interval far above the meter's own history or the service's rated capacity | Held for review; replaced by a profile estimate only after an analyst confirms the read is wrong | Rule triggered, threshold used, reviewer and decision |
| Zero consumption | Intervals at zero on an active, occupied service point | Flagged for a field check; estimated from history once the meter is confirmed faulty | Account status at the time, field order reference |
| Register versus interval mismatch | The sum of intervals does not agree with the change in register reading over the same period | Intervals prorated to the register when the difference is within tolerance; escalated when it is not | Register start and end, interval sum, difference and tolerance |
| Reverse flow | Received energy on a meter that should only deliver, or channels swapped on a net meter | Net metering flag checked before the read fails; channel mapping corrected if swapped | Channel IDs, net metering status, correction made |
| Meter exchange | Two meters reporting for one service point in the same billing period | Period split at the exchange time, with both meters' reads joined to the service point | Old and new meter IDs, exchange timestamp |
Our Approach
How should a utility approach meter data analytics?
Three choices made early keep the analytics honest and the billing team on side. As an energy utilities analytics services team, we make them with your billing, metering and customer leads before any dashboard is drawn.
Validate before anything is reported
Every interval passes VEE before it reaches a dashboard, a billing determinant or a customer download. Analysts work from validated data, never from raw head-end exports.
Keep the raw read beside the edited one
The original value is stored next to every estimate or edit, with the rule and method that produced it, so a rebill or a regulator's question can be traced read by read.
Write rules per commodity and meter type
Electric, gas and water meters read at different intervals and fail in different ways. Each gets its own thresholds, replayed against your own history before go-live.
Capabilities
What do we build for energy utilities analytics?
Modules that sit between your head-end or MDM and the teams that bill, protect revenue and serve customers.
VEE rules engine
Validation, estimation and editing rules per commodity, meter type and rate class, versioned so you can see which rules applied to any billing period.
Exception review queue
Reads that fail a rule land in a queue with the meter's history beside them. Analysts approve, estimate or raise a field order, and each decision is logged.
Revenue protection leads
Ranked leads for possible theft, tampering and unmetered load: tamper and cover-open events, usage that drops after a meter visit, consumption on inactive accounts and transformer totals above the meters behind them.
Billing determinants output
Validated usage and demand by billing period, sent to your CIS in the format it already accepts, with estimated periods marked.
Green Button Download My Data
Customer usage exports in the standard ESPI XML format from your customer portal, built from validated reads only.
Green Button Connect My Data
Customer authorization of third parties, with the length of access the customer chooses and revocation at any time.
Data quality reporting
Reads that passed first time, were estimated, were edited or are still outstanding, by head-end, region and meter model.
Read-level audit history
For any read: the original value, every change, the rule or person behind it and the bill it fed.
How It Works
How does a meter read become billing-grade?
This is how to build energy utilities analytics that billing trusts: the path every interval takes from the head-end to a bill, a report or a customer download.
Receive and match
Reads and meter events arrive from the head-end or MDM and are matched to the meter, the service point and the account active at that time.
01
1
Validate
Each interval runs through the VEE rules for its commodity and meter type, and every result is recorded against the read.
02
2
Estimate or hold
Short gaps are estimated automatically by the agreed method. Reads that need judgment, such as spikes and zero usage on occupied premises, are held.
03
3
Review
Analysts work the exception queue before the billing window closes, with each decision written to the audit history.
04
4
Publish
Validated usage feeds billing determinants, revenue protection analytics and data quality reports from the same store.
05
5
Share
Customers download their usage, and authorized third parties receive it through Green Button, always from the validated version.
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6
Engineering Stack
Which systems and data standards does meter analytics use?
Chosen around the head-ends and customer systems you already run.
Meter data sources
AMI head-end exportsMeter data management system (MDM)Interval and register readsMeter events: tamper, outage, cover open
Customer data standards
Green Button Download My DataGreen Button Connect My DataNAESB REQ.21 ESPI XMLOAuth 2.0 for third-party authorization
Utility systems
Customer information system (CIS)GIS and connectivity modelOutage management systemField and meter work orders
Platform
Time-series storage by service pointRule configuration with version historyRole-based access by teamAWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud or on premises
Measured Impact
What should meter data analytics measure?
Measures we build reporting around and review with your billing and metering leads.
First-pass rate
Reads valid on arrival
Intervals that pass every rule with no estimate or edit, by head-end and meter model.
Estimation load
Reads estimated per cycle
How many intervals were estimated and by which method, so a persistent gap shows up as a network problem.
Exception age
Time in review
How long failed reads wait for an analyst, measured against the billing window.
Loss leads
Revenue protection cases
Leads opened from analytics and how many a field visit confirmed.
Use Cases
Where do utilities usually start?
First releases we scope most often, each small enough to test against your own history.
02
Rebill investigation
Read-level history that shows what was billed, what changed and why.
03
Net metering validation
Rules that treat reverse flow correctly for solar and storage customers.
04
Revenue protection leads
A ranked list of possible tamper and theft cases for field investigation.
05
Green Button download
Standard usage exports in the customer portal.
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Third-party data access
Connect My Data with customer-controlled authorization.
Integrations
Which systems does the analytics layer connect to?
The systems meter analytics reads from and writes back to.
Meter reads and events
AMI head-end systems
Meter data
Meter data management system
Billing
Customer information system
Outage events
Outage management system
Meter orders
Field work management
Connectivity
GIS
Green Button
Customer portal
Reporting
BI tools
Compliance-First Development Services Backed by Global Standards
We build secure, scalable products designed for privacy, interoperability, and regulatory readiness from day one across every sector we serve.
General Data Protection Regulation
Implement lawful consent flows, data minimization, and secure processing for global data privacy.
Information Security Management
Adhering to the international gold standard for managing information security risks.
Our Edge
Why Global Leaders Choose Us
We combine deep technical expertise with industry-specific knowledge to deliver solutions that aren't just functional, but transformational.
Enterprise-Grade Security
We implement rigorous security protocols and compliance standards (HIPAA, GDPR, SOC2) across all industrial solutions to protect sensitive data.
High-Performance Scaling
Our architectures are built to handle massive data loads and user bases, keeping performance steady whether you're serving ten or ten million.
Accelerated Time-to-Market
Using our suite of internal tools and proven frameworks, we cut setup work so your first release reaches users sooner.
Embedded AI Integration
Beyond simple wrappers, we build deep-learning integrations and predictive analytics directly into the core of your industry-specific workflows.
Engagement Model
How does an energy utilities analytics engagement run?
It depends on scope; we agree a fixed first release on the scoping call.
01
Scoping call
We review your meter fleet, head-ends, current VEE handling and where billing disputes come from.
02
Rule replay
Candidate VEE rules run against a sample of your historical reads, so you see what each rule would have flagged before it touches a bill.
03
Fixed-scope first release
One commodity's VEE, the exception queue and the audit history, connected to your MDM or head-end export.
04
Extend
Revenue protection, Green Button sharing and further commodities on the same validated data.
05
Support
Rule changes for new tariffs and meter models under agreed change control.
Facts and sources
Standards behind customer usage data
Short facts we design around, each linked to its primary source.
Green Button Download My Data is the part of NAESB REQ.21, the Energy Services Provider Interface (ESPI) model business practices, that lets customers download their electricity, natural gas or water usage from their provider's website in an industry-standard XML format.
Source: Green Button Alliance, Download My DataWith Green Button Connect My Data, a utility customer authorizes a third-party solution to obtain their interval meter data directly, and the customer can set how long that authorization lasts and revoke it at any time.
Source: Green Button Alliance, Connect My DataGreen Button data files and streams carry NAESB ESPI energy usage and retail customer XML elements inside a W3C Atom feed, which acts as the wrapper around the usage data.
Source: Green Button Alliance, Atom and ESPIForm EIA-861, the annual census of US electric utilities, collects the number of automated meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) meters by state, sector and balancing authority, and the energy served through AMI.
Source: US Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 data files
Voice of success
We don't just build products; we forge lasting partnerships. See how we've helped industry leaders transform their vision into technical reality.
“I can clearly see how Agnotic has a unique way of handling end-to-end development. They are always active on quick chat and provide support quickly.”
Aaron Phelan
Founder, Benchmark
“Agnotic combines deep technical expertise with strong domain knowledge. They understand the business context, anticipate challenges, and make collaboration smooth and effective.”
John Pasmore
Founder, Latimer
“Agnotic is the best technical team we evaluated. Their engineering excellence made our work dramatically easier and allowed us to stay focused on what matters most for maternal care outcomes. They took full ownership of the technical execution, and we are always happy to continue working together.”
Kim Smith
Founder, My Lauren
Related pages
Related energy data and grid services
This page covers making meter data billing-grade and using it. These pages cover the platforms around it.
Energy software development
The energy industry hub: grid, asset and energy data software Agnotic builds for utilities and renewable operators.
Energy data warehouse
The lakehouse that stores AMI, SCADA and market data, including customer segmentation and rate design analytics.
Smart grid monitoring dashboard
Real-time grid views for control rooms, built on streaming telemetry rather than billed usage.
Smart grid software
The wider grid platform: monitoring, distribution management and smart meter integration.
Utility outage management software
Outage detection and restoration; meter outage events feed both systems.
Demand response automation
Program software whose settlement baselines also draw on interval meter data.
More in Energy
More Energy Solutions
Explore other production-grade engineering platforms we deliver across energy.
Frequently Asked Questions
VEE stands for validation, estimation and editing. Validation checks each read against rules such as gaps, spikes and register mismatches; estimation fills missing or failed intervals by a stated method; editing records any manual correction. Billing and analytics then use the validated result, and the original read is kept.
No. If your MDM already runs VEE, we build analytics and exception tools on its validated output. If VEE happens in spreadsheets or not at all, we build the rules engine beside the MDM and feed results back. The scoping call decides which.
The engine is shared; the rules are not. Gas and water meters usually report less often and fail in different ways, so each commodity gets its own thresholds and estimation methods, tested against your own history before go-live.
It produces leads, not verdicts. Tamper and cover-open events, usage that drops after a meter visit, consumption on inactive accounts and transformer loads above the meters behind them are ranked for your revenue protection team, who decide on a field visit.
We build Green Button Download My Data so customers can export usage in the standard ESPI XML format, and Connect My Data so a customer can authorize a third party, choose how long access lasts and revoke it. Both read only validated data.
The number of head-ends and meter types, the commodities in scope, the state of your current VEE rules, the CIS and MDM interfaces, and whether Green Button sharing is included. We walk through these drivers on the scoping call instead of quoting a fixed price.
It depends on scope; we agree a fixed first release on the scoping call. A common first release is VEE and the exception queue for one commodity, replayed against historical reads before it touches billing.
Yes. Municipal utilities, cooperatives and energy startups often begin with VEE and data quality reporting for one meter fleet, then add revenue protection or Green Button features once the validated data is trusted.
Industries