Alberio Energy

Client & Industry

Alberio Energy operates within the dynamic energy sector, facing constant pressure to optimize operations and manage complex data streams related to energy usage, billing, and forecasting. Nimbletec partnered with Alberio to address key operational inefficiencies through targeted technology solutions.

The Challenge

Alberio Energy grappled with significant manual effort and associated costs in several core areas. Key challenges included:

• High headcount required for manual data entry related to client billing and usage.
• Inefficient and time-consuming processes for retrieving invoices from various sources.
• Difficulties in accurately forecasting client energy usage due to complex variables like historical data, weather patterns, and real-time billing information.
• Slow development cycles impacting the ability to adapt quickly to market changes.
• Need for faster, more accurate data extraction from PDF documents.

Solution by Nimbletec

Nimbletec delivered a suite of innovative technical solutions focused on automation and AI to streamline Alberio's processes:

• Develop AI Projections Engine: Engineer a sophisticated, Python-based Artificial Intelligence engine leveraging machine learning models to accurately forecast client energy usage by integrating diverse inputs like historical data, weather patterns, and real-time billing information.
• Automate Invoice Retrieval: Implement robust web automation using Puppeteer scripts for direct, reliable invoice retrieval from various external source systems, eliminating manual downloads and streamlining critical billing workflows.
• Implement AI-Powered Data Extraction: Utilize advanced Tesseract Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities, integrated within Java services and AWS Lambda functions, for rapid and precise data extraction from PDF invoices and documents, accelerating downstream data processing and analysis stored in PostgreSQL databases.
• Accelerate Development with Generative AI: Leverage state-of-the-art Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) models via the OpenAI API for automated code module generation in TypeScript and other languages, significantly reducing development cycles and enhancing overall code quality and consistency. Notifications for process completion were handled via AWS Simple Notification Service (SNS), with artifacts stored in AWS Simple Storage Service (S3).
• Deploy Integrated AI Tooling System: Create a custom AI-driven tooling system integrating the OpenAI API directly with shell and database (SQL) commands, enabling staff to perform instant natural language queries and execute efficient command-line operations against system resources.
• Secure Top-Tier Technical Talent: Proactively negotiate compensation and internal policy exceptions with Human Resources and executive sponsors to acquire elite technical personnel crucial for project success, ensuring no exceptional candidate was lost due to rigid constraints.

Key Results & Impact

Nimbletec's strategic application of AI and automation delivered substantial, measurable benefits for Alberio Energy:

• Cut Data-Entry Headcount by 60%: Implemented intelligent automation solutions that drastically reduced manual data processing requirements, achieving significant operational cost savings and freeing up personnel for higher-value tasks.
• Optimize Billing Cycle Velocity & Accuracy: Automated invoice retrieval and AI-powered data extraction significantly enhanced the speed, precision, and reliability of core billing operations.
• Reduce Development Timelines & Elevate Quality: Employed AI-assisted code generation to demonstrably shorten software development cycles while simultaneously elevating code quality and maintainability.
• Improve Forecast Reliability & Confidence: Delivered a sophisticated AI projections engine providing demonstrably more accurate and reliable energy usage forecasts, enabling better resource planning.
• Boost Operational Efficiency & Staff Empowerment: Empowered Alberio staff with integrated AI tooling for expedited data access, streamlined system interactions, and faster decision-making.