Who do you build utility apps for?
In practice mostly for mid-market energy suppliers, local energy cooperatives, regional water companies and district heating operators. The large players (Eneco, Vattenfall, Stedin, Liander, Enexis, Vitens, Brabant Water) have their own IT organisations; for them we at most deliver specific sub-flows as white-label. Our sweet spot is an organisation that wants to differentiate on customer experience but doesn't have an 80-person IT department. EV charging providers, demand-response aggregators and energy management companies (B2B energy advisory) are also part of our client base.
How do you obtain customers' smart meter data?
Via two official routes. P4 is the grid operator channel: with customer authorisation, the app retrieves hourly data from the grid operator (quarter-hourly data for business customers). P1 is the local port on the meter itself, to which, for example, a home energy manager, dongle or smart thermostat can connect. P1 offers the highest granularity (second- to minute-level data) but works only locally; P4 is ideal for the core app flow in which the customer wants to see their data in the cloud. We combine both where it makes sense. We never rely on scraping or any workaround outside the official channels, as in this sector that is a reputational risk for both you and us.
Could you build dynamic pricing with an EPEX integration?
Yes. We retrieve day-ahead prices from the EPEX feed, map them to your tariff components (supply rate, transport, energy tax, renewable energy levy) and display the final price per hour in the app. This includes push notifications for price peaks or troughs and, optionally, charging advice for EVs and home batteries. The tariff display is always set up in line with ACM requirements.
How does demand response work in the app?
Demand response is an opt-in flow: customers can indicate that, during peak hours, they are willing to pause a consumer (EV charger, heat pump, battery) in exchange for a credit. The app shows a notification, asks for explicit confirmation and logs the avoided consumption against the baseline measurement. It suits both an in-house aggregator flow and an integration with an external party. We have adapters for the most common OCPP implementations in charging points and Modbus integrations for batteries, so most hardware brands work out of the box.
Can you also build for grid operators?
Yes. The flow looks different for a grid operator than for a supplier: more emphasis on fault reporting, planned works in the area, connection requests and capacity upgrade requests. Fewer customer interactions per year, but each one has a high impact. We build these flows without forcing the user through a tariff choice that does not exist for a grid operator, so they are segment-specific.
How do you ensure GDPR compliance for consumption data?
Hourly meter data is, in legal terms, personal data, because it can reveal presence, daily routines and appliance use. From sprint 1 we work with data minimisation: only the granularity needed for the chosen feature, explicit opt-in for demand response or neighbourhood comparison, and a DPIA at the end of the design phase. We define retention periods per data type, and data subject rights (access, erasure, data portability) are built into the architecture by default. For AI features (consumption forecasting, anomaly detection) we also test proportionality and build in an opt-out, in line with the direction of the EU AI Act.
How much does a custom utility app cost?
A single customer segment with a basic flow (consumption, invoice, faults) is a more compact project than a platform with dynamic pricing, demand response and EV integration. The biggest cost drivers are usually not the UI build but the integrations: P4 integration, EPEX, EDSN market communication, the billing engine and, if needed, OCPP for charging points. We work with a fixed sprint budget and provide a concrete price for the complete build after the planning phase. We give preliminary estimates during the introductory call, based on your scope, segment, desired integrations and compliance level.
Can you integrate with SAP IS-U or S/4HANA Utilities?
Yes. Our app sits alongside your billing engine and connects via API or a middleware layer (often via SAP PI/PO or your own integration bus). We have adapters for IS-U contracts, consumption postings and billing status. In our projects, replacing the billing platform is never necessary, and it is not desirable either, as it affects the core administration. For the wider context of utility CRM and billing, see our projects in
energy software.
What about the EV charging flow for customers with a home charging point?
For EV charging, we combine a smart charging algorithm (charging on solar surplus or at the lowest EPEX tariff) with an OCPP integration to the charging point and optional integration with a home battery and heat pump. We have developed this before in our
EV charging app projects and reuse those patterns where we can. For a customer-facing release, we are also used to co-designing the wider
B2C app flows (onboarding, push, account, support).
Do you also offer white-label solutions for smaller providers?
Yes. For energy cooperatives, smaller energy suppliers and regional heat networks, we can deliver a white-label version with your brand, your colours and your choice of flows, built on a shared codebase. This substantially reduces maintenance costs, and you automatically benefit from the ongoing development we carry out for our other clients. Pure branding adjustments at CSS level, and segment-specific flows switched on or off via feature flags.
