Project Overview
Propoint Technology, Inc. (Propoint) successfully implemented a solution for the California Department of Community Services & Development’s (CSD) 2022 California Arrearage Payment Program (CAPP) Energy Utility Debt Relief. This program provided relief to residential utility customers who carried COVID-19 utility debt. Due to the large amount of data needing to be processed, Propoint’s solution provided enhancements to the online utility application, incorporating functionality relating to data exchange with utilities, data processing, data sharing, and error handling & notifications. During the 2022 CAPP application period, CSD received applications from 33 utilities, accounting for more than 1.4 million customers statewide that accrued no less than $647 million in energy utility debt during the pandemic relief period from March 4, 2020, through December 31, 2021. Through this newly implemented 2022 CAPP solution, residential energy customers across California will receive the vital help they need in a way that does not further inconvenience them or add to their hardships.
Customer Pain Points
The original 2021 CAPP program was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 providing customers with COVID-19 energy utility debt relief from March 2, 2020, through June 15, 2021. Processing applications for a program on CAPP’s scale required a massive amount of data to be processed in a short timeframe. In 2021, when CSD began its digital transformation, it acquired tools including MuleSoft, Salesforce, Snowflake, Okta, and Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS), designed to ensure its technology systems could enhance the experience of its federally funded programs and services.
The CAPP program received a second round of funding through the State Budget Act of 2022. To meet the aggressive mandated program timeline, CSD identified that their project management and technical support staff needed help configuring its existing Salesforce solution and connecting business processes to meet the new 2022 CAPP requirements.
CSD engaged Propoint, a State of California Salesforce solutions specialist and Salesforce Registered Partner, to immediately immerse themselves in the project and develop and implement a solution to support the closeout of 2021 CAPP and 2022 CAPP in its entirety.
Project Implementation
The Propoint team built on the Salesforce Platform Cloud, MuleSoft, and Snowflake. This scaled CSD’s CAPP program with the capacity to handle larger influxes of customers filing for energy utility debt relief. The 2022 CAPP solution included the following features:
- Online Application Form in the CAPP portal for utilities to request funding.
- Upload CAPP-qualified utility data into Snowflake using Microsoft Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS).
- File and data extraction from ADLS with additional processing through validated data implemented with Snowflake pipes.
- Aggregated data transfers from Snowflake to the Salesforce database through scheduled batches implemented using MuleSoft.
- Reports and dashboards implemented in Salesforce to analyze the overall data for utilities in the system.
- Customer-facing online portal using Salesforce Experience Cloud for submitting the CAPP application and closeout report data.
Project Results and Benefits
With the newly implemented 2022 CAPP solution, residential energy customers across California will receive the help they need. The system is now more user-friendly and easily maintainable, with redesigned data models to separately view information and data reporting related to the application and closeout phase of the 2022 CAPP program. 2022 CAPP is currently in the closeout period and utility applicants are submitting their closeout data to confirm the disbursement of 2022 CAPP benefits to eligible customer accounts.
Learn More
If you are interested in learning about our other Salesforce implementation projects, check out our Case Study: Statewide Online Wage Claim
To discuss the potential for Salesforce implementation in your organization, please contact us here, on LinkedIn, or by email at info@propoint-technology.com