Contact Us

About

Case Studies

Careers

Contact Us

EPB

Bringing bill pay, usage charts, outage status, and more to the Chattanooga utility’s loyal customers.

iOS

Android

Man with daughter on shoulders pointing remote at mini-split unit.

The Electric Power Board of Chattanooga (EPB) is one of the largest publicly owned electric utility providers in the United States. By leveraging a 100% fiber-optic network as its foundation, EPB has developed a next-generation electric system that includes communication capabilities to minimize power outages, improve response times, and give customers more control over their electricity use.

In 2016, EPB initiated a Request for Proposal (RFP) process and selected Mercury to design and develop its first myEPB applications for iOS and Android. They aimed to create a product that would increase awareness of power outages and offer customers deeper insights into their energy consumption. With our extensive experience in building complex native apps, we were well-equipped to work with EPB’s API team to analyze their data and suggest the best features and user experience for the app. Since launching, we have continued partnering with EPB to add features like bill payment, fix bugs, and improve compatibility with OS updates and new devices.

EPB completed system upgrades on its backend in 2024, enabling new billing features, and asked us to redesign the myEPB app with a focus on bill payment and personalization. Mercury developed a modular dashboard for this redesign that automatically updates to showcase the most relevant customer information based on outage, billing, and usage conditions. We also took this opportunity to add features such as new notification types, enhanced usage charts, fiber outage maps, PrePay customer support, and system-level widgets.

Industry

Utilities

Our Role

Software Architecture
iOS Development
Android Development
UX Design
UI Design
QA & Testing
User Research
Project Management

Team

5 to 7 People

Duration

By request since 2016

Gallery

Key Considerations

Utilizing Flexible Chart Technology

To speed up development, we used an existing charting solution. This solution met our presentation needs and worked on Android and iOS with minimal updates and enhancements.

Protecting Users During Power Outages

To address privacy concerns, we restrict the default zoom level of the outage map and add a layer of location ambiguity to prevent potential bad actors from using the My EPB app to locate homes that might have their security systems offline.

Adding Personality to Usage Charts

Utility apps usually aren’t fun or visually engaging, but we aimed to go above and beyond by creating eye-catching, on-brand charts. Our favorite is the Average Usage By Time Of Day chart, which features a 24-hour heatmap-style display showing when users consume the most electricity each day.

Providing Real-Time PrePay Usage Monitoring

EPB’s PrePay Power plan lets customers who struggle with traditional monthly payments pay for electricity in advance, similar to a prepaid phone plan. Providing real-time usage data is essential to ensure they can enjoy the same energy benefits as other customers. Mercury created a custom Dashboard and Widget interface so these customers always know their latest usage and can add funds to their account when needed.

Results

We created a top-tier mobile app for EPB’s customers, providing access to bill payments and real-time smart grid updates on outages, energy usage, and billing estimates. EPB customers can also view energy and fiber outage maps to see which areas are currently affected and where repairs are underway. They can even choose to receive alerts when unusual power usage suggests they might need to repair household appliances like a water heater or HVAC system.

Eight years after the initial launch, Mercury teamed up with EPB again to redesign and enhance the myEPB app to better serve their customers’ evolving needs.

What People Are Saying

★★★★★

“This app is excellent. The hour/day/month breakdown of usage helps to pinpoint what might be using too much power and when. The outage map is broken down by areas and gives a detailed count of how many users are affected.”