Power station with chimneys behind fields

For municipal utilities, energy suppliers & local utility companies

Your customers compare on the portal. Why don't they sign up directly with you?

For over 25 years, ivato has been digitalising sales and customer service for municipal utilities and suppliers. With our own tariff calculator, which runs at more than 60 suppliers, and with AI that relieves your customer service during price adjustments, meter readings and instalment changes. Your billing system stays, your website stays. You win customers directly instead of paying commission.

Talk to the industry team →View the tariff calculator ↓

Clients from this industry

suppliers in DACH use the ivato tariff calculator
60+
suppliers in DACH use the ivato tariff calculator
utility projects as a basis of experience
100+
utility projects as a basis of experience
years as a partner to the energy industry
25+
years as a partner to the energy industry
support and ongoing development
24/7
support and ongoing development

Your daily work

Do you recognise these sentences from sales, customer service and management?

Municipal utilities face competitive pressure, regulatory pressure and staffing pressure at the same time. Customers expect the convenience of a comparison portal, shareholders expect results, and in customer service the experienced staff are retiring. This is exactly where we start.

You recognise 0 of 8 statements

Tap the statements you recognise from your day-to-day work.

The pattern behind it: Customers want to sign up digitally and handle their requests themselves. The processes behind them still run on paper and telephone.

Let's talk about it ↓

Our own product

How do municipal utilities win new customers directly on their own website?

With the ivato tariff calculator. We developed it for municipal utilities, and today it runs at more than 60 suppliers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Customers calculate their tariff by postcode and street, choose additional options and sign up on mobile. The order arrives as a PDF and, via an interface, directly in your system.

What the tariff calculator can do

  • Electricity, gas and combinedRegional and national tariffs by postcode, down to street level
  • Price changes on a set dateStore new prices in advance, customers see changes transparently
  • Savings vs. basic supplyThe strongest argument for the special contract, calculated automatically
  • Upsell optionsGreen electricity, price guarantee, combination discount as additional attributes
  • PDF order & interfaceEncrypted handover to your CRM or billing system
  • Maintainable by youTariffs and network areas in the back end, no programming skills needed

How much portal commission does your company save?

Move the sliders. The presets are an example, not customer data.

Less commission per year
€25,920
Direct sign-ups per year
432

Not included: additional revenue from upsell options, customer data in your own system and less effort in customer service.

Customer journey

At which point of the customer journey do you lose the most time and customers today?

The tariff calculator is the beginning. Click on a stage and see how it works in many municipal utilities today, what ivato implements there and what changes as a result. Which stages offer the greatest leverage for you, we clarify in a conversation.

Today

Customers compare elsewhere

Anyone looking for a new tariff ends up on a comparison portal. On your own website there is a PDF form or a request for a callback.

With ivato

Sign-up directly with you

  • ivato tariff calculator by postcode and street
  • Savings compared with basic supply visible
  • Upsell with green electricity, price guarantee or combination

What changes

More direct sign-ups, less commission

New customers sign up with you in a few minutes. Customer data is in your system from the start.

Descriptions show typical processes. We calculate concrete effects for your company in the business case.

Practical examples

What does this look like at a municipal utility in practice?

Four examples from our work with municipal utilities and suppliers: online sales, customer service and new business areas, each with starting point, solution and result. In all cases the billing system and website remained in place.

  • Online salesMunicipal utility · Saxonyapprox. 90 staff · €45m turnoverapprox. 40,000 metering pointsElectricity & gas

    New customers directly on your own website instead of via the portal

    Starting point
    Online sign-up only via a PDF form, new customers came almost exclusively through comparison portals with commission. Orders were entered by hand.
    Solution
    ivato tariff calculator with tariffs by postcode and street, savings compared with basic supply, a green electricity option and handover to the billing system.
    Result
    A growing share of new customers sign up directly. Manual order entry is no longer needed.
    Go-live
    6 weeks
    Online share
    38%
    Commission saved
    approx. €55,000/year
    In use since
    2022

  • Customer serviceMunicipal utility · Bavariaapprox. 220 staff · €120m turnoverapprox. 70,000 metering pointsMulti-utility

    Price adjustment without weeks of emergency

    Starting point
    After every price adjustment letter, calls and emails doubled. The same questions, long waiting times, overtime in customer service.
    Solution
    Personal online page on the price change with the new instalment and tariff alternatives; an AI assistant on the website and in the inbox answers standard questions and forwards special cases.
    Result
    Significantly fewer calls at peak. Staff look after the cases that really need a person.
    Go-live
    10 weeks
    Calls at peak
    −45%
    Answered automatically
    60%
    Avg. waiting time
    under 2 min.

  • Customer serviceSupplier · Thuringiaapprox. 60 staff · €28m turnoverapprox. 25,000 metering pointsElectricity, gas, water

    Meter reading, instalment and house move as self-service

    Starting point
    Meter readings by postcard, phone and photo by email, instalment changes and house moves by form. Everything was retyped.
    Solution
    Online journeys for meter reading with photo recognition, instalment change and house move; AI sorts incoming emails by request and prepares processing.
    Result
    Standard requests flow into the system without retyping. Customer service has time for advice.
    Go-live
    12 weeks
    Online share of meter readings
    65%
    Processing time
    −50%
    Self-service
    24/7

  • New business areasMunicipal utility · NRWapprox. 150 staff · €85m turnoverapprox. 55,000 metering pointsPV, heat pump, wallbox

    Selling energy services online instead of by callback request

    Starting point
    PV leasing and wallbox offers only via a contact form. Every enquiry needed several phone calls until it was clear whether it was a fit.
    Solution
    Product configurator for PV, storage and wallbox with guide price, pre-qualification and handover to a CRM with a follow-up sequence for sales.
    Result
    Enquiries arrive complete and pre-qualified. Sales sells new products without additional staff.
    Go-live
    10 weeks
    Enquiries/month
    120
    Closing rate
    18%
    Additional staff
    0

More case studies from Energy & utilities

Solutions

Which tools does ivato use at municipal utilities and suppliers?

Building blocks that have proven themselves in many companies and that we adapt to your business lines, your systems and your look. No large IT project, but individual solutions that take visible effect after a few weeks.

  • ivato tariff calculator

    Calculate and sign up electricity, gas and combined tariffs online, with upsell, PDF order and interface. In use at more than 60 suppliers.

    To the tariff calculator →

  • AI assistant for customer service

    Answers standard questions on instalments, price changes, house moves and meter readings on the website and in the inbox. Special cases go to your team, sorted.

    To Scaling with AI →

  • Self-service journeys

    Meter reading with photo recognition, instalment change, house move, bank details. Data goes into the system in a structured way instead of into the inbox by email.

    To Reducing cost pressure →

  • Supporting the price adjustment digitally

    Personal page for each customer with the new price, new instalment and suitable tariff alternatives. Fewer calls, fewer cancellations.

    To Implementation →

  • Product configurator for energy services

    Put together a PV system, storage, wallbox, heat pump or heating connection online, with guide price and a pre-qualified enquiry.

  • CRM for commercial and key account sales

    Keep commercial customers, contract terms, offers and tenders in view. Automatic reminder before contract end, so that no customer is lost silently.

    To Sales & CRM Automation →

Billing system & website

Do we have to touch our billing system for this?

No. Your billing system remains the leading system for contracts, metering points and invoices. We start in front of it: website, customer contact and inbox. Orders and requests are handed over via interfaces instead of being retyped.

Your systems stay

  • Handover to common billing and CRM systems of the utility industry
  • Tariff calculator as a plugin for WordPress, design matched to your website
  • GDPR-compliant storage, encrypted transmission, PDF documentation
  • Hosting and AI services with data processing in Germany or the EU
§ 41aEnWG

Can your customers understand online whether a dynamic tariff is worth it for them?

Since 2025, all electricity suppliers have had to offer a dynamic electricity tariff, and switching supplier has become much faster. Both increase the pressure on online advice and fast processes. Those who explain tariffs clearly and make sign-up possible in a few minutes keep customers and win new ones.

As of: 10/2026 · simplified presentation, not legal advice

Clarify in a conversation ↓

Process

How do we start without setting up a large IT project?

With a conversation with our industry team. After that you decide step by step whether to begin with the tariff calculator, customer service or new products. We involve committees and the procurement office from the start.

  1. Step 1

    Conversation with the industry team

    45 minutes with consultants who have supported municipal utilities for years. We discuss your goals, systems and priorities and show suitable examples.

    free of charge

    Request an appointment ↓

  2. Step 2

    Analysis & roadmap

    We look at the customer journey, customer service and system landscape, calculate the benefit in euros and set a roadmap that also convinces the supervisory board.

    Fixed price by scope

    To Strategy →

  3. Step 3

    Implementation & support

    We set up the tariff calculator and further building blocks, connect your systems, train your team and then support the solution permanently.

    Fixed price · 6–12 weeks

    To Implementation →

Frequently asked questions

What managing directors and heads of sales at municipal utilities want to know beforehand

Your question is not here? In the initial conversation we take 30 minutes for your specific topic.

That depends on the contract value and your internal procurement rules. We know the processes from many utility projects, deliver the specification and offer in the form your procurement office needs, and coordinate with it early.

A lot. Many existing customers extend the tariff calculator with upsell options and dynamic tariffs, or take the next step in customer service: AI assistant, self-service journeys or digital support for the price adjustment. Speak to your contact person or use the form.

Yes, small companies in particular benefit, because few employees cover many tasks. The tariff calculator runs at suppliers of every size, and even individual self-service journeys bring noticeable relief. In the conversation we show you where it is most economical to start.

Data is stored in line with the GDPR and transmitted encrypted, and every order is documented as a PDF. For AI functions we use services in which your data is not used to train third-party models. We settle the details in a data processing agreement.

We do. Our support looks after the tariff calculator and the further building blocks on an ongoing basis, reachable around the clock, and develops them further, for example when regulatory requirements change. You have a dedicated contact person.

Read on

Contact

Exchange ideas with one of our specialists from your industry.

45 minutes, free of charge. We show you what other suppliers have already implemented and discuss where it is most economical for you to begin.

  • Reply within one working day
  • Examples from comparable municipal utilities
  • Live demo of the tariff calculator on request

Request a conversation

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