Nightmare on Revenue Street: Energy Billing Edition

Energy billing is one of those things most people only think about when something goes wrong—an unusually high charge, a missing bill, a surprise shutoff notice, or a rate plan that suddenly doesn’t make sense. With smart meters, more complex pricing options, and different rules in regulated vs. deregulated markets, even a small breakdown can turn into a consumer headache or a serious revenue and compliance problem for providers. That’s why this conversation is happening now: billing isn’t just “back office” anymore—it’s a frontline trust issue.

Why do energy billing errors keep happening—even with modern technology—and what can consumers and energy providers do differently to stop them?

Welcome to The CG Hour. In the latest episode, host Fanny Dunagan is joined by CG Infinity’s energy experts Tanya Shepherd, Senior Vice President, Energy & Utilities, and Mollie Gaby, Principal, Energy & Utilities, for a Halloween-themed exploration of real-world “energy billing horror stories.” Using recent headlines as a starting point, they explain how billing breaks down in practice—and what consumers and energy retailers can do to prevent small issues from becoming major failures. Using headlines pulled from the news, they explain what actually causes billing failures—from human error in meter setup to delayed meter-read data, third-party outages, and software migrations that go sideways—and what both consumers and energy retailers can do to prevent them.

What you’ll learn…

• Why energy billing errors still happen—and why technology alone doesn’t solve the problem.
  The episode explains how human error, process gaps, and operational blind spots can persist even with smart meters, automated systems, and modern billing platforms in place.
• How usage data issues turn into customer-facing billing nightmares.
  You’ll learn how missing or delayed meter reads, failed quality checks, and missed billing windows can result in “no bill,” “double bill,” or unexpected catch-up charges months later.
• What experienced energy retailers track to catch problems before customers do.
  The conversation outlines the KPIs and controls mature organizations rely on—such as unbilled accounts, usage gaps, read-to-bill timing, and reconciliations—to protect revenue and maintain customer trust.

Tanya Shepherd is a seasoned technology and service delivery leader with deep experience helping energy and utilities organizations manage complex billing environments, customer lifecycles, and large-scale technology deployments. Over her career, she has led global teams responsible for SaaS platforms, professional services, and post-sales operations across more than 100 energy markets, combining program management, change leadership, and operational rigor. She is known for driving large-scale transformations that improve service delivery, scalability, and reliability while mentoring teams and aligning technology execution with business outcomes.

Mollie Gaby is a seasoned energy operations leader with nearly two decades of experience across utilities and retail energy, specializing in billing, payments, accounts receivable, and large-scale back-office operations. Before joining CG Infinity, she led billing operations at NRG Energy, overseeing $2.6B in annual billing, regulatory and SOX compliance, and teams supporting millions of customers across dozens of markets. She is recognized for driving operational efficiency, strengthening controls, and building high-performing teams that navigate complex billing environments and large system changes.

Article written by MarketScale.