A city-wide utility managing hundreds of daily inquiries across water supply, heating, and infrastructure
Kalush Energy Company is a municipal utility enterprise serving thousands of residents in Kalush, Ukraine. The company oversees water supply, heating, and critical infrastructure operations across the entire city. With constant demand for support — from emergency outages and billing inquiries to meter readings and service requests — they manage the backbone of urban life for their community.
Industry
Public Utilities & Municipal Services
Location
Ukraine
Timeline
2 months
Challenge
Overwhelmed by outdated systems and drowning in daily inquiries
The company faced a perfect storm of operational challenges. Every day brought hundreds of citizen requests—water outages, billing questions, meter readings, and emergency reports. Most came through phone calls or paper applications, creating a bottleneck that their call center couldn't handle.
Core problems
Call center overload: Dispatchers were overwhelmed with repetitive inquiries, unable to keep up with demand
Lost requests: Paper-based system meant inquiries fell through the cracks with no tracking
Slow response times: Manual processing caused delays in addressing urgent issues
Legacy database nightmare: A closed system from the late 90s/early 2000s with no API access, no technical support, and no way to integrate modern solutions
The goal
Transform chaotic, manual operations into a streamlined digital system that could handle inquiries efficiently, provide real-time information to residents, and give management actionable insights—all while working around an ancient, inflexible database.
Phase 1: Viber Chatbot & Admin Panel
The core solution
We developed a comprehensive Viber chatbot that became the primary communication channel between residents and the utility company.
Chatbot key features
- Live support chat: Direct communication with dispatchers through native messaging
- Account management: Link personal accounts, check balances and debts, manage multiple households
- One-click payments: Pay bills instantly through integrated payment gateway
- Information hub: Access tariffs, contacts, and real-time emergency updates
- Smart notifications: Receive targeted alerts based on residential address
Admin panel capabilities
- User management: Control access, view transaction history, and monitor linked accounts
- Meter reading storage: Organized photo archive of meter submissions
- Broadcast groups: Segment users by location for targeted messaging
- Custom live chat: Purpose-built messaging interface for support team
- Content management: Update information without developer involvement
- Role-based access: Multi-admin system with permission controls
- Database integration dashboard: Monitor and manage legacy system connection
Technical breakthrough
- Real-time integration with the legacy database on local server
- Automatic connection monitoring and recovery
- Auto-restart functionality after server reboots
- Secure local deployment without cloud dependencies
Phase 2: AI-Powered Telegram Agent
AI agent for internal operations
We built an intelligent Telegram bot that transformed how staff published updates and managed crisis communication.
Emergency management automation
When a dispatcher sends water outage information to the Telegram bot, it automatically:
- Structures and formats the text
- Posts to Facebook page
- Updates "Emergency situations" section in Viber bot
- Sends targeted push notifications to affected residents via Viber
- All within seconds, with zero manual formatting
Daily work reports automation
- Field workers submit photos throughout the day
- Supervisor sends Word document with text report
- Agent combines everything into a formatted post
- Review interface allows real-time editing (remove photos, adjust text)
- Approved content publishes to Facebook instantly
Technologies used
Backend & Bot Development
Node.js
Admin Panel
React
Automation & Workflows
n8n
AI Integration
Custom NLP for text structuring
APIs
Viber, Telegram, Facebook, Payment Gateway
DevOps
Local server deployment, automated monitoring
Database
Legacy system integration via custom middleware
Key Outcomes
50%+ reduction in call center load
By shifting routine inquiries to the chatbot, dispatchers could focus on complex issues and emergencies that truly required human attention.
3x faster request processing
Automated workflows eliminated manual data entry and routing, cutting response times from hours to minutes for most common requests.
Centralized data ecosystem
Every interaction, payment, and inquiry now tracked in one unified system, replacing scattered paper trails and lost requests.
Real-time crisis communication
Emergency notifications reach affected residents within seconds, with automatic geographic targeting ensuring people get relevant updates.
Transparent analytics & insights
Management gained full visibility into operations with dashboards showing inquiry patterns, payment trends, and service metrics—enabling data-driven decisions for the first time.
Effortless social media presence
Daily work reports and emergency updates publish automatically, maintaining public transparency without manual social media management.
Result
Management gained full visibility into operations with dashboards showing inquiry patterns, payment trends, and service metrics—enabling data-driven decisions for the first time.
