[30 Pa.B. 6346]
[Continued from previous Web Page] The PGA argues that the proposed reporting requirements may not be necessary since competitive forces are sufficient in themselves to ensure high quality customer service. It describes natural gas as an elective service and largely a matter of customer choice.
Response: We do not agree that for most customers gas service is a matter of choice. Although theoretically, the opportunity for choosing an alternative fuel is an option for Pennsylvania gas customers who are dissatisfied with the service an NGDC provides, in reality, the costs associated with such a choice make it financially unlikely.
The homeowner confronted with the price tag associated with switching to an alternative fuel for heating that would include a new furnace would likely not find this option fiscally feasible. Likewise, a renter faced with moving to a different rental property with an alternative cooking, heating or water heating fuel because he or she is dissatisfied with his or her gas service may be hard pressed to view this as a viable option. We believe that inexpensive ways of choosing alternative sources of energy are not available to consumers and that the Commission has the responsibility of assuring that the quality of gas service to customers is maintained under gas competition. Therefore we fail to see the validity of the PGA's argument and will not withdraw the instant rulemaking.
Both the PGA and Columbia present arguments in their comments that the gas choice legislation does not call for NGDCs to be measured against each other but rather against itself and its previous performance. Further, the PGA contends that it is not appropriate for the Commission to establish performance benchmarks and standards for the NGDCs using the measures in this rulemaking.
The OCA recommends that the Commission should promptly create a database of the service quality data that each utility has gathered for the past 3--5 years and make this information available to the public. Further, the OCA recommends that the NGDC should be required to analyze and compare, to the extent possible, its historical performance with the performance it submits in its first report in compliance with the reporting requirements.
Response: Within the next several months, the Commission has plans to request data from each major NGDC on its historical performance in the measures included in this rulemaking. We are proposing that the Commission request this information within the next several months through a Secretarial letter to the NGDCs. However, we are not certain that the NGDCs were collecting all of this data in the past. Further, if they have been, we cannot be certain that they have been collecting it in a uniform way. The purpose of these reporting requirements is to allow the Commission to gather uniform information about important measures of customer service quality. Again, this uniformity will allow the Commission to compare ''apples with apples'' rather than using the various means that individual NGDCs have used in the past to measure performance.
We expect that this proposal will satisfy the OCA who suggests in its comments that the Commission should create a database of the service quality data that each NGDC has gathered in the recent past. Further, the instant regulations in § 62.33(c) require that the NGDC's report to the Commission contain an analysis and comparison of the data in the report with its earlier performance in each of the measurements. At this point we cannot agree with the OCA's recommendation that the NGDC historical information should be made available to the public. We will first request the data and review the information before we make a determination as to whether it should be available to the public. However, as in the past, the UCARE will be available to the public. This report will show each NGDC's performance in justified informal consumer complaint rate, justified payment request rate and infraction rate.
With respect to the PGA's expressed concern regarding the setting of benchmarks and standards, the Commission does plan to establish benchmarks and standards at a later date. However, that is not the purpose of the instant rulemaking. The Commission will institute a separate proceeding to propose standards or bands of acceptable performance only after it has been able to analyze the statistics reported in compliance with this rulemaking. The PGA and all interested parties will have the opportunity to comment and make recommendations on the Commission's proposal at that time. For that reason, we do not think it is appropriate or of any value to discuss benchmarks and standards in the instant order.
The OCA submits that the Commission should set forth the timelines for establishing performance standards and benchmarks, as well as enforcement mechanisms in this rulemaking. The OCA justifies its recommendation with the example of other states who have experienced deterioration in utility service quality because they have failed to establish performance areas, baseline performance standards and clear enforcement mechanisms. It proposes that the final rule require that the NGDCs submit their recommendations for baseline performance standards with their 2001 annual report.
Response: We appreciate the OCA's concern that Pennsylvania may suffer significant deterioration in service quality as has occurred in other states. However, we do not believe that it is appropriate to establish a timeline for establishing benchmarks and standards at this time. We believe that we need to establish a pattern of receiving and reviewing this information before we can decide when it is appropriate to move forward with a rulemaking proceeding to establish standards and what these standards will be. We respect the OCA's suggestion that the NGDCs should submit their recommendations for baseline performance standards and will keep that suggestion in mind when we commence the future rulemaking proceeding.
We also decline to set forth a timeline for establishing enforcement mechanisms. At this point in time, the Commission has not taken a position as to whether it is prepared to set forth enforcement mechanisms or penalties. However, we would like to assure the OCA that the Commission will carefully keep watch over the performance of the NGDCs until such time as standards and benchmarks are set. The Commission will review the statistics that the NGDCs report as well as information from contacts to the BCS and will promptly investigate any possible deterioration in service quality. We have undertaken a similar strategy with the EDCs when we identified any deterioration in service performance.
Finally, the PGA recommended that the final rulemaking should expressly acknowledge that the costs that the NGDCs incur to comply with these requirements are recoverable under the natural gas choice and competition act. The PGA specifically suggested that the call center requirements could be viewed as consumer education expenses and therefore subject to nonbypassable recovery mechanisms. Further, it recommends that the Commission should recognize that all the compliance costs imposed through this docket are eligible for deferred recovery, with capitalization and amortization, as provided in 66 Pa.C.S.§ 2211(b).
Response: We disagree with the PGA's recommendation that we include an acknowledgment of the costs associated with compliance with these reporting requirements. The proposed rulemaking reflects careful financial considerations and we do not believe it necessary to detail methods of cost recovery in the final regulation. To keep NGDC costs to a minimum, we purposefully selected measures from Chapter 56 that have been in effect for more than two decades. Concerning the call center statistics, we fail to see how any large NGDC that operates a call center would not have these statistics available to them. The successful operation of a call center frequently involves a daily, weekly and monthly review of the statistics that are required in the instant regulations. We believe that the NGDC call center managers are familiar with the required call center measures and may already have them available. We believe that we will be able to show the NGDCs how to administer the required transaction survey at minimal cost. Again, we believe that the survey results will be of value to the managers of the NGDCs as well as to the Commission.
Conclusion
In finalizing these regulations, we believe we have met the intent of section 2206(a) of the act to ensure that the level of quality regarding customer service will not deteriorate under retail gas competition in this Commonwealth. Accordingly, under section 501 of the Public Utility Code, and the Commonwealth Documents Law and regulations promulgated thereunder at 1 Pa. Code §§ 7.1--7.4, we propose to amend our regulations by adding §§ 62.31--62.37. The Commission hereby adopts final-form regulations as noted and as set forth in Annex A; Therefore,
It Is Ordered that:
1. The regulations of the Commission, 52 Pa. Code Chapter 62, are amended by adding §§ 62.31--62.37 to read as set forth in Annex A.
2. The Secretary shall submit a copy of this order and Annex A to the Office of the Attorney General for review as to legality.
3. The Secretary shall submit a copy of this order and Annex A to the Governor's Budget Office for review of fiscal impact.
4. The Secretary shall submit this order and Annex A for formal review by the designated standing committees of both houses of the General Assembly, and for review and approval by IRRC.
5. The Secretary shall deposit this order and Annex A with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
6. A copy of this order and Annex A shall be served upon all jurisdictional NGDCs, and all parties that submitted comments in this rulemaking proceeding.
7. A copy of this order shall be posted on the Commission's website and shall be made available, upon request, to all interested parties.
8. The regulations adopted with this order are effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
By the Commission,
JAMES J. MCNULTY,
Secretary(Editor's Note: For the text of the order of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, relating to this document, see 30 Pa.B. 6020 (November 18, 2000).)
Fiscal Note: Fiscal Note 57-213 remains valid for the final adoption of the subject regulations.
Annex A
TITLE 52. PUBLIC UTILITIES
PART I. PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION
Subpart C. FIXED SERVICE UTILITIES
CHAPTER 62. NATURAL GAS SUPPLY CUSTOMER CHOICE
Subchapter B. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALITY OF SERVICE BENCHMARKS AND STANDARDS See.
62.31. Purpose. 62.32. Definitions. 62.33. Reporting requirements. 62.34. Customer surveys. 62.35. NGDCs with fewer than 100,000 residential accounts. 62.36. Informal complaints to the BCS. 62.37. Public information. § 62.31. Purpose.
(a) This subchapter establishes a means by which the Commission can develop uniform measurement and reporting to assure that the customer services of the NGDCs that are required to file restructuring plans under the act are maintained, at a minimum, at the same level of quality under retail competition.
(b) This subchapter sets forth uniform measurements and reporting requirements for monitoring the level of the customer service performance of two separate classes of these NGDCs:
(1) NGDCs serving more than 100,000 residential customers.
(2) Those NGDCs serving less that 100,000 residential customers.
(c) This subchapter also establishes the effective dates of the reporting requirements.
§ 62.32. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Act--Chapter 22 of 66 Pa.C.S. (relating to the natural gas choice and competition act).
BCS--Bureau of Consumer Services of the Commission.
Busy-out rate--The number of calls to an NGDC's call center or business office that received a busy signal divided by the number of calls that were received.
Call center--A centralized facility established by a utility for transactions concerning installation and repair of service, billing and other inquiries between residential and small commercial customers and NGDCs representatives, but not including special purpose call centers established to respond to service emergencies and operating for a temporary period of time.
Call abandonment rate--The number of calls to an NGDC's call center or business office that were abandoned divided by the total number of calls received.
Customer--A retail gas customer as defined in section 2202 of the act (relating to definitions).
Informal consumer complaint--An appeal by a consumer to the BCS about a utility's proposed resolution of a dispute related to billing, service delivery, repairs and all other issues not related to requests for payment arrangements.
Informally verified infraction--An apparent misapplication of Commission regulations as determined by the BCS through its examination of information obtained as part of its review of informal consumer complaints and payment arrangement requests.
(i) The informal verification process implemented by the BCS notifies a utility of the information which forms the basis of an alleged infraction, affords the utility the opportunity to affirm or deny the accuracy of the information and concludes with a BCS determination regarding the alleged infraction.
(ii) An informally verified infraction is not equivalent to a formal violation under 66 Pa.C.S. § 3301 (relating to civil penalties for violations) unless otherwise determined through applicable Commission procedures.
Infraction--A misapplication of a Commission regulation, particularly the standards and billing practices for residential service.
Infraction rate--The number of informally verified infractions, as determined by the BCS, per 1,000 residential customers.
Justified informal consumer complaint--A complaint where the BCS has determined that an NGDC did not follow Commission procedures or regulations.
Justified informal consumer complaint rate--The number of justified informal, residential consumer complaints, as determined by the BCS, per 1,000 residential customers.
Justified payment arrangement request--A payment arrangement request where an NGDC did not follow Commission negotiation procedures or regulations.
Justified payment arrangement request rate--The number of justified payment arrangement requests, as determined by the BCS, from residential customers per 1,000 residential customers.
NGDC--Natural gas distribution company.
Payment arrangement request--A customer request for payment terms to the BCS.
Promptness--The state or condition of acting or responding with speed or readiness to a customer's question, complaint, dispute or request. An example of promptness might be the NGDC responding to a customer's request for a premise visit with an appointment in 5 days rather than in 5 weeks.
Small business customer--A person, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association or other business whose annual gas consumption does not exceed 300 Mcf.
Timeliness--The state or condition of acting at the appropriate or correct time as previously determined or promised when responding to a customer's question, complaint, dispute or request. An example of timeliness might be an NGDC representative arriving at the customer's residence on the date and at the time previously agreed upon by the NGDC and the customer.
Transaction survey--A survey targeted toward individuals that have had a recent interaction with an NGDC.
§ 62.33. Reporting requirements.
(a) Report deadlines.
(1) Unless otherwise specified in this subchapter, each covered NGDC shall file its first report with the Commission on or before August 1, 2001. The August report shall contain data, reported by month, from the first 6 months of the calendar year, as well as a 6-month cumulative average.
(2) Each NGDC shall file its second report on or before February 1, 2002. The February report shall contain data, reported by month, from the second 6 months of the year as well as a 6-month cumulative average and a 12-month cumulative average for the preceding calendar year.
(3) Thereafter, the NGDCs shall file reports annually with the Secretary of the Commission on or before February 1.
(4) Each report shall contain data, reported by month, as well as a 12-month cumulative average for the preceding calendar year.
(5) Each report shall include the name and telephone number of the utility contact person responsible for the report.
(b) Recordkeeping. Each NGDC shall report the following data to the Commission:
(1) Telephone access.
(i) The percentage of calls answered at each NGDC's call center within 30 seconds with the NGDC representative ready to render assistance and to accept information necessary to process the call. An acknowledgment that the customer or applicant is waiting on the line does not constitute an answer.
(ii) The average busy-out rate for each call center. If the NGDC reports data for more than one call center, the NGDC should also provide the combined busy-out rate for the NGDC as a whole.
(iii) The call abandonment rate for each call center. If the NGDC reports data for more than one call center, the NGDC should also provide the combined call abandonment rate for the NGDC as a whole.
(2) Billing.
(i) The number and percent of residential bills that the NGDC failed to render once every billing period to residential ratepayers under § 56.11 (relating to billing frequency).
(ii) The number and percent of bills that the NGDC failed to render once every billing period to small business customers.
(3) Meter reading.
(i) The number and percent of residential meters for which the company has failed to obtain an actual or ratepayer supplied reading within the past 6 months to verify the accuracy of estimated readings under § 56.12(4)(ii) (relating to meter reading; estimated billing; or ratepayer readings).
(ii) The number and percent of residential meters for which the company has failed to obtain an actual meter reading within the past 12 months to verify the accuracy of the readings, either estimated or ratepayer read under § 56.12(4)(iii).
(iii) The number and percent of residential remote meters for which it has failed to obtain an actual meter reading at least once every 5 years to verify the accuracy of the remote reading device under § 56.12(5)(i).
(4) Response to disputes. The actual number of disputes as described in Chapter 56, Subchapter F (relating to disputes; termination disputes; informal and formal complaints) for which the company did not provide a response to the complaining party within 30 days of the initiation of the dispute under § 56.151(5) (relating to general rule).
(c) Comparison. Each NGDC report to the Commission shall contain an analysis and comparison of the quality of service data in each performance area during the most recent report period with its previous service quality in these areas.
§ 62.34. Customer surveys.
Each NGDC shall report to the Commission the results of telephone transaction surveys of customers who have had interactions with the NGDC.
(1) Purpose. The purpose of the transaction surveys shall be to assess the customer perception regarding the most recent interaction with the NGDC. Survey questions shall measure access to the utility, employe courtesy, employe knowledge, promptness of NGDC response or visit, timeliness of the NGDC response or visit and satisfaction with the handling of the interaction.
(2) Questions. The transaction survey questions shall specifically address the circumstances that generated the most recent transaction. Interaction categories shall include the following:
(i) Credit/collection.
(ii) Billing.
(iii) Reliability and safety.
(iv) Service installation and application.
(v) Service disconnection.
(vi) Other similar interactions.
(3) Uniform data. The NGDCs shall carry out the transaction survey process using survey questionnaires, sample selection procedures, methods of conducting the surveys and any other procedures associated with the survey to provide the Commission with uniform data that can be used to directly compare customer service performance among NGDCs in this Commonwealth.
(4) Timely response. A customer or consumer being surveyed shall be contacted within 30 days of the date that the interaction with the NGDC took place.
(5) Sampling plan. The sampling plan shall be designed so that the results are statistically valid within plus or minus 5 percentage points.
(6) Commission approval. On or before December 1, 2001, the Commission will approve the survey questionnaire, as well as procedures for case selection, sampling, conducting the survey, analyzing results and reporting to the Commission.
(7) Timetable.
(i) The first report on survey results shall be submitted to the Commission on or before October 1, 2002. The October report shall contain survey results, reported by month, from the first 6 months of the calendar year.
(ii) The second report shall be submitted on or before April 1, 2003. The April report shall contain results, reported by month, from the second 6 months of the previous year as well as cumulative 12-month results.
(iii) Thereafter, the NGDC shall submit survey results annually, on or before April 1.
(iv) Each annual report shall contain results reported by month as well as cumulative 12-month results.
§ 62.35. NGDCs with fewer than 100,000 residential accounts.
Beginning September 1, 2002, each NGDC with less than 100,000 residential accounts shall report to the Commission the following information in lieu of §§ 62.33 and 62.34 (relating to reporting requirements; and customer surveys):
(1) The results of a mail survey of a sample of the NGDC customers who have had interactions with a representative of the NGDC. The survey sample shall consist of every 10th consumer who has contacted the company.
(2) The mail survey shall address the circumstances that generated the customer/company transaction
(3) Each NGDC shall use the same mail survey questionnaire which shall be developed by the BCS with advice from the relevant NGDCs. The mail survey questions shall measure customer perceptions regarding:
(i) Access to the utility.
(ii) Employe courtesy.
(iii) Employe knowledge.
(iv) Promptness and timeliness of the utility representative response.
(v) Satisfaction with the NGDC representative's handling of the interaction.
(4) The mail survey questionnaire shall be mailed to a customer within 30 days of the date that the transaction took place.
(5) The first report on survey results shall be submitted to the Commission on or before September 1, 2002. The September report shall contain survey results from the first 6 months of the calendar year.
(6) The second report shall be submitted on or before March 1, 2003, and shall contain survey results from the second 6 months of the calendar year.
(7) Thereafter, the NGDC shall submit survey results annually, on or before March 1.
§ 62.36. Informal complaints to the BCS.
(a) The BCS will review and analyze residential informal consumer complaints and payment arrangement requests filed with the Commission and will report the justified informal consumer complaint rate and the justified payment arrangement request rate for each NGDC with more than 100,00 residential accounts to the Commission on an annual basis.
(b) The BCS will report to the Commission the number of informally verified infractions of applicable statutes and regulations relating to the treatment of residential accounts by each NGDC with more than 100,000 residential accounts. The BCS will calculate and report to the Commission an infraction rate for each NGDC with more than 100,000 residential accounts.
§ 62.37. Public information.
The Commission will annually produce a summary report on the customer service performance of each covered NGDC using the statistics collected as a result of these reporting requirements. The reports will be public information. The Commission will provide the reports to any interested party and post the reports on the Commission's World Wide Website.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 00-2127. Filed for public inspection December 8, 2000, 9:00 a.m.]
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