20150910AVU to Staff 135.docx

AVISTA CORPORATION
RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATIONJURISDICTION:IDAHODATE PREPARED:09/08/2015CASE NO.:AVU-E-15-05/AVU-G-15-01WITNESS:Jim KensokREQUESTER:IPUCRESPONDER:Kelly ConleyTYPE:Production RequestDEPARTMENT:IS/ITREQUEST NO.:Staff-135TELEPHONE:[phone]REQUEST:
The Company’s response to Production Request No. 89 included the following statement: “While it is difficult to predict how many customers will enroll in the Notifi service, other utilities surveyed have indicated ranges of 18% to 30% in the first year alone.” Please provide a cost benefit analysis for Notifi. What does it cost to serve a customer that participates in Notifi? What does it cost to serve a customer that does not participate in Notifi?RESPONSE:
Costs for electronic notifications vary depending on factors such as which preferences a customer signs up for, and how many events (such as outages) occur during any given time period. Avista has contracted with vendor iFactor to execute these communications at the following rates:
SMS Text Premium Fee 0 -
1,000,000 messages per month
Premium channel message fee for MO (mobile originated) and MT (mobile terminated text messages at monthly volumes below 1,000,000 messages
$0.35
SMS Text Premium Fee
1,000,000 - 2,500,000 messages per month
Premium channel message fee for MO (mobile originated) and MT (mobile terminated text messages at monthly volumes between 1,000,000 and 2,500,000 messages
$0.025
SMS Text Premium Fee
> 2,500,000 messages per month
Premium channel message fee for MO (mobile originated) and MT (mobile terminated text messages at monthly volumes above 2,500,000 messages
$0.0125
Outbound E-Mail l Premium Fee< 1,000,000 messages per month
Premium channel message fee for outbound E-Mail l delivery at monthly volumes below 1,000,000 messages
$0.013
Outbound E-Mail l Premium Fee1,000,000 - 2,500,000 messages per month
Premium channel message fee for outbound E-Mail l delivery at monthly volumes between 1,000,000 and 2,500,000 messages
$0.010
Outbound E-Mail l Premium Fee> 2,500,000 messages per month
Premium channel message fee for outbound E-Mail l delivery at monthly volumes above 2,500,000 messages
$0.007
Electronic notifications, while less expensive to provide when compared to phone calls and e-mails, can be considered an additional channel cost that offers customers the ability to receive proactive notifications on their preferred channel, and in areas in which they have indicated interest.
Customers who call Avista to receive updates are a higher cost to serve. For 2015, the current cost per call is estimated to be $6.69. Customers who communicate via inbound email, requiring an outbound Customer Service Representative (CSR) response is estimated to cost $2.79.