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Home My WebLink About20150828UWI to Staff 113-124,.pdf(208) 343-7s00 (208) 336-6912 (Fa:<) McDevitt & Miller LLP Lawyers iill; flili; Iri Pl{ I: l0 ir.';',1 g1r.s. F. McDevitt DeanJ. (foe) Millet Celeste trL Millet Boise,Idaho 83702 August 28,2075 Via lfand Delivery JeanJewe[ Seoetary Idaho Public Utilities Commission 47 2 Ul . IU7ashington St. Boise,Idaho 83720 Re: UWI-W-15-01 Deat Ms. Jeurell: Enclosed fot filing, please find an otigrral and thtee (3) copies of United Watet Idaho, Inc.'s Respoose to the Commission Staffs Fifth Production Request Nos 773,174,115,716,777,178, 119, 720, 727, 122, 723, alid 724. Kind1y retum a file stamped copy to me. Very Truly Youts, McDevitt & MillerLLP bauq,tu- DeanJ. Miller DJMlhh Cc United Watet Idaho, Inc. ORIGINAL Dean J. Miller (lSB No. 1968) McDEVITT & MILLER LLP 420 West Bannock Street P.O. Box 256r'-83701 Boise, ID 83702 Tel: 208.343.7500 Fax: 208.336.6912 ioe@mcdevitt-miller. com Attomey for United Water ldaho, lnc. BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMM]SSION lN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION I Case No. UW!-W-15-01 OF UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. FOR AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS RATES AND CHARGES FOR WATER SERVICE IN THE STATE OF IDAHO r --1r l.r '.';,,. _.ts '--:j aj 3 4 t) UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.'S RESPONSE TO FIFTH PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF United Water ldaho lnc., ("United Wate/') by and through its undersigned attorneys, hereby submits its Response to the Commission Staffs Fifth Production Request Nos 1 13, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, and 124. DATED this ilfday of August, 2015. UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.'S RESPONSE TO FIFTH PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE coMtuilsstoN STAFF - 1 UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. (lSB No. 1968) Aftomey for United Water ldaho, lnc. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on the -r2&ay of August, 2015,1 caused to be served, via the method(s) indicated below, true and correct copies of the foregoing document, upon: Jean Jewell, Secretary Hand Delivered ldaho Public Utilities Commission U.S. Mail 472 West Washington Street Fax P.O. Box 83720 Boise, lD 83720-0074 Uewell@ puc. state. id. us Donald L. Daphne Huang Deputy Attorney General ldaho Public Utilities Commission P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ldaho 83720-0074 don. howel l@ puc. idaho. qov daphne. h uanq@puc. idaho.qov Brad M. Purdy Attorney at Law 2019 N. 17th Street Boise, lD 83702 bmpurdv@hotmail.com ll Fed. Express Email Hand Delivered U.S. Mail Fax Fed. Express Email Hand Delivered U.S. Mail Fax Fed. Express Email KtJ i(--a L-t '(J K'(l iLI (-e !!1 (J (J L-e il.l ){ ,v, +ItnU,,, tbr,r\ ,,lrt0;hrr McDevrr & Mrllen LLP UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.'S RESPONSE TO FIFTH PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF .2 UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. CASE UW|-W-15-01 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 113: Please identify the number of disconnections for non-payment on a monthly basis for calendar years 2011,2012,2013,2014 and 2015 to date. For comparison please include the number of customers for those same time-frames, and the number of disconnections as a percentage of total residential customers for the same time period. RESPONSE NO. 113: Disconnections for non-payment by month 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 JAN 130 0 124 128 138 FEB 263 0 225 195 95 MAR 216 0 165 103 69 APR 228 126 308 166 66 MAY 168 119 47 104 87 JUN 217 69 105 129 144 JULY 165 103 187 158 153 AUG 266 72 216 211 SEP 177 17 173 228 ocT 25 313 208 214 NOV 0 141 50 126 DEC 0 176 12 185 1 855 1 136 1820 1947 752 Total Customers 84378 85596 86849 88314 89775 % Shut Off 0.021984 0.013272 0.020956 0.022046 0.008376 UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. CASE UWI.W.I5.O1 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 114: For residential accounts identified as having been disconnected for non-payment in the previous request, please provide the number of accounts that received UW Cares benefits by month for calendar years 2011, 2012,2013,2014 and 2015 to date. How many of those customers were subsequently disconnected for nonpayment during the following two months? RESPONSE NO. 114: A record of customers who were subsequently disconnected for nonpayment in the two months following UW Cares benefit enrollment is not maintained by the Company. At its offices, the company can make available spreadsheets showing customer identities (Name, Account#, and Address) for all customers who received assistance through the United Water Cares program for calendar years 2011,2012,2013,2014 and 2015 to date. Additionally, the company can also make available hardcopy shut-off lists showing the account numbers for any residential customer disconnected for nonpayment in the years 2013,2014, and 2015 (to date). UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. cAsE uwt-w-l5-01 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 115: Without revealing customer identities or other confidential information, please provide a spreadsheet showing the average monthly consumption of all customers receiving assistance through the United Water Cares program for calendar years 2011,2012,2013,2014 and 2015 to date. RESPONSE NO. 115: The Company does not maintain a specific summary of consumption volume related to United Water Cares program enrollment. Please see the included spreadsheet (#115 - UW Cares 2011 to 201S.xlsx) which shows total count of monthly applications and total award dollars for all customers receiving assistance through the United Water Cares program for calendar years 2011, 2012,2013,2014 and2015 to date. UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. CASE UWI.W.I5.O1 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE GOMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 116: Please provide an update on the United Water Cares program. Please explain any changes to the program since 2011. Please include monthly and annual data for calendar year 2011 through 2015 to date by Company contributions, customer contributions, total dollar amount awarded to customers, total number of customers assisted, and total amount provided to El-Ada for administration. RESPONSE NO. 116: On September 30, 2011, the Company increased the grant award limit for UW Cares enrollees from $50 to $65 annually. ln November 2011 , the Company reserved approx. $95,656.19 of abandoned developer deposits from Park Place Gardens Subdivision C07D310, and Catalpa Subdivision C08D327. These funds replaced previously solicited customer funded grant awards. The abandoned deposits were applied to the UW Cares per PUC Order 32391 Nov. 2011 in lieu of. As of August 2015 the company has approx. $26,737 .09 remaining from that abandoned developer funds transfer to remaining for UWCares donations. See included spreadsheet 'Request No. 1 16.xlsx' for calendar years 201 1 through 2015 to date which details the count and total of dollar amounts awarded to customers. El-Ada collects a 10o/o fee on awards for their administration of the UW Cares program. UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. GASE UW!-W-15-01 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 117: Please provide the number of incoming calls handled by the customer service representatives by month for calendar years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 to date. RESPONSE NO. 1f 7: lncoming Galls Handled by Month (2011-2015 to date) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 7038 6429 7052 7486 7316 tnra---l 81 53 77002 82058 90477 93445 43474 Note: November 20ll,lnterruption to call count during phone system upgrade June 2015, Loss of call count during replacement of call tracking computer server JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JULY AUG SEP ocr NOV DEC 6935 6305 7123 6649 7000 7393 7267 8297 7815 5533 4980 5191 5535 6665 6632 7423 7099 8309 7268 9483 7937 6897 7571 7596 7226 7094 8546 8052 891 1 8504 6064 6079 6872 6452 6804 7798 7717 7904 9242 8496 881 3 9092 6610 7645 ftaw-]l zstt 4878 5962 UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. CASE UWI.W.15.O1 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 118: Please provide a breakdown of the number of incoming calls and emails from customers to the Company by category (e.9., payment arrangements, starUstop service, high bills, disconnections, etc.). Please include all calls, including those calls routed to another department. Please provide the information by months for the years 2011,2012,2013,2014 and 2015 to date. RESPONSE NO. 118: Please see the included spreadsheet "Request No. 1 18.xlsx" which provides a breakdown of incoming calls and emails from customers to the company by month and year. The Company does not categorize these communications by type. The totals provided represent all calls received through the dedicated number customer service phone line (208) 362-7304, and all emails sent to UWID@UnitedWater.com. The record of monthly email communications is available from February 2014 to present. UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. CASE UWI-W-I5.01 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 119: Please describe the customer self-help tasks that can be handled by the IVR or online, (e.9., bill payment, payment arrangements, etc.). RESPONSE NO. 119: Customer self-help tasks that can be handled by the IVR include:. Bill payment through Western Union. The location of authorized bill payment centerso Connection to a Customer Service Representative. Connection to after-hours answering service. Recorded daily updates on spring flushing program Customer self-help tasks that can be handled online include:. Contact the Company Via Emailo Make a payment through Western Uniono The location of authorized bill payment centerso View Current Water Quality Reporto View Current Conservation Guideo View Cross Connection Control Programo lnteractive map showing daily updates on spring flushing programo View PDF of bill statement from eBill email link UNITED WATER IDAHO ING. GASE UWI-W-I5-0f THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 120: Please provide the Company's performance objectives for handling incoming calls; include objectives for both IVR and customer service representative (CSR) handled calls. What steps does the Company take if it fails to meet its performance objectives? RESPONSE NO. 120: The Company monitors Key Performance !ndicators (KPls) for Abandoned Call Percentage and Average Speed of Answer. Limits on these metrics are re-established at the beginning of each year. Data collected from the Company's automated phone system is monitored for performance reporting. ln addition to local performance reviews, this information is sent to our corporate office on a monthly basis. lf the Company fails to meet its performance objectives, local staff will make adjustments to staffing coverage and work flow to improve response times. UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. GASE UW!-W-15-01 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 121: Please provide the average speed of answer for CSR-handled calls by month of the calendar years 2011,2012,2013,2014 and 2015 to date. RESPONSE NO. 121: Average Speed of Answer of CSR calls (reported in seconds) JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUtY AUG SEP ocr NOV DEC 20Lt 28 31 26 18 2L 51 28 2L 2t 20 62 18 20!2 2L 27 28 38 4t 77 L24 82 t]-z 200 L22 103 20L3 85 57 LzL 155 L70 t24 259 22L L28 57 44 31 2014 27 26 25 22 34 31 33 44 76 27 27 51 20L5 55 40 33 L6 39 Note: June 2015, Loss of call count during replacement of call tracking computer server UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. GASE UW!-W-15-01 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 122: Please provide a description and cost of contents by type of kit, (indoor, outdoor, low-income, other), provided to residential and low-income customers under the United Water conservation programs. RESPONSE NO. 122: The company offers two types of conservation kit to customers, Outdoor and lndoor. The outdoor conservation kit includes hose timers, hose nozzles and rain sensors. A hose timer is a mechanical device that attaches to a hose bib with timed watering functions. Hose nozzles attach to the end of a hose to limit water used for spraying. Rain Sensors attach to automatic sprinkler systems and shuts the system off during rain. ln 2015, the unit cost of outdoor kit contents were:o Nelson hose timer, $8.85/unit.. AM Conservation Hose nozzle, $3.79/unit.. Hunter brand mini-clik rain sensor, $17 .26 a unit. The indoor conservation devices are available on hand and offered to for customers upon request. These items include, low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators. These items were last purchase in 2013 at the unit cost listed below:. Low-flow shower heads, $2.95/unito Faucet aerators, $0.48/unit UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. GASE UWI-W-15-01 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 123: Please provide the number of water conservation kits distributed by UWI in the United Water Cares program for calendar years 2011, 2012,2013,2014, and 2015 to date. Please separate and identify the number and type of kits distributed through each of the different distribution channels and those by UWI directly to customers. (El-Ada, Boise City Library locations and other channels.) RESPONSE NO. 123: The number of water conservation kits distributed by the Company for calendar years 2011,2012,2013,2014, and 2015 to date are provided below. UW Library Offices Branches 387 313 0 830 683 10 480 2s3 1 77 187 52 4 25 LO7 60 L 31 * As of July 3L,2OL5 City El-Ada Hall 20tL 20L2 20L3 20t4 2015',r UNITED WATER IDAHO INC. GASE UW!-W-15-01 THIRD PRODUCTION REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION STAFF Preparer/Sponsoring Witness: Marshall Thompson REQUEST NO. 124: Are all costs associated with the United Water Cares program covered by shareholders? Please explain. RESPONSE NO. T24: Please see the response to request No. 116 for a description of United Water Cares program funding.