20110706Kopzcynski Di.pdf

DAVID J. MEYER
VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF COUNSEL FOR
REGULATORY & GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
AVISTA CORPORATION
P . O. BOX 3727
1411 EAST MISSION AVENUE
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 99220-3727
TELEPHONE: [phone]
FACSIMILE: [phone]
DAVI D . MEYER~AVI S TACORP . COM
1! JUL -5 ,,: i~il
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION
OF AVISTA CORPORATION FOR THE
AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS RATES
AND CHARGES FOR ELECTRIC AND
NATURAL GAS SERVICE TO ELECTRIC
AND NATURAL GAS CUSTOMERS IN THE
STATE OF IDAHO
CASE NO. AVU-E-11-01
CASE NO. AVU-G-11-01
DIRECT TES IMONY
OF
DON F. KOPZCYNSKI
FOR AVISTA CORPORATION
(ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS)
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I. INTRODUCTION
Q.Please state your name, employer and business
3 address.
4 A.My name is Don F. Kopczynski and I am employed as
5 the Vice President of Customer Solutions for Avista
6 Utili ties,at 1411 East Mission Avenue,Spokane,
7 Washington.
8 Q.Would you briefly describe your educational
9 background and professional experience?
10 A.Yes.Prior to joining the Company in 1979, I
11 earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from the
12 Universi ty of Idaho.I have also earned a Master's Degree
13 in Engineering from Washington State University, a Master's
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Degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga
University,and a Master's Degree in Business
16 Administration from Whitworth University. Over the past 31
17 years I have spent approximately 18 years in Energy
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Delivery,managing Engineering,various aspects of
Operations, and Customer Service.In addition, I spent
20 three years managing the Energy Resources Department,
21 including Power Supply, Generation and Production, and
22 Natural Gas Supply.I have worked in the areas of
23 Corporate Business Analysis and Development, and served in
24 a variety of leadership roles in subsidiary operations for
25 Avista Corp.I was appointed General Manager of Energy
26 Delivery in 2003 and Vice President in 2004. In April 2011
27 i was appointed to my current position of Vice President of
Kopczynski, Di 1
Avista Corp
1 Customer Solutions. I serve on several boards, including
2 the Washington State Electrical Board, Northwest Gas
3 Association,American Gas Association,Common Ground
4 Alliance, University of Idaho and the Washington State
5 Universi ty Engineering Advisory Boards.
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Q.What is the scope of your testimony?
A.I will provide an overview of the Company's
8 electric and natural gas energy delivery facilities and
9 operations. I will also explain some of our efforts to
10 control costs, increase efficiency, and improve customer
11 service, as well as summarize Avista's customer support
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programs in Idaho.I will provide an update on the
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14 identified in AVU-E-10-01 and AVU-G-10-01.
progress related relations issuesthecustomerto
16 follows:
A table of the contents for my testimony is as
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Description Page
i.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Introduction
Overview of Avista's Energy Delivery Service
Distribution Operations
Cost Control and Efficiency Efforts
Customer Support Programs
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Q.sponsoring exhibits thisAreyouanyin
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25 proceeding?
Yes. I am sponsoring Exhibit 8, Schedule 1 whichA.
27 shows the detailed usage and number of customers for each
28 customer class.
Kopczynski, Di 2
Avista Corp
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II. OVERVIEW OF AVISTA'S ENERGY DELIVERY SERVICE
Q.Please describe Avista Utili ties' Idaho electric
3 and natural gas utility operations.
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A.Avista Utilities operates a vertically-
integrated electric system.In addition to the
6 hydroelectric and thermal generating resources described
7 by Company witness Mr.Lafferty,the Company has
8 approximately 10,438 circuit miles of conductor in the
9 following categories in Idaho: 984 miles of 230 kV
10 transmission, 1,675 miles of 115 kV transmission, and
11 7,779 miles of distribution line at a variety of voltages.
12 The predominant distribution voltage is 13.2 kV.
13 Avista owns and maintains a total of 1,952 miles of
14 natural gas distribution lines in the state of Idaho, and
15 is served off of the Williams Northwest and Gas
16 Transmission Northwest (GTN) pipelines. A map showing the
17 Company's electric and natural gas service area in Idaho
18 is provided by Company witness Mr. Morris at page 2 of
19 Exhibi t 1.
20 As detailed in the Company's 2009 electric Integrated
21 Resource Plan!, Avista expects retail electric sales growth
22 to average 1.7% annually for the next ten years and 1.7%
23 annually over the next twenty years in Avista' s service
24 terri tory, primarily due to increased population and
25 business growth.
1 A copy of the Company's 2009 Electric IRP has been provided by Mr.
Lafferty as Exhibit 4, Schedule i.
Kopczynski, Di 3
Avista Corp
1 Also, based on Avista's 2009 natural gas Integrated
2 Resource Plan2, in Idaho/Washington the number of natural
3 gas customers are projected to increase at an average
4 annual rate of 2.2%, with demand growing at a compounded
5 average annual rate of 1.0%.
6 Q.How many customers are served by Avista Utilities
7 in Idaho?
8 A.Of the Company's 358,982 electric and 319,141
9 natural gas customers (as of December 31, 2010), 122,381
10 and 74,207, respectively, were Idaho customers.Avista's
11 largest electric customer in Idaho is the Clearwater Paper
12 facility located in Lewiston, Idaho.
13 Q.Please describe the Company's operations centers
14 that support electric and natural gas customers in Idaho.
15 A.The Company has construction offices in
16 Grangeville, Orofino, Lewiston-Clarkston, Moscow-Pullman,
17 Kellogg, St. Maries, Coeur d' Alene, Sandpoint and Bonner's
18 Ferry. Avista's four customer contact centers in Spokane,
19 Washington, Coeur d' Alene and Lewiston, Idaho, and Medford,
20 Oregon, are networked, allowing the full pool of regular
21 and part-time employees to respond to customer calls in all
22 jurisdictions.
23 III. DISTRIBUTION OPERATIONS
24 Q.What construction and maintenance programs does
25 the Company have in place to maintain electric and natural
26 gas facilities?
2 A copy of the Company's 2009 Natural Gas IRP has been provided by Mr.
Christie at Exhibit 7, Schedule i.
Kopczynski, Di 4
Avista Corp
1 A.The Company utilizes seasonal and regular crews
2 for electric and natural gas construction, including new
3 and reconstructed lines, damage repair, and connecting new
4 customers.The Company employs contract crews and
5 temporary and part-time employees to meet customer needs
6 during the peak construction season. The Company also has
7 several maintenance programs to maintain the reliability of
8 our electric and natural gas infrastructure.On the
9 electric side, this includes the Company's Asset Management
10 Program (including wood pole inspection and replacement),
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vegetation management,and electric transmission line
inspection and reconstruction.Company witness Mr. Kinney
13 discusses this program in more detail.
14 Q.Please describe any ongoing maintenance plans for
15 the Company's natural gas operations?
16 A.Natural gas operations performs necessary
17 maintenance required by the US Department of Transportation
18 Pipeline Safety Regulations, 49 CFR, Part 192. Ongoing
19 maintenance focuses on valve and regulator stations,
20 atmospheric corrosion protection, and leak surveys. The
21 following is further detail regarding the natural gas
22 maintenance programs the Company has or is in the process
23 of implementing:
24 i. Isolated Steel Replacement Program. The Company is25 obligated to maintain all below-ground steel26 pipelines in accordance with 49 CFR§ 192.455
27 External Corrosion Control: Buried or Submerged28 Pipelines Installed After July 31, 1971. The29 Company has implemented a special cathodic30 protection program for the purpose of finding, as31 practicable, all isolated steel in its natural gas
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Avista Corp
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piping systems. The method for finding the isolated
steel will be by full-interrupted current surveys.
This test method will enable Avista personnel the
opportuni ty to record both on and instant off pipe-
to-soil (p/ s) voltage potential readings on the
pipe in all cathodic protection zones in the
Company's gas systems in Idaho, Washington, and
Oregon. In addition to these surveys, the Company
will review its Geographic Information System
database and other information as necessary todetermine the probable locations of any isolated
steel. The program is scheduled to survey the gas
cathodic protection zones in Idaho in 2013.
Capital work for riser replacements and isolated
steel pipe remediation will continue for up to ten
(10) years until all isolated steel risers are
removed and all isolated steel is removed, tied in
wi th existing steel piping systems, or permanently
bonded into the system with a test point container.
The operating and maintenance labor costs for
Idaho's portion of this project in 2012 are planned
to be $162,000 and the capital costs are $1.1
million. Company wi tness Ms. Andrews hasincorporated the addi tional O&M into heradjustments.
2. Increased Leak Survey of Aldyl-A Pipe. Avista, as part
of a Settlement Agreement with the Washington Utilities
and Transportation Commission (UTC) (ref. Docket PG-082253), will perform annual leak surveys of certain
Aldyl-A mains installed prior to 1987. These surveys
are in addition to existing leak survey requirements and
shall be performed in each of the three years following
approval of the Settlement, and periodically thereafter
as warranted, after consultation with UTC Staff. The
Company will also begin doing such additional surveys in
Idaho and Oregon.
The 2011 cost for the increased leak survey in
Idaho is approximately $14,000. Ms. Andrews has
incorporated the additional labor costs into heradjustments.
3. Replacement of Aldyl-A Pipe. The Company is developing
a special program to remove Aldyl-A pipe installed prior
to 1987 from its system. Through the use of Avista's
Distribution Integrity Management Program (DIMP) (Ref.
49 CFR 192, Subpart P), Avista will identify segments of
pipe at highest risk of leakage, and create work plans
to replace those segments with modern polyethylene pipe.
Currently there are approximately 265 miles of pre-1987
Aldyl-A pipe installed in Idaho. The Company will
remove the Aldyl-A pipe in Washington and Oregon through
the DIMP program as well.
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Avista Corp
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The cost associated with this special program is
preliminarily estimated to approach $320 million
over a twenty (20) year program lifetime, of which
approximately $65 million is for pipe existing inIdaho. The Company has not requested additional
costs associated with this program in this filing,
but is developing a plan for cost-recovery.
4. Atmospheric Testing Program - Atmospheric Testing
is an inspection program to find conditions in the
Company's system that could lead to corrosion
issues on customer meter sets. This "Atmospheric
Corrosion" inspection program is a federal code
mandated program that requires the Company to
inspect all above ground steel pipe at a frequency
not to exceed three years. It was in effect prior
to automated meter reading (AMR), but prior to AMR
was often satisfied through the use of meter
readers reporting the condition of our meters on
associated above ground steel piping.
Atmospheric testing expenses increased in 2010 dueto using an outside vendor to perform the testing.
In 2007, the Company used meter readers and
students to perform the testing. Once AMR was
implemented, however, meter readers were not going
into the field to inspect these meters.
The Company completes this testing in each state
over a three year period, rotating through one
state per year. Idaho is being completed in 2011 at
a cost of $450,000. The Company is requesting to
recover Idaho's cost over a 3 year period (2012-
2014), one-third per year, and therefore Ms.
Andrews has pro formed $150,000 for atmospheric O&M
expense within her adjustments. The Company has
received approval of this agreement in Oregon and
has also requested recovery in its washington
general rate case in Docket No. UG-110877.
iv. COST CONTROL AN EFFICIENCY EFFORTS
Q.What actions or specific measures has the
45 Company undertaken to control costs and mitigate the
46 requested rate increases?
47 A.Avista's efforts to control its costs have not
48 been prompted solely by the most recent downturn in the
Kopczynski, Di 7
Avista Corp
1 economy.We have continually revisited our costs and
2 operating practices over time in order to mitigate price
3 increases for our customers.Other measures we have taken
4 include the following:
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6 i. Avista approved a lower capital budget than was
7 requested by the Company's Engineering and
8 Operations personnel. The original capital projects
9 request for approval in 2011 consisted of projects10 totaling over $292 million. The Capital11 Priori tization Committee reduced the list of
12 recommended projects by $62 million to the $23013 million capital budget approved by the Board14 (excluding Stimulus Projects3). In addition, the15 Company prioritized 0 & M facility maintenance and
16 improvement projects and removed projects that17 could be delayed without safety or operational18 concerns.
1920 2. Retirees are now picking up the full premium21 increases on the health insurance coverage. A few22 years ago retirees under age 65 were paying i 0% of
23 the health insurance premiums and now they pay 50%24 on average.
2526 3. The Defined Benefit Pension Plan's benefit formulas27 were reduced (approximately 28%) for all non-union28 new hires effective January 1, 2006 and for all new29 union hires effective January 1, 2011.
3031 4. Bargaining Unit's wages were kept in line with32 neighboring investor-owned utili ties and PUDs.
3334 5. Avista is currently operating under a hiring35 restriction which requires approval by the
36 Chairman, CEO and President, President of the
37 Utilities, CFO, and Sr. VP for Human Resources for38 all replacement or new hire positions.
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40 6. The Company has increased shift coverage company-41 wide for natural gas and electric servicemen for
3 Avista was awarded matching grants from the U. S. Department of Energy
for two "Smart Grid" projects. One project will upgrade portions of
the utility's electric distribution system to smart grid standards in
Spokane, Washington and the other project is a demonstration project
in Pullman, Washington that involves automation of many parts of the
electric distribution system using advanced metering, enhanced utility
communication and other elements of smart grid technologies. Avista
will request future recovery of its share of these costs fromWashington customers.
Kopczynski, Di 8
Avista Corp
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after - hours calls. This provides for more prompt
call response at lower cost (straight time versusovertime) .
These programs are examples of the extensive efforts
6 by Avista to identify and implement efficiency measures
7 and/ or producti vi ty improvements while continuing to
8 provide quality service to customers.
9 Q.What other cost-management measures has the
10 Company undertaken?
11 A.We continue to pay particular attention to
12 limi ting the growth in our costs, while meeting important
13 reliability and environmental compliance requirements, and
14 preserving a high level of customer satisfaction.
15 The measures listed below are among some of the most
16 recent actions we have taken to mitigate the impact of
17 increased costs on our customers:
1819 1. Mobile Dispatch - Electric. In December 2010, the20 implementation of wireless laptop computers with
21 mobile maps (Mobile Dispatch) was deployed to22 approximately one-half of Avista electric23 servicemen. Mobile dispatch was previously24 implemented in June 2006 to all Avista natural gas25 servicemen. Mobile Dispatch automatically26 dispatches work orders to Avista servicemen27 throughout the day through wireless technology to28 laptop computers mounted in Avista service trucks.29 Prior to Mobile Dispatch, orders were created in
30 Avista's work management system and printed at the31 local construction offices. Employees in each32 office would sort, assign and dispatch (via phone,33 pager, fax or in person) orders each morning. The34 field employees would work with the orders and call
35 in the completed work periodically throughout the36 day or simply turn-in the stack of completed orders
37 at the end of the day. The completed orders were
38 manually completed by employees who entered the39 information regarding the order back into the work
40 management system. The paper processes made it41 difficul t to track the status of individual orders
Kopczynski, Di 9
Avista Corp
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and fieldworkers throughout each day. It was also
very difficult for the dispatchers to keep up with
the volume of paper being sent out each morning,
changes to the orders that occurred during the day,
and completed orders returned at the end of theshift.
Mobile Dispatch has automated the order creation,
modification and completion process. With the new
technology, orders are created in the work
management system and are automatically dispatched
to the correct field worker based on the order's
Latitude/Longitude position and the person assigned
to work orders in that area. Once a field employee
has been identified, the order is sent through
wireless technology to the laptop computer mountedin Avista' s service truck. The order is then
reviewed by the employee for specific information
needed to complete the work. The order status is
transmi tted back to the dispatch center, as the
employee indicates they are en route, on-site,
and/ or have completed the work. The completed
order is transmitted back to the work managementsystem where it is closed automatically.
Dispatchers have complete information for each
order and a field employee's status. They have the
abili ty to manage and redistribute work by simplydragging and dropping orders from one field
employee to another. The orders instantly move
from the originally-assigned laptop to the newly-assigned laptop.
2. ARCOS automated crew call-out. In November of 2009,
Avista replaced its semi-automated process of
calling gas and electric servicemen into work for
after-hours emergencies with a web-based system
called ARCOS. Faster calls, e-mail, texting and
paging functionality with real-time employee
availabili ty and crew tracking are a few of the key
features of the new system. The result has been a
significant reduction in the time it takes a
dispatcher to call field personnel, allowing more
time to assess and analyze outages and troubleorders.
3. Keyhole Technology. This process helps us cost-
effectively expose underground pipes to perform
some of our natural gas repair and maintenance work
wi thout cutting into and excavating concrete.
Keyhole technology allows the Company to work on
underground facilities through an 18 inch-diameter
hole in a street's pavement. When the job is done,
the street is restored by putting the pavement core
back into place with no waste from asphalt mixing.
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Avista Corp
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Cost reductions also come from eliminating the need
for a backhoe and asphalt hot-patch crew or
replacing concrete.
4. Remote Installation/Removal of Hot Line Holds.A Hot Line Hold (HLH) is a temporary relay setting
that a feeder breaker/recloser is placed into
whenever utility personnel are working on or in the
proximi ty of energized power lines. This setting
prevents the normal reclosing of breakers so that
in the event of contact with the wire, the device
will open and remain de-energized. The application
of the setting has traditionally been a
physical/manual push button operation of a switch
at the station breaker along with the physicaltagging for notification and identification
purposes. For approximately 10 years, Avista has
utilized the Distribution SCADA system and a device
within our substations called the 43H switch to
remove the Hot Line Hold upon completion of work
done by crews out in the field. Field personnel
would then be required to travel to the substation
to remove the tag from the breaker. The Company's
new procedure allows Avista to return the breaker
to normal operation in a timely manner through
updated software and hardware that allows the workto be done by a dispatcher located at the Avista
main office.
Q. What imrovements have been made in the area of
31 customer service?
32 A.Avista also has a number of ongoing process
33 improvement measures related to customer service that have
34 provided savings and efficiencies as described below.
35 i. Avista's Customer Service Analyst Team constantly36 challenges themselves to find ways to improve the37 business wi thout compromising customer38 satisfaction. Ini tiati ves such as automated39 address corrections4 prior to bill printing and40 automated address returns with the US Postal41 Service, reviewing collection notice parameters,42 implementing email management processes,43 improving system response time, designing a44 comprehensi ve screen view, ebill promotions and45 other miscellaneous improvements resulted in over
· This process validates address formats for conformance with USPS
regulations and makes corrections to avoid the cost associated withaddress corrections.
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Avista Corp
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$1 million of productivity savings from 2004-2010. Examples included within the $1 million
in savings include options that give customersmore choices such as:
a. E-bill - 78,346 customers enrolled - Savings
$ .50 per bill per month.
b. Web payment process - reduced company cost
from $.80 to $.10 per transaction - 53,000
transactions per month.
2. Enterprise Voice Portal (EVP) System. In mid-
2009, Avista implemented its new EVP System. The
new EVP system replaced the Company's old
Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system, installed
in 1997, which was no longer being supported by
the vendor. The new EVP system handled 753,000
customer calls in 2010 (approximate offset of 38
Full Time Equivalent employees). This was 48.3%
of the total inbound calls into Avista. The new
EVP system has several new features that will
increase customer self service capabilities and
improve customer satisfaction, including the
ability to generate customized, automated
outbound calling campaigns. In 2010, over 26,000
customers were contacted using this automated
system, with messages ranging from planned
maintenance that may interrupt their electrical
service, to important information about their
account - reducing the need for more expensive
customer contact options, such as mailed
postcards, door to door visits, or manual calling
by customer service employees.
The following table shows the avoided labor savings
from the IVR/EVP system from 1998 through 2010,
36 representing total cumulative savings of $20.2 million.
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Kopczynski, Di 12
Avista Corp
1 Table No. i - IVR/EVP Approximte Labor Savings
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37 3. Landlord workbench. Landlords have web access to38 information regarding all of their apartment/rental39 uni ts. In this pilot program, Landlords do not40 have to contact the Company to see whether or not41 service is on or has been discontinued. Landlords42 can check the status of each apartment on-line to43 see if their tenants have signed up for service44 wi th Avista.
4546 4. Construction workbench. Online tool installed47 September 2010. This tool is aimed primarily at48 contractors and developers to request new or49 updated Avista services online. It automatically50 creates and sends job tickets to an Avista service
51 worker's Blackberry or Smartphone. A Contractor52 can initiate a construction order on-line any time53 allowing them additional flexibility in scheduling54 and avoiding the requirement to contact the
1998 84,889 5.1 $270,416 Added Account Recap self-service
1999 158,353 9.6 $504,437
2000 214,828 13.0 $684,339
Added Payment Arangement self-
2001 294,609 17.8 $938,483 service
2002 343,120 20.7 $1,093,016
Added Electronic Payment self-
2003 443,195 26.7 $1,411,807 service
2004 402,071 24.3 $1,280,805
Enhanced Payment Arrangement self-
2005 530,748 22.0 $1,854,079 service
2006 600,730 34.2 $2,098,550
2007 624,823 30.5 $2,182,715
2008 682,797 36.2 $2,348,822
2009 735,938 38.9 $2,880,167 New EVP Implementation June, 2009
2010 753,613 38.1 $2,792,259
Kopczynski, Di 13
Avista Corp
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Customer Service Design technician during normalbusiness hours.
5. Supply Chain Management. In 2010, the Company
kicked off an ini tiati ve designed to enhance supply
chain capabilities and create sustainable processes
that drive greater efficiency and value in an
environment of continuous improvement. This effort
focuses on the design and implementation of robust
strategic sourcing processes, tactical efficiency,
increased internal and supplier performance
(including operational metrics) , and inventory
optimization. For example, each year we spend over
$5 million on transformers. This year we changed
our transformer bidding process, which included
revisiting how we buy transformers, made changes to
the suppliers we use, how contracts are structured,
as well as the volume of transformers we buy at one
time. We estimate that these changes alone will
allow us to save approximately $2 million incapi tal costs per year on transformers for the next
three years. This savings will be redeployed to
enable our available capital dollars to replace
more utility infrastructure on a more timely basis
than would otherwise occur.
6. Energy conservation and efficiency improvements at
Avista Facilities. The Company actively practices
energy conservation and efficiency in our buildings
and facilities. The focus of these efforts is to
reduce energy consumption and manage energy costs
while providing comfort to building occupants. In
2010, Avista began benchmarking facility energy use
to continuously improve performance. Over the last
few years Avista has made great strides to improve
energy efficiency and reduce annual energy usage inown facilities through a number of different
projects. Some of these projects include:
. Lighting retrofit proj ects in a number of
areas to reduce kWh usage and take advantage
of more efficient lighting fixtures;
. Replacing aging HVAC systems to improve energy
efficiency and take advantage of the controls
that new technology offers;
. Upgrading to high efficiency windows providing
better insulation and helping to reduce heat
gain in the summer months.
. Reconstruction of office space to meet
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) standards.
Kopczynski, Di 14
Avista Corp
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V. CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAS
Q.Please explain the customer support programs
3 that Avista provides for its customers in Idaho.
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A.Avista Utilities offers a number of programs
for its Idaho customers,such as energy efficiency
programs,Project Share for emergency assistance to
7 customers, a Customer Assistance Referral and Evaluation
8 Service (CARES) program, senior programs, level pay plans,
9 and payment arrangements. Through these programs the
10 Company works to build lasting ways to ease the burden of
11 energy costs for customers that have the greatest need.
12 In the 2009/2010 heating season,10,297 Idaho
13 customers received $3.7 million in various forms of energy
14 assistance (Federal LIHEAP program, Project Share, and
15 local community funds) .
16 Avista is committed to reducing the burden of energy
17 prices for our customers most affected by rising energy
18 prices, including low income individuals and families,
19 seniors, disabled and vulnerable customers.To assist our
20 customers' in their ability to pay, the Company focuses on
21 actions and programs in four primary areas:1) advocacy
22 for and support of energy assistance programs providing
23 direct financial assistance; 2) low income and senior
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outreach programs;3)energy efficiency and energy
conservation education;and 4)support of community
26 programs that increase customers' ability to pay basic
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Avista Corp
1 costs of living. The following are examples of these
2 outreach programs to customers:
3 i. Low-Income Work Bench: The "Avista Energy Assistant"
4 is a new web-based, self-service tool which enables
5 Communi ty Action Agencies (CAA) to access usage
6 history and credit and collection information
7 needed to qualify customers for energy assistance
8 grants. The Avista Energy Assistant was designed
9 in partnership with local Community Action Agencies10 and was successfully deployed in the fall of 2009.11 Both the CAAs and Avista benefit from this new12 program. The CAAs no longer have to call Avista13 for the information needed to help our customers.14 With the customer's permission, they are able to15 access the information they need, as well as, enter16 a grant promise on the customer's Avista account.17 In many cases, the CAAs are able to stop collection18 activity by entering the grant promise, serving our
19 customers in a timely manner and saving CAAs the20 time of calling the Company. The CAAs have all21 reported positive feedback regarding Avista's22 Energy Assistant.
23
24 2. Gatekeepers Program: Avista has implemented the25 Gatekeepers Program, a program that trains field26 personnel to be aware of signs that a customer may27 be having difficulty with daily living tasks (e.g.28 paper or mail not collected). The CARES29 representatives conduct training of company-wide30 field personnel who come into contact with31 residential customers on a regular basis. In the32 event employees identify a customer having33 difficul ty, the employee is asked to notify the
34 CARES representatives who would contact appropriate35 community resources for assistance.
3637 3. Children's Energy Conservation Outreach: Avista's
38 youth outreach program features Wattson the Energy
39 Watchdog. He's a mascot that teaches children and
40 their families about conservation and making wise
41 energy choices. The Wattson program has a number42 of teaching tools for children that include43 television advertising, a Web si te at44 AvistaKids. com, print collateral and an45 entertaining live performance. The Wattson and
46 Edison Show is a stage performance designed for
47 school assemblies and community venues that48 entertains as it educates kids and families. It49 includes original songs and dances, sound effects
50 and demonstrations that keep the audience engaged
51 in a concise, 15-minute performance. The energy52 conservation messages are all underscored with
Kopczynski, Di 16
Avista Corp
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activity pages and coloring books that they can
take home after the show.
4. Senior Energy Outreach: Avista has developed
specific strategic outreach efforts to reach our
more vulnerable customers (seniors and disabled
customers) with bill paying assistance and energy
efficiency information that emphasizes comfort and
safety. Some examples of this effort are asfollows:
· Senior Pulications: Avista has created a one-
page advertisement that has been placed in senior
resource directories and targeted senior
publications to reach seniors with information
about energy efficiency, Comfort Level Billing,
Avista CARES and energy assistance. A brochurewi th the same information has also been created
for distribution through senior meal delivery
programs and other senior home-care programs.
· Senior Energy Workshops: With the help of
addi tional workshop presenters, 22 Senior Energy
Workshops were held during the 2010/2011 heating
season in Idaho and Washington. Over 1600
seniors were reached and were given Senior Energy
Efficiency kits along with learning about low-
cost/no-cost ways to reduce energy use. Each kit
contains energy-saving items such as compact
fluorescent light bulbs, plastic window covering,
draft stoppers for exterior light switches and
outlets, v-seal for drafty doors and a polar
fleece lap blanket. The Company approaches
talking with seniors about reducing their energy
use very respectfully and carefully to assureheal th, safety and comfort. We discuss lifestyle
changes that could be made and steps to take
before turning the thermostat up, and not keeping
the thermostat too low.
· Senior Wellness Conference: Over 3,000 seniors
attended the Senior Wellness Conference in the
fall of 2010. As one of the event sponsors,
Avista provided energy efficiency information in
the form of live demonstrations throughout the
day of how to install compact fluorescent light
bulbs, window plastic covering, v-seal for drafty
doors, rope caulking as well as other
weatherization materials. Each senior received
the materials that were shown at thedemonstration.
Kopczynski, Di 17
Avista Corp
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5. Every Little Bit House: In partnership with KREM
television, fifteen and thirty second vignettes
were developed that cover low-cost and no-cost waysto save energy at home. The goal of the vignettes
is to help limited income seniors and other
vulnerable populations with their energy bills by
providing home energy conservation education. The
vignettes provide helpful energy conservation tips,
information on community resources and ways for
customers to manage their energy bills.
6. Energy Fairs: In 2010, Avista initiated and hosted
two Energy Fairs, one in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, and
one in Spokane, Washington. The fairs provided
information and demonstrations on energy
assistance, energy efficiency and home
weatherization to limited income families and
senior citizens. Nearly 700 people attended the two
fairs. The Energy Fairs provide an environment for
customers to learn about billing options and energy
assistance, while offering them tips and tools touse to help manage their limited financialresources.
Q.Can you please provide an update on the customer
27 relation issues identified in the Stipulation in AVU-E-10-
28 01 and AVU-G-10-01?
29 A.Yes. The following is a summary of the issues
30 identified in the Stipulation and the status of each
31 issue.
32 1. The Company will review its policies and address in
33 its next general rate case the appropriateness of34 charging for services it now provides without35 charge to customers or other parties, ~,36 establishing new accounts or managing37 tenant/landlord accounts. The Company will also38 reexamine its existing non-recurring charges to
39 determine whether those amounts cover a reasonable40 portion of the Company's current cost to provide41 those services.
4243 Status - Avista is in the process of a multi-state
44 review of the appropriateness of charging for services it
45 now provides without direct charge to customers as well as
Kopczynski, Di 18
Avista Corp
1 a reexamination of its existing non-recurring charges.
2 Company witness Mr. Ehrbar provides more details in his
3 testimony.
4
5 2. The Company will use its best efforts to meet or
6 exceed its current contact center service level7 standards.
89 Status - Avista is using its best efforts to meet or
10 exceed current service level standards of 80% answered
11 calls in 60 seconds. Our current level is 81% in 60 seconds
12 for 2011.
1314 3. In coordination with Staff, the Company will15 develop and conduct a study on Avista's deposit16 policy and practices with respect to residential17 customers. Among the objectives of the study would18 be to determine if the current deposit policy19 correctly identifies customers who pose a credit
20 risk to the Company, whether it encourages21 customers who pose a credit risk to improve payment22 habi ts, and whether it reduces the amount of credit23 and collection acti vi ty as well as bad debt24 associated with those customer accounts.
2526 Status - Avista is currently working with Commission
27 Staff and has recently responded to a number (45) of
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production requests and looks forward to working with Staff
on the completion of the deposit study.
4. The Company will hold at least five Senior Energy
Conservation workshops in different Idaho communities
prior to December 31, 2011.
Status The Company held six Senior Energy
36 Conservation workshops in different Idaho communities in
37 2010 and plans to hold an additional six in 2011. The
38 following table shows the different locations the workshops
39 were held, as well as the number of attendees.
Kopczynski, Di 19
Avista Corp
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Table No. 2 - Senior Workshops
Attendee's
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5. The Company will begin tracking and reporting to
the Commission monthly data regarding customercredit activity.
Status - Avista has been tracking and reporting to the
Commission monthly data regarding customer credit activity
since December 2010.
6. The Company will actively monitor the Low Income
Weatherization and Low Income Energy Conservation
Education Programs to assure that the stated goalsand obj ecti ves of these programs are achieved and
that costs associated with these programs areprudently incurred.
Status - The Company is in regular communication with
the agencies and has taken a more active role in overseeing
the weatherization and conservation education programs in
34 the programs and process when invoices are submitted as
Idaho. The agencies have a required report that supports
35 well as provides information for the Company's newsletter
36 and bill inserts.
37
38 7. The Company will work with Commission Staff to39 address Staff's concerns about Avista's policies40 and practices with respect to: (a) opening and41 closing customer accounts, and (b) offering term
42 payment arrangements to customers.
Kopczynski, Di 20
Avista Corp
1 Status Avista continues to work with Staff to
2 clarify the Company's process used for opening and closing
3 customer accounts. Staff intends to provide the Company
4 wi th a more detailed explanation of its concerns and
5 continue to work with the Company on the remaining issues.
6 Q.Can you please provide an upda te on two
7 addi tional items contained in the Settlement Stipulation
8 regarding the continuation and level of funding for Low-
9 Income Wea theriza tion ,and Outreach for Low-Income
10 Conserva tion?
11 A.Yes.On Page 9 of the Settlement Stipulation n
12 AVU-E-10-01 and AVU-G-10-01, the Company agreed to review
13 the level of funding for Low-Income Weatherization
14 (currently $700,000 per year) and funding for Outreach for
15 Low-Income Conservation (currently $40,000 per year). As a
16 part of that Stipulation, the Company increased Low-Income
17 Weatherization from $465,000 to $700,000,or 51% .
18 Similarly, the Company increased Outreach for Low-Income
19 Conservation from $25,000 to $40,000, or 60%. The Company
20 believes that the current level of funding, which has only
21 been in effect since October 1, 2010, still remains
22 sufficient and is not proposing any changes in the case.
23 Q.Has the Company conducted any analysis as to how
24 the level of Low-Income Weatherization funding compares to
25 its Washington program?
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A.Yes, we have.For 2011, the Company's DSM
Business Plan proj ects total Washington residential
Kopczynski,Di 21
Avista Corp
1 incentives (including limited income) to be approximately
2 $5.5 million. Of that amount, $2.0 million, or 36% is for
3 low-income DSM.For Idaho, total residential incentives
4 (including limited income) is projected to be $2.2 million.
5 Of that amount, $0.7 million, or 33% is for low-income DSM.
6 Based on this analysis, the Company believes that its
7 current funding levels are appropriate.
8 Q.Please describe the recent results of the
9 Company's Project Share efforts?
10 A.Proj ect Share is a community-funded program
11 Avista sponsors to provide one-time emergency support to
12 families in and around the Company's service area. Avista
13 customers and shareholders help support the fund with
14 voluntary contributions that are distributed through local
15 communi ty action agencies to customers in need.Grants
16 are available to those in need without regard to their
17 heating source i. e. , they need not be a customer of
18 Avista. In 2010, Avista Utilities' customers donated
19 $316,600 on a system-wide basis, of which $86,418 was
20 directed to Idaho Community Action Agencies. In addition,
21 the Company contributed $126,227 to Project Share for the
22 benefit of Idaho customers in 2010.
23 Q.What other bill-assistance programs does the
24 Company offer?
25 A.In an effort to assist and educate customers
26 about options such as Comfort Level Billing, and Payment
27 Arrangements,we developed a campaign encouraging
Kopczynski, Di 22
Avista Corp
1 customers to learn about and enroll in the various bill
2 assistance options available to them.This campaign was
3 launched in March 2009 in both Idaho and Washington. It
4 explained how Comfort Level Billing helps smooth out the
5 seasonal highs and lows of customers' energy bill and
6 provides the customer the option to pay the same bill
7 amount each month of the year.This allows customers to
8 more easily budget for energy bills and avoid higher
9 winter bills.This program has been well-received by
10 participating customers. Roughly 20,759, or 15%, of Idaho
11 electric and natural gas customers are on Comfort Level
12 Billing.
13 In addition,the Company's Contact Center
14 Representatives work with customers to set up payment
15 arrangements to pay energy bills, and choose a preferred
16 due date.In 2010, 32,248 Idaho customers were provided
17 with over 79,138 such payment arrangements.
18
19
Q.Please sumrize Avista's CARS program.
A.In Idaho, Avista is currently working with over
20 1,145 special needs customers in the CARES program.
21 Specially-trained representatives provide referrals to area
22 agencies and churches for customers with special needs for
23 help with housing, utili ties, medical assistance, etc. One
24 of the benefits we have in utilizing CARES representatives
25 is the ability to evaluate each customer, based on their
26 specific need and to educate them on what assistance is
27 available wi thin the community that meets those individuai
Kopczynski, Di 23
Avista Corp
1 needs. A goal of the program is to enable customers to
2 manage not only their Avista bill, but other bills and
3 needs as well.
4 Q.Can you please describe how the Company measures
5 customer satisfaction, and how important it is to Avista?
6 A.Yes, our customer satisfaction is very important
7 to Avista. We measure satisfaction by doing a quarterly
8 survey we refer to as "Voice of the Customer" (VOC). The
9 purpose of the VOC Survey is to measure and track customer
10 satisfaction for Avista Utilities' "contact" customers
11 i. e., customers who have contact with Avista through the
12 Call Center and/or work performed through an Avista
13 construction office.
14 Customers are asked to rate the importance of several
15 key service attributes.They are then asked to rate
16 Avista's performance with respect to the same attributes
17 (time for connection to a representative, representative
18 being courteous and friendly,representati ve being
19 knowledgeable, being informed of job status, leaving
20 property in condition found, etc.)Customers are also
21 asked to rate their satisfaction with the overall service
22 received from Avista Utili ties.Customer verbatim
23 comments are also captured and recorded.
24 Our most recent first quarter 2011 customer survey
25 results show an overall customer satisfaction rating of
26 88%in our Idaho,Washington and Oregon operating
27 divisions. This rating reflects a positive experience for
Kopczynski, Di 24
Avista Corp
1 the vast majority of customers who have contacted Avista
2 related to the customer service they received.
3 In September 2010, J.D. Power and Associates
4 ranked Avista "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with
5 Residential Natural Gas Service in the Western U. S. among
6 Mid-Sized Utili ties in a Tie." Avista' s score of 654 placed
7 the Company highest in the segment, tied with Boise-based
8 Intermountain Gas Company. The segment average score on
9 this study was 629.The study surveys customer
10 satisfaction across a number of factors, including billing
11 and payment, price, corporate citizenship, communications,
12 customer service and field service.
13 As Mr. Morris already mentioned, we believe we
14 achieved this award because the Company has been listening
15 closely and doing the right things to serve our customers
16 well, as affirmed by the J.D. Power and Associates 2010
17 study. Achieving the highest ranking was a wonderful
18 recogni tion of our dedicated employees who are making the
19 difference.
20 Q.Does this conclude your pre-filed direct
21 testimony?
22 A.Yes.
Kopczynski, Di 25
Avista Corp
DAVID J. MEYER
VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF COUNSEL FOR
REGULATORY & GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
AVISTA CORPORATION
P . O. BOX 3727
1411 EAST MISSION AVENUE
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 99220-3727
TELEPHONE: [phone]
FACSIMILE: [phone]
DAVID .MEYER~AVISTACORP. COM
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION
OF AVISTA CORPORATION FOR THE
AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS RATES
AND CHARGES FOR ELECTRIC AND
NATURAL GAS SERVICE TO ELECTRIC
AND NATURAL GAS CUSTOMERS IN THE
STATE OF IDAHO
CASE NO. AVU-E-11-01
CASE NO. AVU-G-11-01
EXHIBIT NO. 8
DON F. KOPZCYNSKI
FOR AVISTA CORPORATION
(ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS)
Customer Usage
State of Idaho - Electric & Natural Gas
As of December 31,2010
Electric kwh
Schedule No. of Customers (OOOs)% of Total kwh
Residential Sch. 1 100,148 1,149,177 34%
General Sch. 11 & 12 19,455 307,317 9%
Lge. General Sch. 21&22 1,444 679,496 20%
Ex. Lge. General Sch. 25&25P 9 1,155,179 34%
Pumping Sch. 30,31&32 1,326 53,936 2%
Street & Area Lights 124 13,822 0%
122,506 3,358,927 100%
Natural Gas Therms
Schedule No. of Customers (OOOs)% of Total Therms
General Service 101 73,120 54,179 47%
Lg. General Service 111& 112 1,080 19,230 17%
Interrptible Service 132 438 0%
Transportation Service & Other 8 40,792 36%
74,209 114,639 100%
Total Electric & Gas Customers 196,715
Exhibit NO.8
Case No. A VU-E-II-01 and A VU-G-II-Ol
D. Kopczyski, Avista
Schedule 1, p. 1 of 1