20071210Hecht direct.pdf

BEFORE THE
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
3: 37
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION )
OF IDAHO POWER COMPANY FOR ) CASE NO. IPC-E-07-8
AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS RATES )
AND CHARGES FOR ELECTRIC SERVICE )
IN THE STATE OF IDAHO. )
)
)
)
)
DIRECT TESTIMONY OF CHRIS HECHT
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
DECEMBER 10, 2007
1
3
2 the record.
Q.Please state your name and business address for
A.My name is Chris Hecht. My business address is
5
4 472 West Washington Street, Boise, Idaho.
6
Q.By whom are you employed and in what capacity?
A.I am employed by the Idaho Public Utilities
7 Commission (Commission) as a Utilities Compliance
8 Investigator. I accepted the position with the Consumer
9 Assistance Staff in September 2006.
10 Q.What is your educational and professional
12
11 background?
A.Prior to my employment with the Idaho Public
13 Utilities Commission, I had sixteen years experience
14 working in manufacturing, including almost fourteen years
15 working in Quality Assurance. During my last two years in
16 manuf ac t ur ing , I was the Qual i t Y Coordinator for an Idaho
17 company that built electro-mechanical assemblies, wiring
18 harnesses and circuit boards to customer specifications in
19 conformance with federal regulations.
20 I most recently worked two years for a non-
21 profit association under contract to the Idaho State
22 Department of Health and Welfare as the Weatherization
23 Coordinator. In that position I was responsible for
24 overseeing the effort of Community Action Partnerships
25 across the state to provide low-income families with
CASE NO. IPC-E-07-812/10/07 HECHT, C . (D i ) 1
STAFF
1 weatherization of their homes.
2 I received a Bachelors of Science Degree in
3 Finance from California State University in Long Beach,
5
4 California in 1988 with an emphasis in Real Estate.
6 case?
Q.What is the purpose of your testimony in this
7 A.i will address issues related: 1) to Customer
8 Relations, and 2) Customer Notification.
10
9 CUSTOMER RELATIONS
Q.Please describe how many and what type of
11 complaints and inquiries the Commission has received
13
12 regarding Idaho Power.
A.Staff Exhibit No. 122 shows the number of
14 informal complaints and inquiries received from the
16
15 beginning of 2004 though the third quarter of 2007.
Q.What did your analysis of complaints and
17 inquiries received by the Commission from 2004 through
19
18 September 30, 2007 reveal?
A.There has been a decline in the number of
20 complaints and inquiries received annually, even while the
21 overall number of customers served by Idaho Power has
22 increased. Of the complaints and inquiries received by
23 the Commission from 2004 through September 30, 2007, more
24 than half involved credit and collection issues. Most of
25 those were from customers who had been disconnected due to
CASE NO. IPC-E-07-812/10/07 HECHT, C. (Di) 2
STAFF
1 non-payment of their accounts or had been notified that
2 they were in jeopardy of losing their service due to non-
3 payment and were requesting assistance making payment
4 arrangements or locating alternative source of funds.
5 Q.Is Idaho Power responsive to the Commission IS
6 Utili ty Compliance Investigators during complaint
7 investigation?
8 A.Yes. Unlike most inquiries, complaints
9 typically require investigation by the Commission Staff.
10 Rule 404 in the Utility Customer Relations Rules states
11 that within ten business days of receiving notification
12 from the Commission that an informal complaint involving
13 the Company has been filed with the Commission, utilities
14 must either respond orally or in writing to the
15 Commission.
16 A review of the data from 2004 through 2006
17 indicates the annual average number of days to resolve
18 informal complaints is 4.40 or less. Partial data for the
19 first nine months of 2007 indicates the average length of
20 time to resolve informal Idaho Power complaints was 5.88
21 days. This increase in time is attributable to line
22 extension complaints and billing complaints, specifically
23 rebilling complaints due to Current Transformer (CT)
24 metering errors. These investigations are more complex
25 and generally require more time to resolve. Even with
CASE NO. IPC-E-07-812/10/07 HECHT, C. (Di) 3
STAFF
1 this increase in resolution time, Idaho Power is well
2 within the acceptable parameters set by the Utility
3 Customer Relations Rules.
5
4 CUSTOMER NOTICE AN PRESS RELEASE
7
6 Release?
Q.Did Staff review the Customer Notice and Press
A.Yes. A copy of the Customer Notice and a copy
8 of the Press Release, both of which were dated June 8,
9 2007, were included in Idaho Power's Application. The
10 customer notice was mailed to all customers separate from
11 the normal monthly bill through direct mailing sent out in
12 two different mailings on June 14 and June 19, 2007.
13 Staff reviewed the Customer Notice and Press Release and
14 determined they were in compliance with the requirements
16
15 of IDAPA 31.21.02.102.
Q.Does this conclude your direct testimony in this
17 proceeding?
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23
24
25
A.Yes, it does.
CASE NO. IPC-E-07-812/10/07 HECHT, C. (Di) 4
STAFF
Idaho Power Idaho Complaints
2004 - 2007
2004 2005 2006 2007*Credit & Collections 254 211 193 155
Line Extensionsllnstallation 31 17 41 18Service Outage I Repair 30 25 21 14
Billng 116 92 90 36Rates & Policies 44 44 21 21
All Other 4 1 10 3Total for year 479 390 376 247
Idaho Power Idaho Inquiries
2004 - 2007
2004 2005 2006 2007*Credit & Collections 17 21 20 23
Line Extensions/Installation 4 6 10 7
Service Outage I Repair 2 2 3 4
Billng 8 11 9 6Rates & Policies 15 7 12 19
All Other 2 10 8 oTotal for year 48 57 62 59
Idaho Power Idaho Complaints
& Inquiries
2004 - 2007
2004 2005 2006 2007*Complaints 479 390 376 247
Inquiries 48 57 62 59Total contacts 527 447 438 306
Exhibit 122 * data through September 30, 2007
only
Exhibit No. 122
Case No. IPC-E-07-8
C. Hecht, Staff
12/10/07
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I HAVE THIS 10TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2007,
SERVED THE FOREGOING DIRECT TESTIMONY OF CHRIS HECHT, IN CASE
NO. IPC-E-07-8, BY MAILING A COPY THEREOF, POSTAGE PREPAID, TO THE
FOLLOWING:
BARTON L KLINE
LISA D NORDSTROM
IDAHO POWER COMPANY
POBOX 70
BOISE ID 83707-0070
EMAIL: bklineaYidahopower.com
InordstromaYidahopower .com
PETER J RICHARDSON
R1CHARDSON & O'LEARY
PO BOX 7218
BOISE ID 83702
EMAIL: peteraYrichardsonandoleary.com
ERIC L OLSEN
RACINE OLSON NYE BUDGE & BAILEY
PO BOX 1391
POCATELLO ID 83204
EMAIL: eloaYracinelaw.net
MICHAEL L KURTZ ESQ
KURT J BOEHM ESQ
BOEHM KURTZ & LOWRY
36 E 7TH ST SUITE 1510
CINCINATIOH45202
EMAIL: mkurtzaYBKLlawfrm.com
kboehmaYBKLlawfirm.com
DENNIS E PESEAU PH.D.
UTILITY RESOURCES INC
1500 LIBERTY ST SUITE 250
SALEM OR 97302
EMAIL: dpeseauaYexcite.com
JOHNRGALE
VP-REGULATORY AFFAIRS
IDAHO POWER COMPANY
PO BOX 70
BOISE ID 83707-0070
EMAIL: rgaleaYidahopower.com
DR DON READING
6070 HILL ROAD
BOISE ID 83703
EMAIL: dreadingaYmindspring.com
ANTHONY Y ANKEL
29814 LAKE ROAD
BAY VILLAGE OH 44140
EMAIL: tonyaYyanel.net
CONLEY E WARD
MICHAEL C CREAMER
GIVENS PURSLEY LLP
POBOX 2720
BOISE ID 83701-2720
EMAIL: cewaYgivenspursley.com
LOTH COOKE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY
1000 INDEPENDENCE AVE SW
WASHINGTON DC 20585
EMAIL: lot.cookeaYhq.doe.gov
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
DALE SWAN
EXETER ASSOCIATES INC
5565 STERRTTPL SUITE 310
COLUMBIA MD 21044
EMAIL: dswanaYexeterassociates.com
(ELECTRONIC COPIES ONLY)
Dennis Goins
E-Mail: dgoinspmgaYcox.net
Arhur Perr Bruder
E-Mail: arhur.bruderaYhq.doe.gov
ilFSECRETA
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE