20050202Press Release.pdf

IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Case No. PAC-04-7, Order No. 29698
February 2, 2005
Contact: Gene Fadness [phone]
Website: www.puc.idaho.2ov
Commission accepts PacifiCorp performance standards
Boise - The Idaho Public Utilities Commission accepted PacifiCorp s proposal to continue, with
minor modifications, a number of customer guarantees and perfonnance standards imposed on
the company since its 2000 merger with 8cottishPower.
When the merger was approved, PacifiCorp, which serves customers in southeastern Idaho as
Utah Power, agreed to a list of seven perfonnance standards and eight customer guarantees that
began on Feb. 29 2000, and would stay effective through March 31 2005. With the expiration
date nearing, the company is agreeing to voluntarily continue the standards with slight
modifications. PacifiCorp claims its customer guarantee program has experienced a success rate
of99.9 percent.
The customer guarantees include responding to customer needs within certain time frames in
areas such as restoring supply after outages, reconnecting disconnected customers, providing
new supply estimates, responding to billing inquiries, resolving meter problems and notifying
customers of planned shutoffs. Customers can receive financial credits if certain guarantees are
not met. PacifiCorp is proposing to eliminate a customer guarantee to respond to power quality
complaints within a certain time frame because the company claims it is rarely used and is
already covered by other customer guarantees.
The perfonnance standards have to do with the company s ability to improve system-wide
reliability by reducing the number and duration of interruptions, improving under-perfonning
circuits and responding to telephone calls in a certain amount of time. The company is adjusting
the service level for telephone response from 80 percent of calls answered in 20 seconds to 80
percent of calls in 30 seconds. The company claims changing that standard complements the
company s focus on quality and provides customers service in line with service levels for other
electric utilities. The company is also changing to the complaint perfonnance standard to indicate
that the company will respond to at least 95 percent of complaints received at the Idaho Public
Utilities Commission within 30 days.
A full text of the commission s order, along with other documents related to this case, are
available on the commission s Web site at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on "File Room" and then
on "Electric Cases" and scroll down to Case No. P AC-04- 7.
Interested parties may petition the commission for reconsideration by no later than Feb. 21.
Petitions can be delivered to the commission at 472 W. Washington 8t. in Boise, mailed to P.
Box 83720, Boise, ill, 83720-0074, or faxed to 208-334-3762.