20080604Proposed Revision Performance Standards.pdf

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Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
June 4,2008 U- T~f *i¡h..1
VI OVERNIGHT DELIVERY
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472 West Washington Street
Boise ID 83720
Attention: Jean Jewell
Commssion Secretar
Re: Proposed Modification to Penormance Standards and Customer Guarantees (Docket
No. PAC-E-05-08)
PacifiCorp (d.b.a. Rocky Mountain Power) hereby submits to revise the Company's Network
Performance Stadards for Revised Baselines. The requested effective date of the revisions is
April 1,2008.
Background
In 1999, PacifiCorp agreed to implement a program titled the Servce Stadads Program,
comprised of Performance Stadards and Customer Guaantees. The Company committed to a
five-year term for the program duration and began offering the Customer Guatees to
customers as of Febru 29, 2000. Improvements to network and customer service performance
were initiated at approximately the same time. This program expired on March 31, 2005, but
was initially extended voluntaly and then later affired and fuer extended though
December 31, 2011, as par of the MidAerican Energy Holding Company's acquisition of
PacifiCorp in Docket No. PAC-E-05-08. The commitment extending the program though 2011
recognzed that certn program modifications may be appropriate,. and this is incorporated into
the language of the commitment:
MEHC and PacifiCorp commit to continue customer service guantees and
performance standards as established in each jursdiction, provided tht
MEHC and PacifiCorpreserve the right to request modifications of the
guantees and stadards afer March 31, 2008, and the right to request
termnation (as well as modification) of one or more guaantees or stadards
after 2011. The guantees and stadards will not be eliminated or modified
without Commssion approval.
The purose behind the Service Stadards Program was to improve service to customers and to
emphasize to employees that customer service, including system reliabilty, is a top priority.
Ths focus on system-level reliability performance and individua transactions with customers
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
June 4,2008
Page 2
has honed the Company's operations and been effective in setting priorities for employees as
they conduct their daly work. The Company has been very successfu with these progrs as
demonstrated by its semianual Service Standards Program fiings.
In considerig how to proceed upon completion of the second phase of the Service Stadads
program, the Company made the determination that both the Customer Guarantees Program and
the Performance Stadards Programs (Network Performance Standards and Customer Service
Performance Stadards) should be continued, but the Network Performance Stadards should be
slightly modified. Ths determination was based on the positive customer, employee and
regulatory feedback regarding the servce stadards, process improvements that have resulted
from the service stadards, and the Company's desire to maintain its focus on providing
excellent customer service to our Idao customers.
Customer Guaantee Program Proposal
The Company is not proposing chages to the curent Customer Guarantees Program as reflected
in Rule 25. This status quo proposal is a result of customer and employee feedback. Sureys of
customers and employees indicated the level of service provided by the curent progr remains
high. Customers expressed an overall appreciation of the program and the Company's continued
focus on providing a high level of service. The Company will continue this progr until
December 31, 2011. At that time, the progr will be reviewed to determine whether it is most
appropriate to request to continue, modify or terminate the program.
1
Description of Modified Network Performance Stadard Proposal
The Company is proposing that Network Performance Stadards be retaed, but proposing the
basis for developing tagets be modified in order to continue cost-effective improvements in
system wide reliabilty and to mainta responsiveness in the event of outages. The Company
proposes that improvement targets should be developed around outage events that are of a
controllable nature on the distrbution system, and therefore develops the category of
"Controllable Distrbution" outages. Controllable outage events are attbuted to causes agaist
which the Company is able to implement system improvements that have a high probability of
avoiding futue recurence at a local leveL. For example, outages that are related to equipment
failure or anal interference are controllable distrbution outages since the Company can tae
measures to avoid them in the futue and have some fairly high certinty these events will not
recur. On the other hand, tranmission outage events and car-hit-pole interference outage events
do not conform to the distinction of controllable distrbution, and while important to avoid, are
generally not avoidable via engineered programs.
1 No modifications are being proposed to the credits associated with the Customer Guatees and Performance
Stadads as set fort in Schedule 300.
Idaho Public Utilities Commssion
June 4, 2008
Page 3
Network Penormance Standard 1
Durig the thee-year nine-month period of the Modified Network Performance Stadards
Program, the Company will report total and underlýing SAIDI (system average sustained
interrption duration index) for each year. Furher, within the three-year nine-month period, it
will improve controllable distrbution outage durtion by 46% over the average prior period
performance, resulting in a controllable distrbution SAIDI reduction of26.2 miutes, to a taget2
of no more than 30.5 minutes. This taget continues the improvement trend delivered previously
on controllable distribution outages only.
Network Penormance Standard 2
Durg the thee-year nine-month period of the Modified Network Performance Standards
Program, the Company will report total and underlying SAIFI (system average sustained
interrption frequency index) for each year. Furher, within the thee-year nine-month period, it
will improve controllable distrbution outage frequency by 37% over the average prior period
performance, resulting in a controllable distrbution SAIFl reduction of 0.173 events, to a taget
of no more than 0.297 events. This taget continues the improvement trend delivered previously
on controllable distrbution outages only.
Network Performance Standard 3
The Company wil select a maximum of two under-performing circuits in Idaho on an anual
basis and wil underte corrective measures to reduce the average circuit performance indicato~
(CPI) by 20% within five years. (CPI includes all outage events experienced by customers,
includig trsmission and local transmission outage events, as well as events that meet the
criteria of the IEEE major event definition discussed above.) The Company believes this
measure provides an importt way to taget circuit improvements for the benefit of customers.
Network Penormance Standard 4
The Company will restore power outages due to loss of supply or damage to the Company's
distrbution system to 80 percent of customers within three hours on an average basis. This is an
importt way to target both reliabilty performance as well as the responsiveness of the
Company to restore service for customers.
Customer Servce Performance Stadards
Customer Service Penormance Standard 5
The Company is not requesting modifications to Customer Service Performance Stadard 5:
Telephone Service LeveL.
2 The taget is developed by categorig outages into controllable distrbution causes and evaluating prior averae
rerformance.
In the case of trmission circuit selection, TCPI (trsmission ciruit performance indicators) will be used to
evaluate performance improvements.
Idaho Public Utilties Commssion
June 4, 2008
Page 4
Customer Service Penormance Standard 6
The Company is not requesting modifications to the Customer Service Performance Stadad 6:
Commission Complaint Response/Resolution.
For your convenience, a copy of the Customer Guartee program and an updated version of the
proposed modifications to the Performance Stadards are attched for review.
It is respectfully requested that all formal correspondence and Staff requests regarding ths filing
be addressed to the following:
By E-mail (preferred):dataequest(ipacificorp.com
By regular mail:Data Request Response Center
PacifiCorp
825 NE Multnomah, Suite 2000
Portland, OR 97232
Please direct any informal questions to Barbar Coughin at 503-331-4306.
Sincerely,~~.~~
Jeffey K. Larsen
Vice President - Regulation
Enclosures
Idaho
1.1 Rocky Mountain Power Customer Guarantees
Customer Guarantee 1:The Company wil restore supply after an
Restoring Supply After an Outage outage within 24 hours of notification with
certain exceptions as described in Rule
25.
Customer Guarantee 2:The Company will keep mutually agreed
Appointments upon appointments which wil be
scheduled within a two-hour time window.
Customer Guarantee 3:The Company will switch on power within
Switching on Power 24 hours of the customer or applicant's
request, provided no construction is
required, all government inspections are
met and communicated to the Company
and required payments are made.
Disconnections for nonpayment,
subterfuge or theftdiversion of service
are excluded.
Customer Guarantee 4:The Company wil provide an estimate for
Estimates For New Supply new supply to the applicant or customer
within 15 working days after the initial
meeting and all necessary information is
provided to the Company.
Customer Guarantee 5:The Company wil respond to most biling
Respond To Biling Inquiries inquiries at the time of the initial contact.
For those that require further
investigation, the Company wil
investigate and respond to the Customer
within 10 working days.
Customer Guarantee 6:The Company wil investigate and
Resolving Meter Problems respond to reported problems with a
meter or conduct a meter test and report
results to the customer within 10 working
days.
Customer Guarantee 7:The Company wil provide the customer
Notification of Planned Interruptions with at least two days notice prior to
turning off power for planned
interruptions.
1.2 Rocky Mountain Power Penormance Standards
Network Performance Standard 1:The Company wil improve Controllable
Improve System Average Interruption Distribution SAlOl by 46% by
Duration Index (SAlOl)December 31, 2011.
Network Performance Standard 2:The Company wil improve Controllable
Improve System Average Interruption Distribution SAIFI by 37% by
Frequency Index (SAIFI)December 31,2011.
Network Performance Standard 3:The Company will reduce by 20% the
Improve Under Performing Circuits circuit performance indicator (CPI) for a
maximum of two under performing
circuits on an annual basis within five
years after selection.
Network Performance Standard 4:The Company wil restore power
Supply Restoration outages due to loss of supply or
damage to the distribution system on
average to 80% of customers within
three hours.
Customer Service Performance Standard 5:The Company wil answer 80% of
Telephone Service Level telephone calls within 30 seconds.The
Company will monitor customer
satisfaction with the Company's
Customer Service Associates and
quality of response received by
customers through the Company's
eQuality monitoring system.
Customer Service Performance Standard 6:*The Company will a) respond to at
Commission Complaint least 95% of non-disconnect
Response/Resolution Commission complaints within three
working days and wil b) respond to at
least 95% of disconnect Commission
complaints within four working hours.
The Company wil c) resolve 95% of
informal Commission complaints within
30 days.
Note:
Performance Standards 1, 2 & 4 are for underlying performance days and exclude those
classified as Major Events.