20180910Application.pdf

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DAVID J. MEYER
VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIET COUNSEL FOR
REGULATORY AND GOVERNMENTAL ATTAIRS
AV]STA CORPORATION
141]. E. MlSSION AVENUE
P . O. BAX 312'7
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 99220
PHONE: [phone]
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPL]CAT]ON OF
AVTSTA CORPORATION FOR AN ORDER
AUTHORIZING APPROVAL OE PROPOSED
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM
AND ASSOCIATED REVIS]ONS TO I?S
ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS TARITFS
BEFORE TIIE IDNIO PUBLIC U?ILITTES COMMISSION
CASE NO.
Au rr- E - t?',o l/ nv L- q- 18-o V
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APPLICATION OF
AVISTA CORPORATION
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I. I}ITRODUCTIOII
fn accordance with Idaho Code S61-502 and RP 052, Avista
Corporallon, doing business as Avista Utilities (hereinafter
"Avista" ot "Company"), at 1411 East Mission Avenue,
Spokane, Washington, respectfully makes application to the
Idaho Public Utilities Commission (*fPUC" or the
"Commj-ssion") for an order authorizing the approval of
proposed electric tariff Schedule B5 and natural gas tariff
Schedule 185, "Service Quallty Measures Program" (*SQM
Program"), and implementation of the associated SQM Program,
effective November 1, 2478.
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Application of Avista Corporation
)
I Avista is a utility that provides service to
2 approximately 378r000 electrj-c customers and 342,A0A natural
3 gas customers, of whlch 129,000 and 81,000, respectively,
4 are ldaho customers. ?he largest community served by Avista
5 is Spokane, Washington, which is the location of its
6 corporate headguarters.
7 The Company reguests that this filing be processed
8 under the Commission's Modified Procedure rules.
9 Communications in reference to this Appli-cation
10 shoul-d be addressed to:
David J. Meyer, Esq.
Vi-ce President and Chief Counsel for
Regulatory & Governmental Affairs
Avista Corporation
P.O. Box 3721
MSC-2 7
l4L1 E. Missi-on Ave
Spokane, WA 99220-312'l
Phone: [phone]
David. MeyerGavistacorp . com
Linda M. Gervai-s
Senior Manager, Regulatory PolicyAvista Utilities
P.O. Box 3121
MSC-2 7
1411 E. Mission Ave
Spokane, WA 99220-372'l
Phone: (509) A95-4975
Linda . GervaisG avi stacorp . com
II. SI'M}MRY OE' APPLICATTON
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Application of Avista Corporation
I Avista requests approval of the folJ-owing revj-sions to
2 the Company's electri-c Tariff I.P.U.C No. 28 and natural gas
3 Tariff I.P.U.C No. 27.
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85
85A
858
85C
85D
Tariff r.P.U.C No. 28 fariff I.P.U.C No 27
Original
Original
OriginaJ.
Original
Original
Sheet
Sheet
Sheet
Sheet
Sheet
Original. Sheet 185
Original Sheet 185A
Original Sheet 1858
Original Sheet 185C
III. BACKGROT'IID
13 On December 28, 2011, the Commission issued Order No.
14 33953 in the Company's general rate case1, approving the
l5 Settlement Stipul-ation ("Settlement") filed by the Parties2
16 and requirlng the Company to make addit.ional compliance
17 filings to meet the terms and conditions of the Settlement.
18 Wlth respect to Service Quality/Performance Measures, the
19 Parties agreed that:
Avista has estab-Zished Service Quality Performance,
Customer Guarantees and a Service Quality Measure
Report Card for jts customers in Washington. The
Company and interested parties will work to develop
similar performance standards, customer guarantees and
a reporting mechanism for jts Idaho customers.
Foll-owing those discussions, the Company wi7l fil,e its
proposal with the Commission requesting implementation
1 Case Nos. AVU-E-7'7-01/AVU-G-17-022 Stipulation "Partj-es" include Avista, IPUC Commisslon Staff,
Clearwater Paper Corporation, Idaho Forest Group, LLC, and the
Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho ("CAPAI").
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Application of Avista Corporation
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on or before JuJy 7, 2A78. (Stipulation and Settfement
Para. 21)
4 An initial draft of the proposed SQM Program, nearly
5 identical- to the program 1n place for the Company's
6 Washington customers, was provided to IPUC Staff cn February
7 1,5, 201,8 . Af ter subsequent correspondence between the
8 Company and Staff, a conference call- regarding this matter
9 was held on June 73,2018. On June 25, 2AlB, Avista filed a
l0 Motion for Procedural Relief under Rule 256, requesting to
11 extend the filing deadl-j-ne from Juty l, 201,8 to October 7,
12 20Lg to allow sufficient time to complete the proposed
l3 measures. With no parties in this case objecting to the
14 motion,
15 July 3,
16 calt was
17 28, 2018.
the Commission granted the request for extension on
201-g in Order No. 34102. An additional conference
held between Commission Staff and Avista on July
Einal consensus on the measures between Commission
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18 Staff and Avista, as described be1ow, was reached on August
19 2J , 2A78.
rv. PRoPoSED SERVICE QUAI,IIY ME:ASITRES PROGRAM
Under t.he SQM Program, Avista and Commission Staff
agree that the Company will- track and report its annual
performance in meeting the benchmarks established for a
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Application of Avista Corporation
I combined total of 22 el-ectric and natural gas measures. These
2 measures are grouped into three categrories Customer
3 Service, Electric System Reliability, and Customer
4 Guarantees. Thirteen measures apply to the Company's
5 electric service, and nine measures are applicable to
6 natural gas service. A description of the measures and
7 respective benchmarks are provided below.
8 A. Custoner Service lrteasures (5 measures)
1. The level of Customer satisfaction with telephone service,
as provided by the Company's CoqtaclC5rnter, will be at
least 90 percent, where:
a. The measure of Customer satisfacti-on is based on
Customers who respond to Avista's quarterly survey
of Customer satisfaction, known as the "Voice of the
Customerr " as conducted by its independent survey
contractor i
b. The measure of satisfaction is based on Customers
participating in the survey who report the l-evel- of
their satisfaction as either "satisfied" or "very
satisfied"; and
c. The measure of satisfaction is based on the
statistically-significant survey results for both
electric and natural gas service for Avista's entire
service territory (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington)
for the calendar year.
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2- Ihe level of Customer
field services will be
satisfaction with the Company's
at least 90 percent, where:
a. The measure of Customer satisfaction is based on
Customers who respond to Avista's quarterly survey
of Customer satisfaction, known as the "Voice of the
Customerr " as conducted by its independent survey
contractor;
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Appllcation of Avista Corporation
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The measure of satisfactlon is based on Customersparticipating in the survey who report the level oftheir sat.isfaction as elther "satisfied" or "verysatisfied"; and
c. The measure of satisfaction is based on thestatistically-significant survey resul-ts for bothelectric and natural gas service for Avista's entireservice territcry (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington)for the calendar year.
3. The percentage of Customer calls answered by a live
representative within 50 seconds will be at least 80
percent for the calendar year, where:
b. Response time 1s based on the combined results for
both el-ectric and natural- gas Customers f or
Avista's entire service territory (1daho, Oregon,
and Washington).
emergency in Idaho will not exceed 65 minutes for the
calendar year, where:
b
a. The measure of response time is based on results
from the Company's Contact Center, and is initiated
when the Customer requests to speak to a Customer
service representative; and
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27 4. The Company's average respon se time to an electric system
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a. Response time
Customer call
technician,'
measured from the time of the
the arrival of a field service
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b. Response times are excluded from the calculation
for those perlods of time when the Company is
experiencing an outage that qualifies as a Major
Event Day (MED) in Idaho, dS defined by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics EngJ-neers,
fnc. (IEEE)3 Guide for Electric Power Dlstribution
3 IEEE is a professional organization that has developed a range of
electric reliability standards, which have been broadly adopteci by the
elect::ic utilit.y industry.
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Application of Avj-sta Corporation
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Reliability Indices, Standard 1366. This includes
the 24 hour period following an MED.
An "electri-c system emergency" is defj-ned as an
event involving policelfire departments,
arcinq/flashing wires down, or a feeder lockout.
5. The Company's average response tlme to a natural gas
system emergency in Idaho wiIl not exceed 55 minutes for
the calendar year, where:
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Response time i-s measured f rom the time
customer call to the arrival of a field
technician; and
of the
service
A "natural gas system emergency" is defined as an
event involving a natural gas explosion or flre, a
fire in the vicinity of natural gas facilities,
pollce/fire departments, Ieaks identified in the
field as "Grad€ \", high or low gas pressure problems
identifj-ed by alarms or customer ca1ls, natural gas
system emergency alarms, or calls regarding carbon
monoxide, natural gas odor, runaway furnace, ar
delayed ignition.
B. Electric System Reliability (2 measures)
1. The Company will report the frequency of electric system
interruptlons per Customer for the cafendar year, where:
a. The interruptions are measured as the System
Average Tnterruption Frequency Index ("SAIFf"), as
calculated by IEEE Std.1366;
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b. The cal.culation of SAIFI
associated with any MED in
excludes interruptions
Idaho;
AS
c. The report will provide a brief description of the
predomi-nant factors influencing the current-year
results, the previous year's system results, and
the Company's historic five-year rolling average of
SAIFIi and
d. The results wil-l be reported on a system basis,
wel-l- as fdaho only.
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Applicati-on of Avista Corporation
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2. The Company will report the duration of electric system
interruptions per Customer for the calendar year, where:
a. The interruption duration is measured as the System
Average Interruption Duration Index (*SAfDI"), as
defined by IEEE Std.1366;
b. The calculation of SAIDI
associated with any MED in
excludes
Idaho;
interruptions
c. The report will provlde a brief description of the
predomj-nant factors influencing the current-year
system results, the previ-ous yearr s system results,and the Company's historic five-year rolling
average of SAIDI; and
d. The results will be reported on a system basis, as
well as ldaho only.
C. Customer Service Gua,rantees (7 measures)
For failure to meet any of the Customer Service
Guarantees under this SQM Program, Avista will provide
compensation in the amount of $50 j-n the form of a bill- credit
for service provided to an existing el-ectric or natural gas
Customerr oyr for service provided to an Applicantra the
Company will mail a check for $50 to the Applicant. The
Company will provide the qualifying Customer credit or
Applicant check in a timely manner, without any requj-rement
on the part of the Customer or ApplicanL to either apply for
or request the applicable credit or check.
1. The Company will keep mutually agreed upon appointments
with customers regarding electric or natural gas
service, scheduled in the time windows of either 8:00
a.m. to L2:40 p.m. or 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.fr., except
for the following instances:
a. The Customer or Appli-cant cancels the appointment;
to keep theb. The Customer
appointment;
or Applicant fails
4 Per IDAPA 3 I .21 .01 .005, "Applicant" is defined as "any potential customer who applies for service
from a utility."
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Application of Avista Corporati-on
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The Company reschedules the appointment with at
least 24 hour notice; or
d. The Company is experiencing an MED 1n Idaho. In such
cases, the Company will notify the customer and
reschedule the appointment (electrlc service only).
2. When the Customer experiences an electric service
interruption, the Company wil-1 restore the servicewithin 24 hours of notificatj-on from the Customer, except
for the following instances:
a. During periods of time when the outage is associatedwlth an MED 1n ldaho;
An action or event that is outside the control- of
the Company prevented the Company from restoring
supply or accessing the Company's equipment to
restore supply;
c. The premise is vacant, disconnected or not
receiving service immediately preceding the outage;
or
d. The customer notifies the Company that servj-ce
restorati-on does not require immediate attentj-on.
3. The Company will turn on power or connect natural gas
service the same day the Customer or Applicant requests
service, except for the following instances:
a. The service request is received by the Company after
7:00pm on weekdays, or on a weekend or holiday;
b. The Customer requests an alternative future datefor service connection,'
The Customer or Applicant is not available at the
time of connection (natural gas service only)
d. Construction
energized or
is required before the service can be
connected;
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Application of Avista Corporation
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e. The Customer or Applicant does not provide evidence
that all required government inspections have been
satisfied;
f. Requlred payments to the Company have not been
receivedi
g. The service was disconnected for nonpayment or
theft/diversion of servi-cei
h. The service cannot be turned on or connected due to
an outage;
i. Electric service is not
connecting gas servj-cei
connected prior to
j. When Applicable, water serviceprior to connecting gas service;
is not connected
k. An action or event that is outsi-de thethe Company prevents the Company from
service.
control of
connecting
4. The Company will provide a cost estimate to the Customeror Applicant for new electrlc or natural gas supplywithin 10 business days upon receipt of al-1 the necessary
lnformation from the Customer or Applicant.
The Company will respond to most billing lnquiries at
the time of the initial contact. For those inquiries thatrequire further investigation, the Company will
investigate and respond to the Customer within 10
business days.
6. The Company will investigate Customer-reported problems
with a meter and/or conduct a meLer test and repcrt theresults to the Customer wit.hi-n 20 business days from the
date of the report or request.
7. The Company will provide notification to the Customer,
through means normally used by the Company, at least 24
hours 1n advance of disconnecting electric service for
scheduled interruptions, except for the following
instances:
tr,
Application of Avlsta Corporation
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a. The interruption is a momentary interruption of
fess than five minutes in durationi
b. The safety of the public or Company personnel- or
the imminent failure of Company equipment. is a
f actor leadi-ng to the interrupti-on; or
c. The interrupt.ion
meter.
was due to work on the Customer's
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V. PROPOSED IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE A}ID REPORTING
The proposed effective date of the new tariff Schedules
85 and 185 implementing the SQM Program 1s November 1, 2018.
The Company proposes to begin tracking and reporting results
of the SQM Program to the Commj-ssion and its customers as
f o1l-ows:
1. The Company will include the results of its Customer
Service Measures and Customer Service Guarantees in an
annual report to be fj-led with the Commission on or
before Aprll 30th of each year for the prior calendar
year.
2. The initial effective period for implementation of the
Customer Service Measures and Electric System
Reliability will be calendar year 2018, with results to
be reported to the Commission on or before April 30,
Application of Avista Corporation
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2A19. Thereafter, the report wilI be fii-ed annually on
or before April 30 for the preceding year.
3. The initial implementation
Customer Service Guarantees,
date for the Company's
including tracking of the
application of customerandCompany's performance
credits, will begi.n on
4. The Company's initial
January l, 2019.
report of the results of its
Customer Service Guarantees, for the calendar year
201-9, will be filed with the Commission on or before
April 30, 2020. Thereafter, the report will- be filed
annually on or before Apr1l 30 for the preceding year.
In addition, within 90
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Customer
Report,
to its
Service Quality and
the Company will send a
days of filing its Annual
Electric System Reliability
Service Qualit.y Report Card
Company's Customer Service
the respecti-ve perf ormance
Customers, which will include the following
17 information:
a. Results for each of the
Measures, compared with
benchmarks;
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b. Report on the Company's Electric System Reliabili-ty;
c. Results for each of the Customer Service Guarantees,
compared with the respective benchmarks, and including
the number of events for each measure where a credit
was provided, and the total dollar amount of the credits
paid for each measurei and
Application of Avista Corporation
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d. Performance highlights for the year.
The Company will issue its first Report Card to
customers on or before July 31, 2A20.
vI. coNcLusloN
The purpose of the SQM Program is to monitor and
measure Avista's performance with respect to customer
service and electric system reliability, ensuring that the
Company is maintaining its service leve1 to its customers,
as demonstrated by reporting results of the SQM Program to
the Commission and its customers each year. Accordingly,
Avista requests that the Commission issue an Order
approving the SQM Program and associated tariff Schedules
85 and 185.
WHEREFORE, Avista respectfully requests the
Commission issue its Order finding the proposed Applicatlon
to be fair, just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory, and
effective for electrj-c and natural gas service rendered on
and after November L, 201,8, with this Application being
processed under Modified Procedure.
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Applicatj-on of Avista Corporatlon
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2418.
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Dated at Spokane, Washi,ngton this 7 day of U
AVISTA CORPORATlON
,rr,,fZ /DavidTd. tr4ey'er
Vi-ce President and Chief Counsel for
Regulatory and Governmental Affairs
Application of Avista Corporation
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l.P.U.C. No.28 inal Sheet 85
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM - IDAHO
PURPOSE:
This Schedule provides general terms and conditions for the Company's Service
Quality Measures Program. The purpose of this program is to monitor and measure
Avista's performance with respect to customer service and electric system reliability. The
results of the program will be reported annually to the ldaho Public Utilities Commission
and the Company's electric customers.
Customer Service Measures
1. The level of Customer satisfaction with telephone service, as provided by the
Company's Contact Center, will be at least 90 percent, where:
a. The measure of Customer satisfaction is based on Customers who respond
to Avista's quarterly survey of Customer satisfaction, known as the "Voice of
the Customer", as conducted by its independent survey contractor;
b. The measure of satisfaction is based on Customers participating in the
survey who report the level of their satisfaction as either'satisfied' or "very
satisfied"; andc. The measure of satisfaction is based on the statistically-significant survey
results for both electric and natural gas service for Avista's entire service
territory (ldaho, Oregon, and Washington) for the calendar year.
2. The level of Customer satisfaction with the Company's field services will be at least
90 percent, where:
a. The measure of Customer satisfaction is based on Customers who respond
to Avista's quarterly survey of Customer satisfaction, known as the "Voice of
the Customer", as conducted by its independent suruey contractor;
b. The measure of satisfaction is based on Customers participating in the
survey who report the level of their satisfaction as either "satisfied" or "very
satisfied"; andc. The measure of satisfaction is based on the statistically-significant survey
results for both electric and natural gas service for Avista's entire service
territory (ldaho, Oregon, and Washington) for the calendar year.
3. The percentage of Customer calls answered by a live representative within 60
seconds will be at least 80 percent for the calendar year, where:
a, The measure of response time is based on results from the Company's
Contact Center, and is initiated when the Customer requests to speak to a
Customer service representative; and
September 7,2018lssued Effective November1,2018
VgtJr"L
l.P.U.C. No.28 Original Sheet 85A
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
utit
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85A
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM - IDAHO (continued)
b. Response time is based on the combined results for both electric and
natural gas Customers for Avista's entire service territory (ldaho, Oregon,
and Washington).
4. The Company's average response time to an electric system emergency in ldaho
will not exceed 65 minutes for the calendar year, where:a. Response time is measured from the time of the Customer call to the
arrival of a field service technician;b. Response times are excluded from the calculation for those periods of
time when the Company is experiencing an outage that qualifies as a
Major Event Day (MED) in ldaho, as defined by the lnstitute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers, lnc. (IEEE) Guide for Electric Power
Distribution Reliability lndices, Standard 1366. This includes the 24 hour
period following an MED.c. An "electric system emergency" is defined as an event involving
police/fire departments, arcing/flashing wires down, or a feeder lockout.
Electric System Reliability Measures
1. The Company will report the frequency of electric system interruptions per
Customer for the calendar year, where:
a. The interruptions are measured as the System Average lnterruption
Frequency lndex ('SAlFl"), as calculated by !EEE Std.1366;b. The calculation of SAIFI excludes interruptions associated with any MED in
ldaho;c. The report will provide a brief description of the predominant factors
influencing the current-year results, the previous year's system results, and
the Company's historic five-year rolling average of SAIFI; andd. The results will be reported on a system basis for Washington and ldaho as
well as for ldaho only.
2. The Company will report the duration of electric system interruptions per Customer
for the calendar year, where:
a. The intenuption duration is measured as the System Average Interruption
Duration lndex ("SAlDl"), as defined by IEEE Std.1366;b. The calculation of SAIDI excludes interruptions associated with any MED in
ldaho;c. The report will provide a brief description of the predominant factors
influencing the current-year system results, the previous year's system
results, and the Company's historic flve-year rolling average of SAIDI;
lssued September7,2018 Effective November1,2018
Vg*bu
l.P.U.C. No.28
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85B
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM - IDAHO (continued)
d. The results will be reported on a system basis for Washington and ldaho as
well as for ldaho only.
Customer Service Guarantees
Keepinq Appointments
1. The Company will keep mutually agreed upon appointments regarding electric
service, scheduled in the time windows of either 8:00 a.m. - 12:OO p.m. or 12:00
p.m. - 5:00 p.m., except forthe following instances:
a. The Customer or Applicant cancels the appointment;b. The Customer or Applicant fails to keep the appointment;c. The Company reschedules the appointment with at least24 hour notice; ord. The Company is experiencing an MED in ldaho. ln such cases, the
Company will notify the customer and reschedule the appointment.
Restorinq Service
2. When the Customer experiences an electric service interruption, the Company will
restore the service within 24 hours of notification from the Customer, except for the
following instances:a. During periods of time when the outage is associated with an MED in
ldaho;
b. An action or event that is outside the control of the Company prevented the
Company from restoring supply or accessing the Company's equipment to
restore supply;c. The premise is vacant, disconnected or not receiving service immediately
preceding the outage; or
d. The customer notifies the Company that service restoration does not
require immediate attention.
Turninq on Power3. The Company wil! turn on power the same day the Customer or Applicant requests
service, except for the following instances:a. The service request is received by the Company after 7:00pm on
weekdays, or on a weekend or holiday;
b. The Customer requests an altemative future date for service connection;c. Construction is required before the service can be energized;d. The Customer or Applicant does not provide evidence that all required
government inspections have been satisfied;e. Required payments to the Company have not been received;
lssued September7,2018 Effective November1,2018
by
7e*uu
Sheet 85B
LP.U.C. No.28 Sheet 85C
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Atfairs
Utilities
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85C
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM - IDAHO (continued)
f. The service was disconnected for nonpayment or thefUdiversion of serviceg. The service cannot be turned on due to an outage; orh. An action or event that is outside the control of the Company prevents the
Company from connecting service.
Providinq Cost Estjmateq
4. The Company will provide a cost estimate to the Customer or Applicant for new
electric supply within 10 business days upon receipt of all the necessary
information from the Customer or Applicant.
Resoondino to Bill lnquiries
5. The Company will respond to most billing inquiries at the time of the initial contact.
For those inquiries that require further investigation, the Company will investigate
and respond to the Customer within 10 business days.
Resolvino Meter Problems
6. The Company will investigate Customer-reported problems with a meter and/or
conduct a meter test and report the results to the Customer within 20 business
days from the date of the report or request.
Notification of Scheduled lntenuptions
7. The Company will provide notification to the Customer, through means normally
used by the Company, at least 24 hours in advance of disconnecting service for
scheduled interruptions, except for the following instances:
a. The intenuption is a momentary interruption of less than five minutes in
duration;b. The safety of the public or Company personnel or the imminent failure of
Company equipment is a factor leading to the interruption; orc, The interruption was due to work on the Customer's meter.
Effective November1,2018lssued September7,2018
VgtJ,-.,-
l.P.U.C. No.28 Sheet 85D
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85D
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM - IDAHO (continued)
CUSTOMER SERVICE GUARANTEE CREDITS
For failure to meet a Customer Service Guarantee for service provided to an
electric Customer, the Company will apply a $50 credit to the Customer's account. For
failure to meet a Customer Service Guarantee for service provided to an Applicant, the
Company will mail a check for $50 to the Applicant. Avista will provide the qualifying credit
or check without any requirernent on the part of the Customer or Applicant to either apply
for or request the applicable credit or check.
Tracking of the Company's performance on the Customer Service Guarantees, including
the application of customer credits, will begin on January 1,2019.
ANNUAL REPORT
The Company will include the results of its Customer Service Measures, Electrical
System Reliability Measures, and Customer Seruice Guarantees in an annual report to be
filed with the ldaho Public Utilities Commission on or before April 30th of each year.
CUSTOMER REPORT CARD
Within 90 days of filing its Annual Customer Service Quality & Electric System
Reliability Report with the Commission, the Company will send a Service Quality Report
Card to its Customers, which wil! include the following:
a. Results for each of the Company's Customer Service Measures, compared with
the respective performance benchmarks;
b. Report on the Company's Electric System Reliability;
c. Results for each of the Customer Service Guarantees, compared with the
respective benchmarks, the number of events for each measure where a credit
was provided, and the total dollar amount of the credits paid for each measure;
and
d. Performance highlights for the year.
The Company will issue its first Report Card to customers on or before July 31,2020.
lssued September7,2A18 Effective November1,2018
By
Vgu-L
l.P.U.C. No.27
ed by Avista Util
Sheet 185
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 185
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM - IDAHO
PURPOSE:
This Schedule provides general terms and conditions for the Company's Service
Quality Program. The purpose of this program is to monitor and measure Avista's
customer service performance. The results of the program will be reported annually to
the ldaho Public Utilities Commission and the Company's gas customers
Customer Service Measures
1. The level of Customer satisfaction with telephone service, as provided by the
Company's Contact Center, will be at least 90 percent, where:
a. The measure of Customer satisfaction is based on Customers who respond
to Avista's quarterly survey of Customer satisfaction, known as the "Voice of
the Customer", as conducted by its independent survey contractor;b. The measure of satisfaction is based on Customers participating in the
survey who report the level of their satisfaction as either "satisfied" or "very
satisfied"; andc. The measure of satisfaction is based on the statistically-significant survey
results for both electric and natural gas service for Avista's entire service
territory (ldaho, Oregon, and Washington) for the calendar year.
2. The level of Customer satisfaction with the Company's field services will be at least
90 percent, where:
a. The measure of Customer satisfaction is based on Customers who respond
to Avista's quarterly survey of Customer satisfaction, known as the "Voice of
the Custome/', as conducted by its independent survey contractor;
b. The measure of satisfaction is based on Customers participating in the
survey who report the level of their satisfaction as either "satisfied" or "very
satisfied"; andc. The measure of satisfaction is based on the statistically-significant survey
results for both electric and natural gas service for Avista's entire service
territory (ldaho, Oregon, and Washington) for the calendar yeat.
3. The percentage of customer calls answered by a live representative within 60
seconds will be at least 80 percent for the calendar year, where:
a. The measure of response time is based on results from the Company's Contact
Center, and is initiated when the customer requests to speak to a customer
service representative; andb. Response time is based on the combined results for both electric and natural
gas customers for Avista's entire service territory (ldaho, Oregon, and
Washington).
lssued September7,2018 Effective November'1,2018
TgtJ-u
l.P.U.C. No.27 lSheet'185A
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 185A
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM - IDAHO (continued)
4. The Company's average response time to a natural gas system emergency in
ldaho will not exceed 55 minutes for the calendar year, where:a. Response time is measured from the time of the customer call to the arrival of
a field service technician; andb. A "naturalgas system emergency' is defined as an event involving a natural
gas explosion or fire, a fire in the vicinity of natural gas facilities, police/fire
departments, leaks identified in the field as "Grade 1", high or low gas
pressure problems identified by alarms or customer calls, natural gas system
emergency alarms, or calls regarding carbon monoxide, natural gas odor,
runaway furnace, or delayed ignition.
Customer Service Guarantees
Keepinq Aooointments
1. The Company will keep mutually agreed upon appointments regarding natural gas
service, scheduled in the time windows of either 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. or 12:00
p.m. - 5:00 p.m., except for the following instances:
a. The Customer or Applicant cancels the appointment;b. The Customer orApplicant fails to keep the appointment; orc. The Company reschedules the appointment with at least 24 hours' notice.
Connectino Gas Service
2. The Company will connect gas service on the same day the Customer or Applicant
requests service, except for the following instances:a. The service request is received by the Company after 7:00pm on
weekdays, or on a weekend or holiday;
b. The Customer requests an alternative future date for seryice connection;c. The Customer or Applicant is not available at the time of connection;d. Construction is required before the service can be connected;e. The Customer or Applicant does not provide evidence that all required
government inspections have been satisfied;f. Required payments to the Company have not been received;g The service was disconnected for nonpayment or thefUdiversion of service;h. Gas service cannot be connected due to an outage;i. Electric service is not connected prior to connecting gas service;j. When applicable, water service is not connected prior to connecting gas
service; ork. An action or event that is outside the control of the Company prevents the
Company from connecting service.
t.
lssued September7,2018 Effective November 1,2018
lssued by Avista
VgLbL
l.P.U.C. No.27 inal Sheet't85B
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
Avista Utilities
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 1858
SERVICE QUALITY MEASURES PROGRAM * IDAHO (continued)
Providino Cost Estimates
3. The Company will provide a cost estimate to the Customer or Applicant for new
natural gas supply within 10 business days upon receipt of all the necessary
information from the Customer or Applicant.
Respondino to Bill lnquiries
4. The Company will respond to most billing inquiries at the time of the initial contact.
For those inquires that require further investigation, the company will investigate
and respond to the Customer within 10 business days.
Resolvino Meter Problems
5. The Company will lnvestigate Customer-reported problems with a meter and/or
conduct a meter test and report the results to the Customer within 20 business
days from the date of the report or request,
Effective November1,2018lssued September7,2018
VgLbL
l.P.U.C. No.27 Sheet 185C
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
ista Utilities
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 185C
SERVICE QUALIry MEASURES PROGRAM - IDAHO (continued)
CUSTOMER SERVICE GUARANTEE CREDITS
For failure to meet a Customer Service Guarantee for service provided to a gas Customer,
the Company will apply a $50 credit to the Customer's account. For failure to meet a
Customer Service Guarantee for service provided to an Applicant, the Company will mail a
check for $50 to the Applicant. Avista will provide the qualifying credit or check without any
requirement on the part of the Customer or Applicant to either apply for or request the
applicable credit or check.
Tracking of the Company's performance on the Customer Service Guarantees, including
the application of customer credits, will begin on January 1,2019.
ANNUAL REPORT
The Company will include the results of its Customer Service Measures and Customer
Service Guarantees for gas customers in an annual report to be filed with the ldaho Public
Utilities Commission on or before April 30th of each year.
CUSTOMER REPORT CARD
Within 90 days of filing its Annual Customer Service Quality & Electric System Reliability
Report, the Company will send a Service Quality Report Card to its Customers, which will
include the following:
a. Results for each of the Company's Customer Service Measures, compared with
the respective performance benchmarks;
b. Report on the Company's Electric System Reliability;c. Results for each of the Customer Service Guarantees, compared with the
respective benchmarks, and including the number of events for each measure
where a credit was provided, and the total dollar amount of the credits paid for
each measure; and
d. Performance highlights for the year.
The Company will issue its first Report Card to customers on or before July 31 ,2020.
Effective Novemberl,2018lssued September7,2018
By
7gu-u