20181009Amended Application.pdf

Avista Corp.
141 I East Mission P.O.Box 3727
Spokane, Washington 99220-0500
Telephone [phone]
Toll Free 800-727-9170
October 5, 2018
Diane Hanian, Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Statehouse Mail
W . 472 Washinglon Street
Boise, Idaho 83720
Re: AVU-E-18-10 and AVU-G-I8-06 - Avista Corporation Idaho Service Quality Program
Dear Ms. Hanian:
On September 7,2018, Avista Corporation, dba Avista Utilities (Avista or the Company), filed
an Application for approval of proposed electric tariffSchedule 85 and natural gas tariff Schedule 185,
"Service Quality Measures Program-ldaho", and implementation of the associated Service Quality
Measures Program. A Substitute Tariff Sheet l85A was subsequently filed on September 26,2018 to
correct a typographical error.
Upon further discussion with Commission Staff, a couple additional modifications have been
made to the original Application and all associated tariffsheets for Schedule 85 and Schedule 185. As
such, the first modification is to change the proposed program title to "ldaho Service Quality Program"
("ISQ" or "Program") and the second is to include information in the Application and tariffs regarding
shareholder funding of the proposed Program.
AFvrsra #
!
,ID
05
The Company requests to maintain the original effective date of November 1,2018, and that
the Application be processed under Modified Procedure. If you have any questions regarding this
filing, please contact Jaime Majure at [phone] or [e-mail].
Sincerely,
/ y{L irl^d^a, M. G e.n a,Ly
Linda Gervais
Senior Manager, Regulatory Policy
Avista Utilities
s09-495-4975
I [e-mail]
Enclosure
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DAVID J. MEYER
VICE PRES]DENT AND CH]EF COUNSEL FOR
REGULATORY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFEAIRS
AVISTA CORPORAT]ON
74IT E. M]SS]ON AVENUE
P.O. BOX 3721
SPoKANE, UIASHTNGTON 99220
PHONE: [phone]]-6
]N THE MATTER OE THE APPLICAT]ON OF
AVISTA CORPORATION FOR AN ORDER
AUTHOR]Z]NG APPROVAL OE PROPOSED
IDAHO SERVICE QUALITY PROGRAM
AND ASSOC]ATED REVIS]ONS TO ]TS
ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS TAR]FES
I. INTRODUCTION
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BEFORE THE IDAHO PT'BLIC UTII,ITIES COMMISSION
CASE NOS. AVU-E-18-10
AND AVU-G-18-06
APPLICATION OF
AVISTA CORPORATION
22 In accordance with Idaho Code 561-502 and RP 052, Avista
23 Corporation, doing business as Avista Utilities (hereinafter
24 "Avista" or "Company"), at 1411 East Mission Avenue,
25 Spokane, Washington, respectfully makes application to the
26 Idaho PubIic Utilities Commission (*IpUC" or the
27 "Commission") for an order authoriztr,g the approval of
28 proposed electric tariff Schedule 85 and natural gas tariff
29 Schedule 185, "Idaho Service Quality Program" (*ISQ
30 Program"), and implementation of the associated ISQ Program,
31 effective November 7, 2018.
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Application of Avista Corporation
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Avista j-s a utility that provides service to
approximately 378,000 electric customers and 342,000 naturaf
gas customers, of which 729,000 and 81,000, respectj-vely,
are Idaho customers. The community served by Avista
is the l-ocati-on of itsis Spokane, Washington,
corporate headquarters .
The
under the
largest
which
Company requests that this filing be processed
Commission's Modified Procedure rul-es.
Communications in reference to this Application
l0 should be addressed to:
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David J. Meyer, Esq.
Vice President and Chief Counsel for
Regulatory & Governmental- Affairs
Avista Corporation
P. O. Box 312'7
MSC-2 7
1411 E. Mission Ave
Spokane, WA 99220-3721
Phone: [phone]
David. MeyerGavistaco Ip. com
Linda M. Gervais
Senior Manager, Regulatory Policy
Avista Utilities
P.O. Box 3727
vtsc-27
1411 E. Mission Ave
Spokane, WA 99220-3721
Phone: [phone]
Linda . Gervais Gavistacorp . com
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Application of Avista Corporation
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II. ST'MIBRY OF APPLICATION
Avista requests approval of the foll-owing revisions to
the Company's electric Tariff I.P.U.C No. 28 and natural gas
Tariff I. P.U.C No. 21 .
28 Tariff I.P.U.C No. 27Tariff I.P.U.C No.
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Original
Original
Original
Original
Original
Sheet
Sheet
Sheet
Sheet
Sheet
85
85A
858
85C
85D
OriginaJ. Sheet 185
Original Sheet 185A
Original. Sheet 1858
Original Sheet 185C
case1, approving the
filed by the Parties2
additional compliance
terms and conditions of the Settlement.
III. BACKGROT'ND
On December 28, 2011, the Commission j-ssued Order No.14
15 33953 in the Company's general rate
16 Settlement Stipulation ("Settlement")
t7 and requiring the
filings to meet the
Company to make
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19 With respect to Service Quality/Performance Measures, the
Parties agreed that:
Avista has established Service QuaLity Performance,
Customer Guarantees and a Service QuaTity Measure
Report Card for its customers in Washington. The
Company and interested parties wiff work to deveTop
simil-ar performance standards, customer guarantees and
a reporting mechanism for its ldaho customers.
Fol-fowing those discussions, the Company wiTl file its
1 Case Nos. AVU-E-L'7-01,/AVU-G-L1 -022 Stipulation "Parties" include Avista, IPUC Commission Staff,
Clearwater Paper Corporation, Idaho Eorest Group, LLC, and the
Community Action Partnership Associatj-on of Idaho (*CAPAI").
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Application of Avista Corporation
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proposal with the Commission requesting implementation
on or before JuTy 7, 2078. (Stipul-ation and Settlement
Para. 21)
An j-nitial draft of the proposed SQ Program, nearly
identical to the program in place for the Company's
Washington customers, was provided to IPUC Staff on February
15, 2078. After subsequent correspondence between the
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Company and
was hel-d on
Motion for
extend the
Staff, a conference cal-I regarding this matter
June 13, 2018. On June 25, 2078, Avista filed a
Procedural- Relief under Rule 256, requesting to
filing deadline from JuIy
IV. PROPOSED IDAHO SERVICE gUALrTy pROeReM
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l3 2078 to all-ow sufficient time to
1-, 20lB to October l,
complete the proposed
case objecting to the14 measures. With no parties in this
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motion, the Commission granted the request for extension on
July 3, 201,8 in Order No. 34L02. An additional- conference
cal-l was held between Commission Staff and Avista on July
28, 2078. Einal- consensus on the measures between Commission
Staff and Avista, as described below, was reached on August
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23 Under the
24 agree that the
25 performance in
ISQ Program, Avista and
Company will- track and
meeting the benchmarks
Commission Staff
report its annua.l-
established for a
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Application of Avista Corporation
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combined total of 22 electric and natural gas measures. These
measures are grouped into three categories Customer
Servj-ce, Electric System ReIiability, and Customer
Guarantees. Thirteen measures/guarantees apply to the
Company's electric service, and nine measures/guarantees are
applicable to natural gas service. A description of the
measures and respective benchmarks are provided below.
A. Customer Service l'leasures (5 measures)
1. The level of Customer satisfaction with telephone servj-ce,
as provided by the Company's Contact Center wi-II be at
least 90 percent, where:
a. The measure of Customer satisfaction is based on
Customers who respond to Avj-sta's quarterly survey
of Customer satj-sfaction, known as the "Voice of the
Customerr " 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 "verysatisfied"i and
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 Washj-ngton)
for the calendar year.
2. The l-evel 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
Customerr " as conducted by its independent survey
contractor i
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Application of Avista Corporation
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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"; and
c. The measure of satisfaction is based on the
statistically-significant survey results for both
el-ectrj-c and natural gas service for Avista's entire
service territory (Idaho, Oregon, and V[ashington)
f or the cal-endar year.
3. The percentage of Customer calls answered by a l-ive
representative within 60 seconds wiII be at l-east B0percent for the calendar year, where:
a. The measure of response time is based on results
from the Company's Contact Center, and is initj-ated
when the Customer requests to speak to a Customer
service representative; and
b. Response time is based on the combined resul-ts for
both electric and natural gas Customers for
Avista's entire service territory (Idaho, Oregon,
and Washington).
4. The Company's average response time to an electric system
emergency in fdaho wifl not exceed 65 mi-nutes for the
calendar year, where:
a. Response time
Customer calf
technician;
measured from the time of the
the arrival of a field service
is
to
b. Response times are excluded from the calculationfor those periods of time when the Company is
experiencing an outage that qualifies as a Major
Event Day (MED) in Idahor ds defined by the
fnstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Inc. (IEEE)3 Guide for Electric Power Distribution
3 IEEE is a professionaf organization that has developed a range of
electric reliability standards, which have been broadly adopted by the
electric utility industry.
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Application of Avista Corporation
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Ref iabi1ity Indices, Standard 1366. This incl-udes
the 24 hour period following an MED.
An "el-ectric system emergency" is defined as anevent involving police/fire departments,
arcrnq/flashing wires down, or a feeder Iockout.
5. The Company's average response time to a natural gas
system emergency in Idaho will not exceed 55 minutes for
the calendar year, where:
Response time is
cusLomer cal-1 to
technician,' and
measured from the time
the arrival of a field
of the
servr_ce
A "natural gas system emergency" is defined as an
event involving a natural gas explosion or fire, a
fire in the vicinity of natural gas facj-Iities,police/fire departments, l-eaks identified in the
fiel-d as "Grade 1", hiqh or low gas pressure problems
identified by al-arms or customer caIfs, natural gas
system emergency alarms r or calls regarding carbon
monoxide, natural gas odor, runaway furnace t or
delayed ignition.
B. Electric System Reliability (2 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 fnterruption Erequency fndex (*SAfYI"), as
calculated by IEEE Std.1366;
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b. The calculation of SAIFI
associaled with any MED in
excl-udes interruptions
fdaho;
c. The report wil-I provide a brief description of the
predomj-nant factors influencing the current-yearresults, the previous year' s system resul-ts, andthe Company's historic five-year roll-ing average ofSAIEI; and
The resul-ts wil-l be reported on a system basis, aswelf as Idaho on1y.
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Applicatj-on of Avista Corporation
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2. The Company wil-I 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 (*SAIDI"), asdefined by IEEE Std.1366;
b. The calculat.ion of SAIDI
associated with any MED in
excfudes interruptions
Idaho;
c. The report wil-I provide a brief description of thepredominant factors influencing the current-year
system results, the previous year' s system results,
and the Company's historic five-year rolling
average of SAIDI; and
d. The resul-ts will be reported on a system basis, aswell as Idaho only.
C. Customer Service Guarantees (1 guarantees)
For failure to meet any of the Customer Servj-ce
Guarantees under this ISQ Program, Avista will- provide
compensation in the amount of $S0 in the form of a bil-I credj-t
for service provided to an existing electric or natura.l- gas
Customer r or, for service provided to an Applicant, a the
Company will mail a check for $50 to the Applicant. The
Company wiIl provide the qualifying Customer credit or
Applicant check j-n a ti-mely manner, without any requirement
on the part of the Customer or Applicant to either apply for
or request the applicable credit or check. AIl costs
associated with the payment of customer service guarantees
are paid by Avista's shareholders, not by customers.
1. The Company wilI keep mutually agreed upon appointments
with customers regarding electric or natural gas
service, scheduled in the time wj-ndows of either B:00
a.m. to L2:00 p.m. or 1,2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.ffi., except
for the following instances:
a. The Customer or Applicant cancels the appointment;
4 Per IDAPA 31.21.01.005, "Applicant" is defined as "any potential customer who applies for service
from a utility."
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Application of Avista Corporation
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b. The Customer
appoj-ntment,'
or Applicant fails to keep the
The Company reschedules the appointment with at
least 24 hour notice; or
d. The Company is experiencing an MED in fdaho. In such
cases, the Company wilI notify the customer and
reschedule the appointment (electric service only).
2. When the Customer experiences an electric serviceinterruption, the Company wilf restore the service
within 24 hours of notification from the Customer, except
f or the f oJ-Iowing instances:
a. During periods of time when the outage is associatedwith an MED in Idaho,'
An action or event that is outside the control of
the Company prevented the Company from restori-ng
supply or accessing the Company's equi-pment torestore supply;
c. The premise is vacant, disconnected or not
receiving service immediately preceding the outage,'
or
The customer notifies the Company that service
restoration does not require immediate attentj-on.
3. The Company wiII 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
for
Customer requests an
service connection,'
alternative future date
c. The Customer or Applicant is not avail-able 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 AppIi-cant does not provide evidencethat all required government inspections have beensatisfied;
f. Required payments to the Company have not been
received,'
g. The service was disconnected for nonpayment ortheft/diversj-on of service;
The service cannot be turned on or connected due to
an outage;
i. El-ectric service is not connected prior to
connecting gas service;
j. When Applicable, water service is not connectedprior to connecting gas servj-ce; or
k. An acti-on or event that is outside thethe Company prevents the Company from
service.
control- of
connecting
4. The Company will provide a cost estimate to the Customer
or Applicant for new electric or natural gas suppJ-ywithin 10 business days upon receipt of afl the necessaryinformation from the Customer or Appli-cant.
trJ The Company wil-l respond to most bi-I1ing inquiries at
the time of the initial contact. Eor those inquj-ries that
require further investigation, the Company wilI
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 meter test and report theresul-ts to the Customer within 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 j-n advance of dj-sconnecting electric service for
scheduled interruptions, except for the following
instances:
Application of Avista Corporation
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a. The interruption is a momentary interruption ofIess than five minutes in durationi
The safety of the public or Company personnel orthe imminent fail-ure of Company equj-pment is afactor leading to the interruption i or
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c. The interruption
meter.
was due to work on the Customer's
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V. PROPOSED IMPLEMEI(UATTON TIMEIJINE A}ID REPORTING
The proposed effective date of the new tariff Schedul_es
85 and 185 implementing the ISQ Program is November 1, 2018.
The Company proposes to begin tracking and reporting results
of the ISQ Program to the Commission and its customers as
follows:
1. The Company wil-l- include the results of its Customer
Service Measures and Customer Servi-ce Guarantees in an
annual report to be filed with the Commission on or
before April 30th of each year for the prior calendar
year.
2. The initial effective period for implementation of the
Customer Service Measures and Electric System
Reliabil-ity will be cal-endar year 201,8, with resul-ts to
be reported to the Commission on or before April 30,
Application of Avista Corporation
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2079. Thereafter, the report wj-II be filed annualJ-y on
or before April 30 for the preceding year.
3. The initial implementation date for the Company's
Customer Service Guarantees,including tracking of the
application of customerand
January 1, 201-9
report of the results of its
Customer Service Guarantees, for the calendar year
2079, will
April 30,
be filed with the Commission on or before
2020. Thereafter, the report will- be filed
ll annually on or before April 30 for the preceding year.
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13 In addition, within 90 days of filing its Annual
14 Customer Service Quality and Electric System Reliability
15 Report, the Company will send a Service Qual-ity Report Card
16 to its Customers, which will- include the following
17 information:
Company's performance
credits, will begin on
4. The Company's initial
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a. Resufts for each of the
Measures, compared with
benchmarks;
Company's Customer Service
the respect.ive perf ormance
b. Report on the Company's Electric System Reliability;
c. Resufts 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 dol-Iar amount of the credj-tspaid 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 JuIy 31, 2020.
VI. CONCLUSION
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8 the purpose of the ISQ Program is to monitor and
9 measure Avista's performance with respect to customer
l0 service and electric system reliability, ensuring that the
ll Company is maintaining its service level to its customers,
12 as demonstrated by reporting resul-ts of the ISQ Program to
13 the Commission and its customers each year. Accordingly,
14 Avista requests that the Commission issue an Order
15 approving the ISQ Program and associated tariff Schedul-es
16 85 and 185.
17 WHEREEORE, Avista respectfully requests the
18 Commission issue its Order finding the proposed Application
19 to be fair, just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory, and
20 effective for e1ectric and natural gas service rendered on
2l and after November 7, 2018, with this Application being
22 processed under Modified Procedure.
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Application of Avista Corporation
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-'4Dated at Spokane, washington this 5 - day of ef".t
2018.
AVISTA CORPORATION
*rC 1:aavW. tteTer
Vice President and Chief Counsel for
Regulatory and Governmental Affairs
Application of Avista Corporation
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l.P.U C. No.28 Sheet 85
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AV]STA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85
IDAHO SERVICE OUALITY PROGRAM
PURPOSE:
This Schedule provides generalterms and conditions for the Company's ldaho
Service Quality 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 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 year.
2. The level of Customer satisfaction with the Company's field services will be at least
90 percent, where:a. The measure of Gustomer 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.
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
Effective November1,2018lssued October 5, 2018
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l.P.U.C. No.28 Sheet 85A
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
by
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85A
IDAHO SERVICE QUALITY PROGRAM (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 Reliabllity Measu res
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 IEEE Std.1366;b, The calculation of SAIFI excludes interruptions associated with any MED in
!daho;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; and
d. 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 interruption duration is measured as the System Average lnterruption
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 five-year rolling average of SAIDI;
lssued October 5, 2018 Effective November1,2018
v *lJr-L
LP.U.C. No.28 nal Sheet 85B
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85B
IDAHO SERVICE QUALITY PROGRAM (continued)
d. The results will be reported on a system basis for Washington and ldaho as
wellas 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. - 12:00 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 or Applicant fails to keep the appointment;c. The Company reschedules the appointment with at least 24 hour notice; or
d. The Company is experiencing an MED in ldaho. ln such cases, the
Company will notify the customer and reschedule the appointment.
Restoring 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; ord. The customer notifies the Company that service restoration does not
require immediate attention.
Turnino on Power3. The Company will 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 Gustomer requests an alternative 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 October 5, 2018 Effective November1,2018
.-. Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs/ {X*t.l*
l.P.U.C. No.28 inal Sheet 85C
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85C
IDAHO SERVICE QUALITY PROGRAM (continued)
f. The service was disconnected for nonpayment or thefUdiversion of serviceg. The service cannot be turned on due to an outage; or
h. An action or event that is outside the control of the Company prevents the
Company from connecting service.
Providinq Cost Estimates
4. The Company will provide a cost estimate to the Customer or Applicant for new
electric supply within '10 business days upon receipt of allthe 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 Customerwithin 10 business days.
Resolvinq 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 lnterruptions
7. The Gompany will provide notffication 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 interruption 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.
lssued October 5, 2018 Effective Novemberl,2018
7*tJ*r-
l.P.U.C. No.28 al Sheet 85D
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 85D
IDAHO SERVICE QUALITY PROGRAM (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 requirement on the part of the Customer or Applicant to either apply
for or request the applicable credit or check. Al! costs associated with the payment of
Customer Service Guarantees are paid by Avista's shareholders, not by customers.
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 Service 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 Annua! Customer Service Quality & Electric System
Reliability Report with the Commission, 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, 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 forthe year.
The Company will issue its first Report Card to customers on or before July 31 ,2020.
lssued October 5, 2018 Effective November1,2018
VgtJ-L
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
LP.U.C. No.27 o inal Sheet 185
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
by
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 185
IDAHO SERVICE QUALITY PROGRAM
PURPOSE:
This Schedule provides general terms and conditions for the Company's ldaho
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 Measu res
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 rneasure of Customer satisfaction is based on Customers who respond
to Avista's quarterly survey of Customer satisfaction, known as the "Voice of
the Customef, 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"; 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 (ldaho, Oregon, and Washington) for the calendar year.
lssued October 5, 2018 Effective November1,2018
Vgn*L
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 quartedy 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.
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
Genter, 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 tenitory (ldaho, Oregon, and
Washington).
LP.U.C. No.27 inalSheet 185A
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 185A
IDAHO SERVICE QUALITY PROGRAM (continued)
4. The Company's average response time to a naturalgas 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, naturalgas system
emergency alarms, or calls regarding carbon monoxide, natural gas odor,
runaway furnace, or delayed ignition.
C ustomer Service Guarantees
Keepino Appointments
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 or Applicant fails to keep the appointment; or
c. The Company reschedules the appointment with at least 24 hours' notice.
Connectinq Gas Service
2. The Company will connect gas service on the same day the Customer or Applicant
requests service, except for the following instances:
The service request is received by the Company after 7:00pm on
weekdays, or on a weekend or holiday;
The Customer requests an alternative future date for service connection;
The Customer orApplicant is not available at the time of connection;
Construction is required before the service can be connected;
The Customer orApplicant does not provide evidence that all required
government inspections have been satisfied;
Required payments to the Company have not been received;. The service was disconnected for nonpayment or thefUdiversion of seruice;
Gas service cannot be connected due to an outage;
Electric service is not connected prior to connecting gas service;
When applicable, water service is not connected prior to connecting gas
service; or
An action or event that is outside the control of the Company prevents the
Company from connecting service.
a.
b.
c,
d.
e.
t,
g
h
i.j
k.
Effective November 1,2018Issued October 5, 2018
VgLbL
l.P.U.C. No.27 nal Sheet 185B
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 185B
IDAHO SERVICE QUALIry PROGRAM (continued)
Providing 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.
Responding to Bill lnouiries
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.
Resolving Meter Problems
5. 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.
lssued October 5, 2018 Etfective November1,2018
ssued by
Vgntu
l.P.U.C. No.27 al Sheet 185C
Patrick Ehrbar, Director of Regulatory Affairs
AVISTA CORPORATION
d/b/a Avista Utilities
SCHEDULE 185C
IDAHO SERVICE QUALITY PROGRAM (continued)
CUSTOMER SERVICE GUARANTEE CREDITS
For failure to meet a Customer Service Guarantee for service provided to a gas Customer,
the Company wil! 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. All costs associated with the payment of Customer Service
Guarantees are paid by Avista's shareholders, not by customers.
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 November1,2018lssued October 5, 2018
Vg*lrL