20190425Annual ISQ Program Report.pdf

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Avista Corp.
14l1 East Mission Ave.
P.O.Box3727
Spokane, WA 99220-0500
Telephone: [phone]
April24,2019
Diane Hanian, Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
W. 472 Washington Street
Boise,Idaho 83720
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RE: Avista Utilities 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report
Dear Ms. Hanian:
Enclosed for filing with the Commission is an original andT copies of Avista Corporation's, dba
Avista Utilities' ("Avista" or "the Company"),2018 Idaho Service Quality (ISQ) Program Report.
Pursuant to the Company's electric tariff Schedule 85 and natural gas Schedule 185, approved by
the Commission onNovember 1,2018 in Case Nos. AVU-E-I8-10 and AVU-G-I8-06 (OrderNo.
34181), Avista is to file its annual ISQ program report on or before April 30th of each year. This is
the Company's first year reporting on the program.
Please direct any questions regarding this report to Jaime Majure at [phone] or myself at
509-49s-4975.
Sincerely,
Gervais
Senior Manager, Regulatory Policy
Avista Utilities
509-495-4975
linda. gervais@avistacorp. com
Enclosure
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Table of Contents
I. Introduction................
II. Executive Summary
Customer Service Measures - Results for 2018.........
Electric System Reliability - Results for 2018 ..........
Customer Service Guarantees
III. Customer Service Measures
Measure l: Customer Satisfaction with the Telephone Service provided by
Avista's Customer Service Representatives........... ................9
Measure 2: Customer Satisfaction with Avista's Field Service Representatives ......10
Measure 3: Answering Our Customers' Calls Promptly... .....12
Measure 4: Avista's Response Time for Electric Emergencies.......t3
Measure 5: Avista's Response Time for Natural Gas Emergencies ........15
IV. Electric System Reliability ............. I 6
Measure I : Number of Electric System Outages ...................18
Measure 2: Average Duration of Electric System Outages .....................19
V. Customer Service Guarantees .20
Guarantee 1: Keeping Electric and Natural Gas Service Appointments........ ............20
Guarantee 2: Prompt Restoration of Electric System Outage ..................20
Guarantee 3: Promptly Turning on Electric orNatural Gas Service Upon Request
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Guarantee 4: Promptly Providing Cost Estimates to Customers for New Service ....21
Guarantee 5: Promptly Responding to Customers' Bill Inquiries ...........21
Guarantee 6: Promptly Responding to Customers' Requests for Meter Testing .......21
Guarantee 7: Providing Customers Advance Notice of Scheduled Electric
Intemrptions.
Appendix A - Service Quality Measures Report Card......
Appendix B - Dehnitions and Index Calculations..
22
23
24
Avista Utilities - 20l8ldaho Service Quality Program Report I
I. Introduction
On December 28, 2017, the
Commission issued Order No.
33953 in the Company's general
rate casel, approving the
Settlement Stipulation filed by the
Parties2 and requiring the
Company to make additional
compliance filings to meet the
terms and conditions of the
Settlement. With respect toService Quality/Performance
Measures, the Parties agreed that:
Avista has established Service Quality Performance, Customer Guarantees and a
Service Quality Measure Report Card for its customers in Washington. The
Company and interested parties will work to develop similar performance
standards, customer guarantees and a reporting mechanism for its ldaho
customers. Following those discussions, the Company will file its proposal with
the Commission requesting implementation on or before July l, 2018. (Stipulation
and Settlement Para. 2l)
An initial draft of the proposed Idaho Service Quality (lSQ) Program was provided to
Commission Staff (Staff) on February 15, 2018. Through the course of subsequent
discussions and collaborative efforts, Avista and Staff agreed on a set of service measures
and accompanying benchmarks and reporting requirements that, taken together, provide an
overall assessment of the quality of the Company's service to its Idaho customers. Referred
to collectively as Avista's "Idaho Service Quality Program," and approved by the
Commission on November 1, 2018 with associated tariff Schedule 85 for electric service
and Schedule 185 for natural gas service, these measures include:
'/ Five (5) individual measures of the level of customer service and satisfaction that
the Company must achieve each year3;
./ Reporting on two (2) measures of electric system reliability;
'/ Seven (7) individual service standards where Avista provides customers a payment
or bill credit in the event the Company does not deliver the required service level
(Customer Service Guarantees).
1 Case Nos. AVU-E-17-01 and AVU-G-17-02
2 Stipulation "Parties" include Avista, IPUC Commission Staff, Clearwater Paper Corporation, Idaho Forest
Group, LLC, and the Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho (CAPAD.
3 Four individual customer service measures exist within each of Avista's approved tariff schedules; the
fourth benchmark differs in its requirements between electric and natural gas service, resulting in five
separate measures altogether.
2Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report
-
Under this agreement, the Company also reports to its customers and the Commission
annually on its prior-year performance in meeting these customer service quality and
reporting requirements. The following report includes a summary of the 2018 annual
results of its Idaho Service Quality Program, followed by a more in-depth explanation of
the measures themselves and associated annual outcomes.
II. Executive Summary
In compliance with Order No. 34181 in Case Nos. AVU-E-18-10 and AVU-G-18-06,
Avista's 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report ("Report") provides the annual
performance results for the Company's ISQ Program for 2018. This is the Company's first
year reporting of such information for its Idaho service territory, and pursuant to the
Commission-approved tariffs in the above-referenced dockets, this Report contains
information regarding Avista's performance with respect to its Customer Service Measures
and Electric System Reliability.a During its 2018 ISQ Program year, Avista not only met
but exceeded all benchmarks set for Customer Service Measures and Electric Service
Reliability.
Customer Service Measures - Results for 2018
Listed in Table No. I below are the five customer service measures, including their
respective service requirements (benchmarks), and the Company's performance results in
meeting them for 2018. Avista achieved all of its customer service benchmarks for the year.
Table No. I - 2018 Results for Avista's Customer Service Measures
aTracking of the Company's performance on Customer Service Guarantees (Guarantees), including the
application of customer credits, began on January l, 20191' as such, data pertaining to these Guarantees will
be included once a full program year has passed, in Avista's 2019 Idaho Service Quality Report.
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Percent of customers satisfied with our Contact
Center services, based on survey results At least 90%96%,/
Percent of customers satisfied with field
services, based on survey results At least 90%97%,/
Percent of calls answered live within 60
seconds by our Contact Center At least 80%81.5%,/
Average time from customer call to arrival of
field technicians in response to electric system
emergencies, per year
No more than
65 minutes 42.4 minutes ,/
Average time from customer call to arrival of
field technicians in response to natural gas
system emergencies, per year
No more than
55 minutes 4l minutes ,/
Customer Service Measures 2018
PerformanceBenchmark Achieved
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report
Electric System Reliability - Results for 2018
Table Nos. 2 and 3 below list the
two measures of electric system
reliability to be reported by
Avista each year as part of its
ISQ Program. Because the
annual electric reliability results
often vary substantially year-to-
year (the case for any electric
utility's system), it is difficult to
derive a meaningful assessment
of the Company's system
reliability from any single-year's
result. Consequently, in addition
to reporting the current-year
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result for each measure, Avista also reports the average value of each measure for the
previous five year period, the average for the current five-year period (which includes the
results for the current year - 20 I 8), and the "frve-year rolling average" from 2005 - 20 I 8.
This data provides some context for better interpreting each year's reliability results.
Table No. 2 - 2018 Results for Number of Outages on Avista's System (SAIFT)
Table No. 3 - Results for Duration of Outages on Avista's System in 2018 6AID0
5 See Appendix B for a more detailed definition of these reliability measures and calculation of indices.
6 See Appendix B
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report
La Grande.
4
Washington and ldaho ServiceTerritory by District
0.81
Per Customer
L01
Per Customer
Average number of sustained outages
(interruptions) per customer for the year
(SAIFI))
1.05
Per Customer
2018
System
Results
Current S-Year Previous S-Year
Average Average
(2014-2018) (2013-20t7)
Number of Outages
Average duration of sustained outages
(interruptions) per customer for the
year. (SAIDI)6
126 Minutes 149 Minutes 151 Minutes
2018
System
Results
Current S-Year
Average
(20r4-2018\
Previous S-Year
Average
(20ts-2017)
Outage Duration
Moscolv
Figure Nos. I and 2 below
show the "five-year rolling
average" for each reliability
measure from 2005 through
2018. As shown in the figures,
the long-term trend for each
reliability measure is fairly
stable during this period. The
trend in number of outages is
slightly declining, while that
for outage duration is variable
but steady, showing an overall
trend toward improved system
reliability. Though the
Company formally reports its
reliability results for its entire electric system in its Washington Electric Service Reliability
Report, provided annually to Idaho as a courtesy, Avista also agreed to track and report its
Idaho-specific annual results as part of the ISQ Program. The tdaho-only number of
average electric system outages per customer in 2018 was 0.83, and the average total outage
duration per customer was 143 minutes.
Figure No. I - Historic Five-Year Rolling Average for Number of Electric Outages on
Avista's Electric System (SAIFI)
Historic Five-Year Averages of the Annual Number of Outages
(SAIFI)
1.4
t.2 l.l2 1.09
1.27I _171.16
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1.04 1.05 l.0l
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5Avista Utilities - 201 8 Idaho Service Quality Program Report
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Figure No. 2 - Historic Five-Year Rolling Average for Duration of Outages on Avista's
Electric System (SAIDD
Historic Five-Year Averages ofAnnual Outage Duration
(sArDr)
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
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Customer Service Guarantees
Our Idaho Service Quality
Program includes seven types of
service for which we provide
Customer Service Guarantees
(Guarantees). In the event that the
Company fails to meet a
Customer Service Guarantee,
Avista provides the customer or
applicant a bill credit or payment
in the amount of $50 in
recognition of the inconvenience.All costs associated with the
payment of Customer Service
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Guarantees are paid by the Company's shareholders, and are not paid by our customers in
their rates for service or otherwise. Table No. 4 below provides a list of the services covered
in the ISQ Program Guarantees, as well as an example of the format by which they will be
reported in subsequent program years:
6Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report
#
Table No. 4 - Results for Avista's Customer Service Guarantees
Keeping Our Electric and Natural Gas Service
Appointments scheduled with our customers
Restore service within 24 hours of a customer
reporting an outage (excluding major storm events)
Turn on power the same day the request is received
Provide a cost estimate for new electric or natural
gas service within l0 business days of receiving
the request
Investigate and respond to a billing inquiry within
l0 business days if unable to answer a question on
first contact
Investigate a reported meter problem or conduct a
meter test and report the results within 20 business
days
As noted above, tracking of the
Company's performance on
Customer Service Guarantees,
including the application of customer
credits, began on January 1,2019; as
such, data pertaining to these
Guarantees will be reported for the
first time once a full program year has
passed, in Avista's 2019 Idaho
Service Quality Report.
Notifo customers at least 24 hours in advance of a
planned power outage lasting longer than 5 minutes
Totals
Customer Service Guarantee Successful lVlissed $ Paid
7Avista Utilities - 20l8Idaho Service Quality Program Report
III. Customer Service Measures
There are many points of service customers may have with Avista, and each contributes to
the overall impression of the Company and the level of satisfaction associated with our
services. While Avista has tracked its customers' satisfaction with primary services such
as customer contact center and field services for many years, the Company has also been
interested in knowing whether its performance is meeting customers' broader service
expectations. To accommodate this interest, Avista's Voice of the Customer survey asks
customers to rate their level of satisfaction with the overall service they receive from the
Company. This overall measure is believed to be an important barometer of our customers'
satisfaction with the entirety of the integrated services and value they receive from Avista.
As show in Figure No. 3 below, the overall satisfaction of Avista's customers (either
satisfied or very satisfied) has ranged between 93%o and9TYo over the past ten years.
Figure No. 3 - Percent of Customers Satisfied or Very Satisfied with Avista's Overall
Service Level 2008-20 I I
Percent of Customers Satisfied orVery Satisfied with
Avista's Overall Service 2008-2018
100
93 93 93 94
70
2008 2009 2010 201 I 2012 20t3 20t4 2015 2016 20t7 20t8
These results are similar to our customers' satisfaction with our contact center and field
services, as reported for the ISQ Program for this same time period. Accordingly, we
believe the results of the five customer service measures described in the following
sections, taken together, provide a reasonable assessment of our customers' overall
satisfaction with the quality and value of our service.
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Measure 1: Customer Satisfaction with the Telephone Service provided by Avista's
Customer Service Representatives
As part of Avista's ldaho Service Quality program, the level of our
customers' satisfaction with the telephone service provided by the
Company's contact center will meet or exceed a benchmark of 90%.7
Several factors influence our customers' satisfaction with the quality of telephone service
provided by our customer service representatives and contact center. We measure the
importance of these factors to customers as well as their satisfaction with them each year.
These factors, including our customers' satisfaction (either satisfied or very satisfied) for
each factor in 2018 are listed below.
r' The customer service representative handling the customer's call in a
friendly, caring manner. (97%)
'/ The customer service representative being informed and knowledgeable.
(e7%)
,/ The customer service representative meeting the customer's needs
promptly. (96%)
r' The customer service representative giving the customer all the information
they need in one call. (95%)
'/ Being connected to a customer service representative in a reasonable
amount of time. (94%)
2018 Results - The annual survey results for this measure of customer satisfaction show
that96Yo percent of Avista's customers were satisfied with the quality of the telephone
7 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 ofthe 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"; 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.
9Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report
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Percent of customers either satisfied or very
satisfied with the Quality of Avista's
Customer Contact Center Representatives
90%o or
Greater
Satisfied
96%,/
Customer Satisfaction with Avista's
Contact Center Representatives
Service
Quality
20r8
Performance Achieved
service they received from our customer service representatives. Overall, 85yo of our
customers were "very satisfied" and 11o/o were "satisfied" with the quality of our service.
Table No. 5 -Customer SotisfactionwilhAvista's Contact Center Representatives in 2018
For the purposes of reporting our annual service quality performance under this program,
the Company will continue to use its system-wide results. Avista will also separately track
and report the results for this measure for our Idaho customers only, though it is not a
requirement of the ISQ Program. For 2018, the percent of Idaho customers satisfied or
very satisfied with the Company's customer service representatives and contact center
was 96Yo, the same as the system-wide percentage. The specific level of satisfaction,
however, differs slightly in that 87oh of our Idaho customers were 'overy satisfied" andg%o
were "satisfied" with the quality of our service.
Measure 2: Customer Satisfaction with Avista's Field Service Representatives
As part of Avista's Service Quality Measures program, the level of our
customers' satisfaction with the Company's Jield services will meet or
exceed a benchmark of 90%.8
The quality of our field services and the satisfaction of our customers is influenced by
several factors. Each year we measure the importance of these factors to our customers and
8 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 ofthe 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"; and
c. The measure ofsatisfaction 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.
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report l0
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their satisfaction with each aspect of our service. These factors, including our customers'
level of satisfaction (either satisfied or very satisfied) with each factor in 2018, are listed
below.
./ The service representative keeping you informed of the status of your job.
(e3%)
,/ The service representative or service crew being courteous and respectful.
(ee%)
{ The service representative or service crew being informed and
knowledgeable. (98%)
,/ The service representative or service crew leaving your property in the
condition they found it. (97o/o)
r' The service work being completed according to the customer's
expectations. (96'/")
{ The overall quality of the work performed by Avista Utilities. (98%)
2018 Results - The annual survey results for this measure, as reported in Table No. 6
below, show that 97Yo percent of our customers were satisfied with the service provided
by Avista's field service representatives. Overall, 89%o of our customers were "very
satisfied" andSYo were "satisfied" with the quality of our field services.
Table No. 6 - Customer Satisfactionwith Avista's Field Services Representatives in 2018
As with its contact center customer satisfaction, Avista will continue to use its system-wide
results for the purposes of reporting our annual service quality performance under this
program. The Company will also separately track and report the results for this measure
for our Idaho customers only, although it is not a requirement of the ISQ Program. For
2018, the percent of Idaho customers satisfied or very satisfied with the Company's field
service representatives was higher than the system-wide results at 98%o, with 93%o of
customers "very satisfied" and 5Yo "satisfied" with the quality of our field services.
90oh or
Greater
Satisfied
97%,/
Percent of customers either satisfied or very
satisfied with the Quality of Avista's Field
Service Representatives
Customer Satisfaction with Avista's Field
Services Representatives
Service
Quality
20r8
Performance Achieved
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report ll
Measure 3: Answering Our Customers' Calls Promptly
As part of Avista's Service Quality Measures progrom, the percentage of
customer calls answered live by a customer service representative within
60 seconds will average 80% or greater.e
This particular customer service measure is one of the subset of service attributes that
contribute to the customer's overall satisfaction with our service representatives and
contact center. Often referred to as the "Grade of Service" or "GOS", this measure is the
average percentage of customer calls to our contact center that are answered live by a
customer service representative within 60 seconds for those customers who wish to speak
with a service representative. When a customer calls Avista's contact center, their call is
initially received by our automated (voice activated) phone system. The customer is
presented the option of using the phone system for self-service (e.g. to check their account
balance or pay their bill, etc.) or to speak with a customer service representative live to
meet their service need. Avista's response time in answering the customer's call is the time
that elapses between the customer's request to speak to a representative and when their call
is answered live by a representative.
For many years Avista has maintained a service benchmark of 80% or greater, even though
some utilities and businesses have established a higher GOS (e.g. 90Yo or a goal of
answering calls within 30 seconds). Because it requires an increased level of staffing and
cost to customers to achieve a higher service level, Avista has focused on lower cost/no
cost measures, such as effective employee training and coaching to achieve superior
standards for attributes such as courtesy, caring, knowledge, and proficiency, to maintain
our very-high level of overall customer satisfaction with our service representatives and
contact center.
In addition to responding to customers effectively, Avista has implemented measures to
help reduce the overall volume of customer calls, which helps reduce the cost of service
paid by our customers. These efforts include providing customers a way to communicate
e The percentage ofCustomer calls answered by a live representative within 60 seconds will average 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
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).
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 12
with the Company using their preferred "channel" of communication, such as e-mail,
customer self-service via website, or the automated phone system. In addition to providing
numerous communication channels, the Company has focused on enhancing customer self-
service options as discussed above. These efforts not only help reduce the volume of calls
to our contact center and maintain a high level of service at lower cost, but also improve
customer experience and satisfaction.
2018 Results - Avista' s customers made a total of 661 ,97 6 qualifying calls to the Company
that were answered live by a customer service representative in 2018. Of these calls,
539,510 were answered live in 60 seconds or less, for a score of 8l.5Yo, as shown in Table
No. 8 below.
Table No. 7 - Percent of Avista's Customer Calls Answered Live within 60 Seconds in 2018
Measure 4: Avista's Response Time for Electric Emergencies
Percent of Avista's customer calls answered
live by a customer service representative
within 60 seconds
80o/o or
Greater 815%,/
Percent of Avista's Customer Calls
Answered Live Within 60 Seconds
Service
Quality
2018
Performance Achieved
As part of Avista's Service Quality Measures program, the average
response time to an electric system emergency will not exceed 65 minutes
for the year.to
l0 The Company's average response time to an electric system emergency in Idaho 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 Idaho, as defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Guide for Electric Power Distribution Reliability Indices, Standard 1366. This includes the
24 hour period following a Major Event Day.
c. An "electric system emergency" is defined as an event involving police/fire departments, arcing/flashing wires
down, or a feeder lockout.
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report l3
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When customers call Avista to report an electric emergency, the Company works with the
customer to quickly ascertain the particular circumstances being reported, and instructs the
customer on how best to ensure the safety of themselves and that of others until help
arrives. We immediately begin the dispatch of service personnel best situated to respond
in the shortest time possible. Once at the scene, Avista's first priority is to make the
situation safe for our customers, citizens, other emergency responders, and our employees.
Restoration of the problem can begin once the safety of the site is secured and needed
resources arrive at the scene. The Company's ability to respond quickly to an electrical
emergency is influenced by many factors, some of which include the urban or rural locale,
the location of the nearest available respondent (especially in rural areas), the time of day,
season of the year, weather conditions, trafhc, and the presence of other simultaneous
emergency events across the system. For this measure, the response time to an electric
emergency is the elapsed time between the confirmation of the emergency with the
customer (when the dispatch field order is given) and when the Avista service person
arrives at the scene.
2018 Results - The average response time for the year is calculated by dividing the sum
of all applicable electric emergency response times by the total number of qualifying
electric emergency incidents. Avista received 249 qualifuing electric emergency reports in
its Idaho service area in 2018, which had a cumulative response time of 10,549 minutes.
The resulting average for 2018 was 42.4 minutes, as noted in Table No. 9 below.
Table No. 8 - Avista's Response Time for Electric Emergencies in 20I8
Average time from customer call to the arrival
of Avista's field technicians in response to
electric system emergencies
80 Minutes
or Less 42.4 Minutes ,/
Avista's Response Time for Electric
Emergencies
Service
Quality
2018
Performance Achieved
Avista Utilities - 201 8 Idaho Service Quality Program Report t4
Measure 5: Avista's Response Time for Natural Gas Emergencies
As part of Avista's Service Quality Measures progrom, the overage
response time to a natural gas system emergency will not exceed 55
minutesfor the year.tt
When customers call Avista to report a natural gas emergency, the Company works with
the customer to quickly ascertain whether the presence of natural gas (via odor or some
other characteristic) is likely coming from inside the customer's home or business or from
facilities located outside. If inside, the customer is instructed to immediately evacuate the
building to a safe distance and await the arrival of emergency responders. If the leak is in
facilities outside, instructions to the customer are based on the proximity and type of the
leak to their (or others') home or business. Once the nature of the issue has been determined
and the customer has been given precautionary instructions on how best to ensure their
own safety and that of others until help arrives, the Company immediately begins the
dispatch of service personnel best situated to respond at the scene in the shortest time
possible. At the scene, Avista's first priority is to make the situation safe for our customers,
citizens, other emergency responders, and our employees. Restoration of the problem can
begin once the safety ofthe site is secured and needed resources arrive at the scene.
The Company's ability to respond quickly to a natural gas emergency is influenced by
many factors, some of which include the urban or rural locale, the location of the nearest
available respondent (especially in rural areas), the time of day, season of the year, weather
conditions, traffic, and the presence of other simultaneous emergency events across the
system. Natural gas emergencies differ from electric emergencies, however, in that the risk
of a potential consequence to a natural gas leak can increase with the passage of time as
leaking natural gas may accumulate at the site. For this reason, Avista's work practices and
staffing levels aim to provide an average response time of 55 minutes or less. For this
measure, the response time to a natural gas emergency is the elapsed time between the
I I The Company's average response time to a natural gas system emergency in Idaho 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; and
b. A "natural gas system emergency" is defined as an event involving a natural gas explosion or fire, a fire in the
vicinity ofnatural 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.
Avista Utilities - 201 8 Idaho Service Quality Program Report I 5
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confirmation of the emergency with the customer (when the dispatch field order is given)
and when the Avista service person arrives at the scene.
2018 Results - The average response time for the year is calculated by dividing the sum
of all applicable natural gas emergency response times by the total number of qualifying
emergency incidents. Avista received 2,137 qualifuing natural gas emergency reports in its
Idaho service area in 2018, which had a cumulative response time of 87,617 minutes. The
resulting average for 201 8 was 4l minutes as noted in Table No. 10 below.
Table No. 9 - Avista's Response Time for Natural Gas Emergencies in 2018
IV. Electric System Reliability
Providing safe and highly-reliable electric service for our customers at a reasonable cost is
fundamental to our business. We believe our current level of reliability is reasonable,
acceptable and cost effective for our customers, and our long-term objective is to generally
uphold our current levels of electric system reliability. Achieving this requires an ongoing
effort to balance the many investment and other priority needs across our system for today
and with implications that project far into the future. As already explained, we monitor and
track various aspects of the reliability performance of our system each year, relying on
industry-standard measures (or indices). Two of the most-commonly reported measures are
very-briefly described below, and are discussed in greater detail in Appendix A to Avista's
Electric Service Reliability Report. For its Service Quality Measures Program, Avista
reports its annual reliability results in the context of its historic five-year rolling average
for these two measures:
r' Number of Outages - known technically as the System Average Intemrption
Frequencv Index or .'SAIFI," is the average number of sustained intemrptions
(outages) per customer for the year.
'/ Outage Duration - known technically as the System Average Interruption
Duration lndex or "SAIDI," is the average duration of sustained intemrptions
(outages) per customer for the year.
Many factors influence the number and duration of outages on any electric system. Some
of these include the average age of the system, its engineering design, construction
standards, general condition, the extent of the system that is rural, terrain, utility equipment
and staffing levels, and its dayto-day operation. The type and proximity of surrounding
vegetation and local and regional weather patterns, including variability in weather, can
have a pronounced impact on system reliability. Because the frequency and duration of the
electric system outages that result from these factors can vary substantially from year to
Average time from customer call to the arrival
of Avista's field technicians in response to
natural gas system emergencies
55 Minutes
or Less 4l Minutes ,/
Avista's Response Time for Natural Gas
Emergencies
Service
Quatity
2018
Performance Achieved
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report l6
year, there is, naturally, a lot of variability in the annual measures of system reliability over
time.
For Avista, weather-related outages tend to have a predominant impact on the reliability of
our system. This is because individual weather events often impact large portions of our
system and can result in damage to many types of facilities. Weather caused outages,
particularly from high winds, ice, and snow can also require substantial effort and time to
restore. These storm events can result in many customers without service for an extended
period of time. Because the impact of weather events on system reliability is common to
all electric systems, the industry has adopted standardized adjustments that remove outages
related to weather events of a certain magnitude from the calculation of results for outage
frequency and duration. This threshold level of severity is referred to as a Major Event Day
or ('.MED"). The outages caused by arry storm event that qualifies as a MED are removed
from the data used to calculate the utility's annual reliability results. For Avista, the impact
of these major storm events is clearly evident in the substantial system outages caused by
windstorms in the late summer of 2014, and the very significant wind storm event of
November 2015. By contrast,in2016, the Company did not experience any storm events
that constituted major event days, and we experienced a fairly-limited number of major
events in 2017 and 2018. Although the year-to-year variability in outage duration is
substantially reduced by the adjustment for major events, there can still be a substantial
weather impact on the reliability results we report each year. This is the result of storms
that, while not qualifying as major events, still result in substantial system outages.
The important point of this discussion is that the reliability results for any single year,
considered in isolation, do not provide a meaningful measure of the overall reliability of
the utility's system, or an assessment of whether the perfornance that year was
"acceptable" or "unacceptable." The reliability performance of our system (or any utility
system) should be evaluated over the long term as the basis for evaluating whether our
reliability is trending stably, improving, or degrading.l2 Avista has agreed to report its
annual reliability results to its customers in the context of its historic five-year rolling
average. This approach helps our customers better understand how each year's reliability
results fit into our long-term trend in overall system reliability.
12 This is similar to the approach now used by the California Public Utilities Commission to evaluate electric
utilities' system reliability. In: Approaches to Setting Electric Distribution Reliability Standards and
Outcomes, pages 130 - 136. The Brattle Group, Ltd.2012.
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report t7
Measure 1: Number of Electric System
As part of Avista's Service Quality Measures program, the Company will report its
annual electric system reliability measure for the number of non-major storm power
outages experienced per customerfor the year (SAIF\.I3
2018 Results - This measure, as noted earlier, represents how often on average an Avista
electric customer experienced a sustainedla service outage during the year. This measure
is calculated by summing the total number of customer outages recorded for the year,
divided by the total number of customers served by the Company in that year. The 2018
result of 0.81 is well below the average value for the previous five-year period (2013-2017)
of 1.05, as well as for the current five-year period (2014-2018) of 1.01. For 2018, our
Idaho-only result was 0.83, which, though better than the previous and current five-year
'system' averages of 1.05 and 1.01, respectively, is slightly higher than the 2018 system-
wide total of 0.81.
Table No. I0 - Number of Electric System Outages for the Average Avista Customer in
2018
13 The Company will report the frequency of electric system intemrptions per Customer for the calendar year, where:
a. The intemrptions are measured as the System Average Intemrption Frequency Index ("SAIFI"), as calculated
by IEEE Std. 1366;
b. The calculation of SAIFI excludes interruptions associated with any MED in Idaho;
c. The report will provide a briefdescription ofthe predominant factors influencing the current-year results, the
previous year's system results, and the Company's historic five-year rolling average ofSAIFI; and
d. The results will be reported on a system basis for Washington and Idaho as well as for Idaho only.
ra Any service intemrption that is greater than five minutes in duration.
Avista Utilities - 201 8 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 1 8
0.81
Per Customer
Number of sustained intemrptions in
electric service for the average Avista
customer for the year (SAIFI)
1.01
Per Customer
-0.04
Minutes
Number of Electric System
Outages for the Average Avista
Customer
2018
System
Results
Current
5 Year Average
Change in
5 Year
014-2018 Ave
Ir.11.j
I ,i ri--,
Measure 2: Average Duration of Electric System Outages
As part of Avisto's Service Quality Measures progrom, the Company will
report its annual electric system reliability measurefor the total duration
of non-major storm power outages experienced per customerfor the year
(sAID0.ts
2018 Results - This measure, as noted earlier, represents the average duration or length of
outages for the year. Outage duration (SAIDI) is calculated by summing all of the customer
outage time occurring in the year, divided by the total number of customers served by the
utility in that year. The 2018 value for outage duration was 126 minutes, which was notably
less than the 183 minute duration reported for Avista's system in2017, and brought the
average value for the current five-year period (2014-2018) down by two minutes, to 149
minutes as shown below in Table No. 12. For 2018 the Idaho-only value was 143 minutes,
which, though higher than the 2018 system-wide average of 126 minutes, is still better than
the current five-year average of 149 minutes.
Table No. I I - Outage Durationfor the Average Avista Customer in 2018
15 Th" Co-pury will report the duration of electric system interruptions per Customer for the calendar year, where:
a. The intem.rption duration is measured as the System Average Intemrption Duration Index ("SAIDI"), as defined
by the IEEE Std. 1366;
b. The calculation of SAIDI excludes intemrptions associated with any MED in Idaho;
c. The report will provide a briefdescription ofthe predominant factors influencing the current-year system results,
the previous year's system results, and the Company's historic five-year rolling average ofSAIDI;
d. The results will be reported on a system basis for Washington and Idaho as well as for Idaho only.
Total duration of all electric service
outages for the average Avista
customer for the year (SAIDI)
126
Minutes
149
Minutes -2 Minutes
Total Outage Duration for the
Average Avista Customer
20r8
System
Results
Current
5 Year Average
Change in
5 Year
014-201 A
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 19
V. Customer Service Guarantees
Avista's Idaho Service Quality Program includes seven types of service for which Avista
provides Customer Service Guarantees. Our service commitments under these guarantees
recognize the customer inconvenience that may result when our delivered service does not
meet our stated goal. In such cases we will provide our customers a bill credit or payment
in the amount of $50 in recognition of that inconvenience. All costs associated with the
payment of customer service guarantees are paid by the Avista's shareholders, and are not
paid by our customers, or included in the rates they pay for service.
As noted above, the Company began offering Customer Service Guarantees in Idaho on
January l, 2019. Avista will begin reporting on the results of these Guarantees once a full
progfttm year has passed. As such, this data will be included in Avista's 2019 Idaho Service
Quality Report, and in each year following.
For informational purposes, the Customer Service Guarantees included in the Idaho
Service Quality Program are as follows:
Guarantee 1: Keeping Electric and Natural Gas Service Appointments
The Company will keep mutually agreed upon appointments regarding electric or natural
gas service, scheduled in the time windows of either 8:00 o.m. - 12:00 p.m. or I2:00 p.m.
- 5:00 p.m., exceptfor thefollowing instances:
o. The Customer or Applicant cancels the appointment;
b. The Customer or Applicantfails to keep the appointment;
c. The Company reschedules the appointment with at least 24 hour notice; ord. The Company is experiencing an MED in ldaho. In such cases, the
Companywill notify the customer andreschedule the appointment. (919t!tk
service onbt)
Guarantee 2: Prompt Restoration of Electric System Outage
When the Customer experiences on electric service interruption, the Company will restore
the service within 24 hours of notification from the Customer, except for the following
instances:
o. During periods of time when the outoge is assoctated with an MED in
Idaho;
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 20
,:t -at
..:
{i-.i
7ffi..i
runt
b. An action or event thot is outside the control of the Company prevented the
Companyfrom restoring supply or occessing 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.
Guarantee 3: Promptly Turning on Electric or Natural Gas Service Unon Reouest
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 o weekend or holiday;
b. The Customer requests an alternotive future date for service connection;c. The Customer or Applicant is not available at the time of connection
(natural gas service only)
d. Construction is required before the service can be energized or 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 disconnectedfor nonpayment or theft/diversion of serviceh. The service cannot be turned on due to an outage;
i. Electric Service is not connected prior to connecting natural gas service;j. When applicable, water service is not connected prior to connecting natural
gas service; or
k. An action or event that is outside the control of the Company prevents the
Company from connecting service.
Guarantee 4: Promptly Providing Cost Estimates to Customers for New Service
The Company will provide a cost estimate to the Customer or Applicant for new electric
supply within l0 business days upon receipt of all the necessary information from the
Customer or Applicant.
Guarantee 5: Promptly Responding to 'Bill Inouiries
The Company will respond to most billing inquiries at the time of the initial contact. For
those inquiries that require further investigation, the Compony will investigate and
respond to the Customer within l0 business days.
Guarantee 6: Promptly Responding to Customers' Requests for Meter Testing
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.
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 2t
Guarantee 7: Providing Customers Advance Notice of Scheduled Electric Interruptions
The Company will provide notification to the Customer, through meons normally used by
the Company, at least 24 hours in advance of disconnecting service for scheduled
int erruptions, except for the follow ing instanc e s :
o. The interruption is o momentary intenuption of less than five minutes in
duration;
b. The safety of the public or Company personnel or the imminent failure of
Company equipment is afactor leading to the interruption; or
c. The interruption was due to work on the Customer's meter.
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 22
Appendix A - Service Quality Measures Report Card
GJstomer Service Measures Benchmark 2018 Performance Achieved
Percent of custoners satisfied with orr Contact Cer*er seryice,
based on survey results At least !D%96%,/
Percent d custorErs satisfied with field services, based on survey
results At least !D%97?[,/
Percent of calls answecd live within 60 seconds by orr Contact
Certer At least 8096 81.5%,/
Average time from custonEr call to arrival of field technicians in
response to electric system ernergencies, per lear
I{o npre than
55 mindes 42.4 minutes ,/
Average tinte frorn crrbnpr call to aniwl d field teclmicians in
response to natural gas sl/stem erEEencies, peryear
No rnore than
55 minutes 41 minutes ,/
2018 tdaho Seruice Quality Program Results
2018 Performance H ighlights
ln its first year, the l&ho Service Quality Program nnt all benchmar*s set for CustonprService i/hasurcs ard Electric Service
ReliaHliv. This only further enphasizes Avista's cornmitrEnt to prwiding the best pcsiHe custoner ard field services to its
crstomers, as well as prwidng safe, rcliable electric ard natural gas service. Tracking of the Cornpary's perforrnance on
Customer Service Guarantees, including the application of customer credits, began m January 1,,2O15r; as srclr, the amual
resulr for Custoner Service Guarantees in ldaho will be reported for the first tinE once a full program year has passed.
Avista will continue to pursue our missim of imprwing our custorners' lives thror.gh innoative ernrgy solutions into 2O19,
prwiding safe, affordaHe, ard reliable service now and into the future.
Electric System Reliability
S-Year Average
{2014-2018)2018 Result Change in
S-Year Average
Frequency of non-rnajor-storm powEr interruptions, per year, per
customer (SAlFl)1.O1 0.81 -0.o4
Length of po*€r outages per year, per customer (SAlDl)149 Minutes 126 Minutes -2 Minutes
Customer Seryice Guarantees Successful Missed $S Paid
Electric & Natural Gas service appointnrnts
Avista began offerirg CustonnrService Guarantees in
ldaho on January 1,,2019. A S5O bill credit is pruvided in
irstances where the Company is unable to neet a
qualifyry service commitnpnt. Annual results will be
inchded in our 2019 ldaho SeMce Quality Program
Report.
Electric otrtage restoration within 24 hours of notification from
Customer, exclrdim rnaior events
Slitch on power within one busirpss day of request
Prwide cct estirnate for new electric or natural gas supply within
10 br.sirrss days
Investigate ard respond to billing imuiries with 10 business days
lnwstigate clstorrEr-rEpqted proUerr with a nreter, or cdrdJct a
rrEter test and report rcsults wi$rin 20 business day:
Provide rptification at least 24 lrours in advance of disconneairg
service for schedr.ded elecric intemrptions
Totals
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 23
Appendix B - Definitions and Index Calculations
Svstem Average Interruption Frequencv Index (SAIFI): The average number of
sustained intemrptions per customer, per year
The nrxnber of customers whichhad sustained interruptions
Total number of customers served
J\t r
Svstem Average Interruntion Duration Index (SAIDD: The average sustained outage
time per customer, per year
: Outage duration multiplied by the customers effected for all szslalzed
interruotions
Total number of customers served
\rN,
Nr
Quantities:
i : An interruption event;
ri : Restorotion time for eoch intenuption event;
T: Total;
IDn : Number of interuupting device events;
Ni: Number of interuupted customers for each interruption event during the reporting
period;
Nr: Total number of customers servedfor the area being indexed;
Maior Event Dav (MED): A day in which the daily system SAIDI exceeds a threshold
value, TuEo. For the purposes of calculating daily system SAIDI, any intemrption that
spans multiple calendar days is accrued to the day on which the intemrption began.
Statistically, days having a daily system SAIDI greater than Tupn are days on which the
energy delivery system experienced stresses beyond that normally expected (such as severe
weather). Activities that occur on major event days should be separately analyzed and
reported. The purpose of MED is to allow major events to be studied separately from daily
operation, and in the process, to better reveal trends in daily operation that would be hidden
by the large statistical effect of major events.
Tl',rpo is calculated (taken from the IEEE 1366-2003 Standard)
The major event day identification threshold value, Tuen, is calculated at the end of each
reporting period (typically one year) for use during the next reporting period as follows:
a) Collect values of daily SAIDI for five sequential years ending on the last day of
the last complete reporting period. If fewer than five years of historical data are
available, use all available historical data until five years of historical data are
available.
a
Irt
a
a
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 24
o
b) Only those days that have a SAIDI/Day value will be used to calculate the Trr,rpo
(do not include days that did not have any intemrptions).
c) Take the natural logarithm (ln) of each daily SAIDI value in the data set.
d) Find a (Alpha), the average of the logarithms (also known as the log-average) of
the data set.
e) Find b (Beta), the standard deviation of the logarithms (also known as the log-
standard deviation) of the data set.
f) Compute the major event day threshold, TMED, using equation (25).
Tueo: gG+2'5n)
g) Any day with daily SAIDI greater than the threshold value TMED that occurs
during the subsequent reporting period is classified as a major event day. Activities
that occur on days classified as major event days should be separately analyzed and
reported.
When an event has reached the threshold to constitute a MED described in subpart (f)
above, all outage incidents associated with the MED will be flagged in the Company's
Outage Management Tool. As the Company further assesses damage in the field while
making repairs, new subsequent outage incidents that were a result of the MED may be
created as more accurate information is made available. The subsequent incidents will be
flagged and included as part of original outage event and MED.
Avista Utilities - 2018 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 25