Alexis Bechtel Director, PA PUC, Bureau of Consumer Services Kathy O’Brien Customer Assistance & Complaints Division Chief CACD Chief, Call Center Operations and Informal Consumer Complaints September 16, 2015 Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Bureau of Consumer Services

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2014 was an anomalous year was an anomalous year.  BCS began 2014 with a caseload of 4,200 cases – unprecedentedly LOW. o February – the Perfect Storm : polar vortex, variable rates, consumers unaccustomed to shopping and managing their commodity rates o By mid-July the caseload had grown to over 20,000 open cases (where the normal range would have been about 8,000).  Last year BCS took in approximately 14,000 more cases than normal (70,000 is normal, in 2014 we took in 84,000).  Last year BCS answered 56,000 more calls than we normally handle (approx. 180,000 is normal, in 2014 we answered close to 236,000 calls). 3

We Need your Help!  BCS has been working on closing that gap, but – We Need your Help!  Warm Transfer  Warm Transfer and the related RSI and CURE programs are a way that the companies can help close this gap and gain/retain customer satisfaction. o Verizon’s Warm Transfer program: A pilot started in 2009, recently made permanent by Order of the Commission. As cases are taken in by PUC staff, complainants are offered the option to be transferred to a select team of Company representatives who are prepared to handle and expedite the resolution of PUC calls.  only service related case-types  Approximately 98% satisfaction rate o RSI RSI o RSI = Resolution & Settlement Initiative. Launched in late August of 2014, the RSI is a voluntary program where in the past year companies have voluntarily reached out to contact and resolve over 1,000 of their PUC Informal Consumer Complaints (closed their PUC cases). CURECURE o The CURE program (Customer/Utility Resolution Effort) is a pilot program with two gas and electric utilities (PECO and UGI). Launched in May, 2015, It is similar to the RSI but is not entirely voluntary in that there are 12 select case types where the complainants must be contacted and results provided to the BCS to report back to the Commission.  Participating in these programs is a WIN:WIN for all parties involved. It’s quick resolution – less paperwork for the Company & Commission - and it puts the company back in the good graces of its customers. You’re helping to fix the problem. 4

 Completely voluntary  Approximately Electric, Gas, and Water companies participating  Over 1,000 cases closed between August 2014 to present  While BCS is not collecting data on attempts, o Companies are reporting an approximate 12% closure rate for the select case types o Columbia Gas has been running a similar program for years very successfully in PA, VA, & MD (not tracked by the PUC/BCS) 5

How does it work?  When the company receives PUC case information through the Data Exchange feed o Company compliance staff reviews and selects cases where they feel they can satisfy or resolve the issue o The company contacts the complainant via or phone o If resolved, confirmation of a resolution is sent by both parties to BCS – OR o The company representative and complainant can call BCS and leave a message (together) indicating satisfaction and giving the BCS permission to close the case o These messages and/or s serve as a “certificates of satisfaction” and allow BCS to close these cases (with a follow-up to the complainant, if necessary) o 14 – 21 Day Turnaround 6

Participation in the Pilot: PECO & the UGI Companies Why are we doing this now?  The Commission was interested in expediting the expansion of Verizon’s successful Warm Transfer program to aid in returning caseload to a manageable level.  BCS felt the CURE to be a less technically challenging alternative and felt it gave the companies more control and flexibility in handling what are already primarily disgruntled customers. 7

Differences in the program (vs. RSI):  Formal review and reporting to the Commission at 6-month intervals  Not voluntary for pre-selected case-types What are the case types? We avoided straight payment related cases and stuck to cases related to: 1.Storm, weather, outages, and safety related 2.Service related issues (variety) 3.Inability to reach the company for any reason 4.Billing disputes, rate complaints, confusion about bills, competition related billing explanations, and CAP/customer assistance plan billing explanations 5.Security deposits (existing customers and/or applicants) 6.Payment Arrangement Requests combined with a dispute 8

9  994 Customers Eligible  209 Successfully CUREd (21%)  235 Unsuccessful (various reasons) (23%)  524 Not Attempted (53%)  Individual Success Rate (through August 31, 2015) o PECO 20% o UGI 12%

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 Thank you to everyone who is participating in these programs.  We are pleased at the number of companies that have joined the RSI (voluntary program).  We need more of you to reach out to your customers and fix what you can.  Our goal is for companies to resolve 25% of their PUC Consumer Complaints (excluding PARs)  Every closure is a success story for all parties to the case (WIN : WIN : WIN) 11

12 Alexis Bechtel Director, PA PUC, Bureau of Consumer Services Kathy O’Brien CACD Chief, Call Center Operations and Informal Consumer Complaints Matt Hrivnak – CACD Chief, Competition and Informal Consumer Complaints Dan Romage – Manager - Training, Innovations, Quality, and Systems Sasha Oberheim – CURE / RSI / WT Project Leader

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PECO Customer Utility Resolution Effort (CURE)

Benefits of CURE process Satisfied customer Quick closing /decision from BCS More efficient No written report with two year chronology. No billing statements No review process prior to sending report No request for revisions Not considered for Justified and/or Infraction determination Win/Win for Customer and Utility 15

Cases Opened May 1, 2015 – September 1, SUCCESSFULUNSUCCESSFUL CURE Cases Opened CURE Status Pending# CURE% CURE Not Attempted by Company Customer Not Satisfied Customer Refused Failed Contact Attempts CURE Case Opened in Error %

17 CURE – Customer & Utility Resolution Effort Unsuccessful CURE - Not Attempted by Company317 ON - PAR WITH DISPUTE (#63)106 APPLICANT/DEPOSITS - SERVICE IS ON (# 28)70 CAP DISPUTE (#67)53 BILLING DISPUTES (# 18)46 SECURITY DEPOSIT - EXISTING CUSTOMER (# 72)17 SCHED DELAYS, PERSONNEL, DAMAGES (# 58)9 SERVICE (CO. FACILITIES) (# 48)8 EXPERIENCING A STORM/OUTAGE (# 02)5 ACCESS / DIFFICULTY CONTACTING CO (#17)3 Cases Opened833 CURE Status Pending187 Successful CURE146 % Successful CURE18% Unsuccessful CURE - Not Attempted by Company317 Unsuccessful CURE - Customer Not Satisfied87 Unsuccessful CURE - Customer Refused3 Unsuccessful CURE - Failed Contact Attempts73 CURE Case Opened in Error20 23% Successful of those completed 146/646 High likelihood that 87% of those not attempted are credit related

18 UGI CURE Chris Ann Rossi Manager, Customer Services Rose Williams Supervisor, Regulatory Compliance Ann Blaskiewicz Customer Care Analyst and CURE Lead

19 Background 19 Prior to pilot, UGI was not largely involved with RSI Started CURE pilot at UGI Gas Ramped up to include 3 of the 4 UGI companies on same CIS and Web Exchange Invested in 1 full time FTE to support project Initially contacted via call, added

20 UGI Statistics 20

21 Current Status 21

22 What’s Next Continue to Analyze Improvement Areas Monitor Progress Discuss Key Findings Offer Suggestions for Improvements 22

23 Questions? 23