businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

Transcription

1 Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW For the period 1 July 200 to 30 June 2010 Electricity Information Paper 2011

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3 Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW For the period 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2010 Electricity Information Paper May 2011

4 Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales 2011 This work is copyright. The Copyright Act 1968 permits fair dealing for study, research, news reporting, criticism and review. Selected passages, tables or diagrams may be reproduced for such purposes provided acknowledgement of the source is included. ISBN The Tribunal members for this review are: Mr Rod Sims, Chairman Mr James Cox PSM, Chief Executive Officer and Full Time Member Ms Sibylle Krieger, Part Time Member Inquiries regarding this document should be directed to a staff member: Gary Drysdale (02) Yan Cheung (02) Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales PO Box Q290, QVB Post Office NSW 1230 Level 8, 1 Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000 T (02) F (02) ii IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

5 Contents 1 Introduction Context for our analysis of distribution customer service standards 2 2 Timely provision of connection services 3 3 Timely notice of planned interruption to supply 4 4 Repair of faulty streetlights 8 5 Call centre responsiveness 12 6 Customer complaints 14 Appendices 17 A Electricity distributor customer service performance data, 2005/06 to 2008/09 19 B Notes and definitions 23 Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART iii

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7 1 Introduction The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) publishes a series of information papers which aim to ensure that all stakeholders, including customers, have ready access to information about electricity distribution and retail businesses. In this information paper we analyse the quality of customer service provided by the 3 NSW electricity distribution companies Country Energy 1, EnergyAustralia 2 and Integral Energy 3. Our key findings for 2009/10 are as follows: NSW electricity distributors performance in providing on-time connection services has remained consistently high. More than 99.99% of total connections were completed by the agreed date compared with 99.98% in 2008/09. The number of planned interruptions to customers electricity supply increased by around 21% in NSW compared with a 54% increase in 2008/09. Most of these planned interruptions were a result of distributors undertaking capital works to maintain network safety and security. In more than 97% of these cases customers were given adequate notice in advance and less than 2% of these interruptions lasted longer than advised. The number of delayed repairs to faulty street lights rose by 8.9% compared with 0.6% in 2008/09. The large increase was caused by Country Energy s previous under-reporting - an error that was identified in an audit of network distributors operating statistics in Despite the increase in number of delayed repairs, the average number of days taken to repair streetlight faults fell to 15 working days, compared with an average of 26 working days in 2008/09. NSW distributors have improved their call centre performance from last year. Overall, the percentage of calls that were abandoned or dropped out decreased to 17.6% of all calls compared with 22.4% in 2008/09. Country Energy reported the largest improvement. Its abandonment rate fell from 34.4% in 2008/09 to 26.8% in 2009/10. 4 Integral Energy s abandonment rate was almost halved to 3.4%. EnergyAustralia also reported a small reduction in its abandonment rate to 10.9%. 1 As at 1 March 2011, Country Energy s network service business changed its business name to Essential Energy. 2 As at 1 March 2011, EnergyAustralia s network service business changed its business name to Ausgrid. 3 As at 1 March 2011, Integral Energy s network service business changed its business name to Endeavour Energy. 4 Country Energy advised there were reporting limitations within its phone system to record this statistic accurately; hence the higher than average call abandonment rate. The rate of call abandonment is measured by the number of calls abandoned or dropped out as a percentage of total calls received by the distributor s call centre. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 1

8 Overall call centre responsiveness also improved in NSW distributors customer contact centres. The percentage of calls answered by a human operator within 30 seconds increased to 73.9%, compared with 66.8% in 2008/09. Call centre responsiveness for Integral Energy (90.2%) and EnergyAustralia (82.6%) remained high. Country Energy recorded an improvement to 62.5% compared with 51.4% reported in 2008/09. 5 The level of complaints by small retail customers to their distributors about network matters remains low (less than 0.3% overall in NSW). Of these complaints, around 86% were made by residential small retail customers. 1.1 Context for our analysis of distribution customer service standards Under the current regulatory regime, electricity distribution companies are required to meet guaranteed customer service standards (GCSS) and collect and report on a range of operating statistics. The GCSS establish the minimum standard of customer service that electricity distribution companies must provide in a variety of service areas. Some GCSS also require the companies to make a specified payment to the customers concerned if they fail to meet these standards. Operating statistics indicate how well the business is performing in a range of areas related to customer service, including the extent to which it is meeting the GCSS. We monitor and assess each company s performance against customer service indicators/operating statistics based on the GCSS. In this information paper we have provided an overview of our assessment of the 3 companies performance for the period 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010 in relation to: timely provision of connection services timely notice of planned interruptions to supply repair of faulty streetlights provision of telephone services, and customer complaints. This information paper does not include electricity distribution businesses performance against design, reliability and performance licence conditions. The businesses report against these conditions separately to Trade & Investment, Regional Infrastructure & Services (formerly Industry & Investment NSW). 6 5 Country Energy s poorer call centre performance in 2008/09 was a result of significant flood events in its distribution areas. Its call centre was inundated with calls from customers whose supply was affected by the storms and flooding. 6 Licence conditions relating to reliability performance were imposed on licences held by electricity distribution network service providers in August 2005 and further revised in December Distribution businesses are required to report on the reliability licence conditions directly to the Minister/ Trade & Investment, Regional Infrastructure & Services as the technical regulator. 2 IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

9 Further details on each indicator are provided in the sections below, including comparative analysis of distributors performance over the 5-year period to 30 June Timely provision of connection services NSW electricity distributors are required to connect customers to the network by the date agreed with the customer. If distributors do not meet this GCSS, they are required to pay the customer concerned, by way of compensation for the delay, not less than $60 for each day the connection was delayed (with a maximum payment of $300 in relation to any one service). 7 Figure 2.1 Number of network connections provided after the agreed date Country Energy EnergyAustralia Integral Energy Figure 2.1 shows the number of supply connections that were not completed by the agreed date over the period 2005/06 to 2009/10. In 2009/10, NSW distributors reported that only 20 out of a total of 251,100 connections effected by NSW distributors were not completed by the agreed date. This represents 0.008% of the total supply connections provided during the year. An audit of electricity distributors operating statistics conducted in 2008/09 8 found that NSW distributors re-negotiated supply connection dates with customers for practical reasons such as site considerations and building issues. NSW distributors generally report this statistic based on the most recently negotiated date. 7 Electricity Supply (General) Regulation 2001, Guaranteed customer service standard pursuant to clause 40 and Schedule 3, Part 2, clause /09 Audit of Design, Reliability and Performance Licence Conditions for EnergyAustralia, Country Energy and Integral Energy. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 3

10 This statistic has limited value as a performance indicator as there are currently no specific target timeframes within which distributors must provide supply connections to their customers. 9 Figure 2.2 below compares the value of payments made to customers by distributors as compensation for not being connected to a network by the agreed date. It shows a downward trend in the amount of compensation paid. This is consistent with the decreasing number of delayed connections. Figure 2.2 Value of compensation paid for not providing connections by the agreed date 3 Timely notice of planned interruption to supply NSW electricity distributors are required to give customers at least 2 business days notice of any planned interruptions to supply and must specify how long the interruption will last. If they fail to give the required notice or the interruption lasted longer than indicated, they must pay the affected customers not less than $20 per event as compensation The Minister for Energy determines the indicators to be reported by NSW distributors in their annual operating statistics report. IPART does not have the power to change these indicators. 10 Electricity Supply (General) Regulation 2001, Guaranteed customer service standard pursuant to clause 40 and Schedule 3, Part 2, clause IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

11 Figure 3.1 Number of planned interruptions to supply Figure 3.1 shows that the number of planned interruptions to supply in 2009/10 was about 21% higher than last year. Distributors advised that this increase was primarily due to an increased level of capital investment and infrastructure construction. The number of planned interruptions in Country Energy s network rose by around 36%, accounting for most of the increase in planned interruptions to supply. Country Energy s higher levels of planned interruptions may also be attributed to the design of its distribution network and its large distribution area. Country Energy s network is prominently overhead and radial. It does not offer the same flexibility as the underground and meshed network used in metropolitan areas. The extent to which Country Energy can reroute supply and avoid planned interruptions while undertaking maintenance work is limited. Country Energy reported that it is implementing work practices to reduce the number of planned interruptions to supply where possible. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 5

12 Figure 3.2 Percentage of planned interruptions to supply where insufficient notice was given Figures 3.2 shows the percentage of planned interruption to supply where insufficient notice was given. Overall, sufficient notice was given for 97.5% of planned interruptions to supply in 2009/10, compared with 96.8% in 2008/09 and 95.7% in 2007/08. Although there were more planned interruptions in 2009/10, this indicator shows a majority of affected customers were provided with adequate notice. Figure 3.3 Percentage of planned interruptions to supply that lasted longer than advised 6 IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

13 Figure 3.3 shows the percentage of those planned interruption to supply that lasted longer than advised. Overall, the percentage of planned interruptions to supply that lasted longer than advised in NSW remained stable at below 2% in 2009/10. Country Energy reported that 2.4% of planned interruptions lasted longer than expected; Integral Energy - 0.6% and EnergyAustralia - 0.3%. Country Energy s network generally experienced a higher incidence of over-runs than other distributors. There are several factors that contribute to this trend. In particular its distribution area cover 95% of NSW and its network comprises 200,000 kilometres of lines and 1.4 million power poles across urban, mountainous, coastal tableland and outback environments. Country Energy stated that over-runs are inevitable under these conditions however it continues to monitor its performance and expects further improvements in 2010/11. Figure 3.4 Value of compensation paid for planned interruptions where insufficient notice was given or the interruption lasted longer than specified a a Some distributors have adopted the policy to only make payments on customer application; therefore the value of compensation remains low for some distributors. Figure 3.4 shows the amount of payments made to customers as compensation for insufficient notice or supply interruptions lasting longer than advised. Consistent with figures 3.1 and 3.3, Country Energy paid the highest amount of compensation in 2009/10 (approximately $31,200) due to the higher incidence of insufficient notice or over-runs associated with planned supply interruption. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 7

14 4 Repair of faulty streetlights NSW electricity distributors are required to repair faulty streetlights by the date agreed with the customer who reported the fault. 11 If the distributor does not complete the repair by the agreed date, it must pay to the customer, by way of compensation for the loss of illumination, not less than $15 per light. 12 Figure 4.1 Number of streetlight faults reported by each distributor 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Country Energy EnergyAustralia Integral Energy Figure 4.1 shows the overall numbers of reported faulty streetlights in 2009/10 were largely unchanged from the previous year. In recent years, both Integral Energy and EnergyAustralia have progressively replaced older streetlights with new technology. This is reflected in lower levels of streetlight faults being reported. Country Energy has also upgraded its system and has consistently reported lower numbers of faulty streetlights each year. 11 This GCSS applies to street lighting that is owned by the DNSP or that the DNSP is under a legally enforceable obligation to maintain, but does not apply to street lighting to which the DNSP just supplies electricity or connection services. 12 Electricity Supply (General) Regulation 2001, Guaranteed customer service standard pursuant to clause 40 and Schedule 3, Part 2, clause IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

15 Figure 4.2 Average number of working days taken to repair streetlight faults reported by each distributor Figure 4.2 shows NSW distributors took on average between 2 to 10 working days to repair reported streetlight faults in 2009/10 (compared with an average of 3 to 19 working days in 2008/09). The NSW Public Lighting Code (the Code) provides that, as a minimum standard of service, distributors should repair streetlight faults within an average of 8 working days of it being reported. Integral Energy and EnergyAustralia have consistently met the minimum standard for repairing faulty streetlights as required under the Code (within 3 to 4 working days). Country Energy has reported significant improvement but its repair service standard is still below the minimum requirement. In 2009/10, Country Energy reported it took an average of 10 working days to repair faulty streetlights. It is regularly upgrading its street lighting in a maintenance program aimed at reducing the number of faults. Country Energy will continue to monitor and improve its performance in this area. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 9

16 Figure 4.3 Percentage of streetlight faults repair not completed by the agreed date 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Country Energy EnergyAustralia Integral Energy Figure 4.3 shows the percentage of reported streetlight faults that were not repaired by the agreed date. EnergyAustralia and Integral Energy repaired faulty streetlights by the agreed date 99.5% of the time. Country Energy reported that only 66% of faulty streetlights reported were repaired by the agreed date. The apparent large increase in delays compared with previous years was due to previous underreporting by Country Energy that was identified in an audit of its operating statistics. In 2008/09, NSW distributors operating statistics were audited as part of the annual network audit for design reliability and performance standards. 13 The audit identified that Country Energy was incorrectly reporting this indicator. It had reported the number of compensation claims paid due to delays as opposed to the total number of times it failed to repair the streetlight by the required time. In 2009/10, Country Energy has correctly reported this indicator for the first time. Country Energy has implemented new reporting guidelines that prioritise faulty streetlights that were approaching their deadline for repairs to enable maintenance workers to better manage the process. With these new initiatives, Country Energy expects an improved performance in 2010/ /09 Audit of Design, Reliability and Performance License Conditions for EnergyAustralia, Country Energy and Integral Energy. 1 0 IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

17 Figure 4.4 Value of compensation paid for failing to complete street light fault repairs by the agreed date $7,000 $6,000 $5,000 $4,000 $3,000 $2,000 $1,000 $0 Country Energy EnergyAustralia Integral Energy Figure 4.4 shows the value of compensation paid by NSW distributors to customers for delays in faulty street lighting repairs. Overall, the value of compensation paid for breaching this GCSS reduced by around 30% in 2009/10. As both EnergyAustralia and Integral Energy repaired faulty streetlights by the agreed date in a vast majority of cases, the value of compensation paid was very low. The value of compensation paid by Country Energy dropped by 25% in 2009/10. Country Energy advised that it does not automatically pay compensation to customers who reported streetlight faults when repairs were not completed on time. Country Energy assesses each claim on a case-by-case basis to determine a customer s eligibility. It found that most customers were not eligible to be compensated Schedule 3, Part 2, clause 12(3) of the Electricity Supply (General) Regulation 2001 provides that to qualify to receive compensation under this GCS, it must be shown that the customer s premises about the part of the street that (but for the fault) would ordinarily be illuminated by the street lighting. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 11

18 5 Call centre responsiveness Electricity distributors are required, as a guaranteed customer service standard, to operate a telephone service that operates on a number to which a person can be connected for not more than the price of a local telephone call. 15 The telephone service must be capable of receiving notice of, and giving information concerning, faults and difficulties in the distributor s network. An automated answering service satisfies this requirement only if it makes provision for the transfer of calls to a human operator. Figure 5.1 Percentage of calls that were abandoned or dropped out before being answered by a human operator 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Country Energy EnergyAustralia Integral Energy Figure 5.1 compares the percentage of calls to distributors telephone services that were abandoned or dropped out before being answered by a human operator. Overall, around 17.6% of calls to distributors call centres were abandoned or dropped out before being answered by a human operator compared with 22.4% in 2008/09. All 3 NSW distributors reported lower levels of call abandonment rates in 2009/10 compared with last year s call centre performance. In 2009/10, Integral Energy further reduced its abandonment rate to 3.4% from 6.0% in 2008/09. EnergyAustralia s abandonment rate fell marginally to 10.9% (11.1% in 2008/09). Country Energy reported the highest abandonment rate at 26.8% however its performance has improved from last year (34.4% in 2008/09). 15 Electricity Supply (General) Regulation 2001, Guaranteed customer service standard pursuant to clause 40 and Schedule 3, Part 2, clause IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

19 In 2008/09, several of Country Energy s distribution areas were affected by flood events that caused a number of power outages. Its call centre was inundated with calls from customers whose supply was affected by the floods. Without these extreme weather events in 2009/10, Country Energy s call centre performance appears to have returned to its previous level. Like other distributors, Country Energy utilises an Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) system that plays recorded messages to advise customers of network interruptions and the areas affected when it becomes aware of any outages or supply interruptions. However, Country Energy s IVR system is unable to distinguish between customers who have their inquiries answered by the recorded information and customers whose inquiries were not addressed and subsequently abandon the call due to lengthy waiting periods. As such, Country Energy s higher call abandonment rate may not accurately reflect its performance. Country Energy advised that a project is underway to review its IVR system. Figure 5.2 Percentage of calls answered by a human operator within 30 seconds 120% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Country Energy EnergyAustralia Integral Energy Figure 5.2 shows the percentage of calls that were answered by a human operator within 30 seconds in NSW electricity distributors call centres. Where an automated answering system is used, data is collected on the number of calls answered within 30 seconds of the system directing a caller to an operator or where a caller indicates a preference to be connected to an operator. Overall, 73.9% of calls to distributors call centres were answered by a human operator within 30 seconds in 2009/10 compared with 66.8% in 2008/09. The level of call centre responsiveness was consistently high for both EnergyAustralia (82.6%) and Integral Energy (90.2%) in 2009/10. Country Energy reported improvement in its call centre responsiveness in 2009/10 with around 62.5% of calls answered within 30 seconds compared with 51.4% in 2008/09. For reasons outlined above, reporting limitations within Country Energy s IVR system may have contributed to its below average call centre performance compared with other NSW distributors. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 13

20 6 Customer complaints Figure 6.1 shows the total number of customer complaints to NSW distributors about electricity network service matters in NSW. This performance measure is defined as the number of small retail customers who have contacted their distributor to express dissatisfaction with some aspect of the service and seek a resolution. The indicator includes customer complaints to the distributor about network service matters and its failure to observe its procedures. Figure 6.1 Customer complaints as a percentage of distributors total small retail residential customers 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0% Country Energy EnergyAustralia Integral Energy The overall number of customer complaints about network service matters was generally low. Around 86% of these complaints were made by residential small retail customers. When expressed as a percentage of the total number of residential small retail customers in NSW, the per capita rate of complaints was 0.22% in 2009/10 compared with 0.24% reported last year. EnergyAustralia reported a low per capita complaint rate of 0.07% in 2009/10. Integral Energy has progressively reduced its per capita complaint rate to 0.23%. Although Country Energy s per capita complaint rate increased marginally, it remains low at under 0.6%. Country Energy advised that the rise in complaints may be attributed to the significant amount of capital investment it has made on its network. The regular network upgrades increased the number of planned interruptions to its customers and resulted in a higher number of customer complaints. In Figure 6.2, we compared the complaints data published in the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) Annual Report 2009/10 with those reported by NSW distributors for the same period. Please note that the complaints made to EWON generally represent only a small subset of the complaints made directly to the distributors themselves. Nevertheless, EWON statistics and those reported by the distributors are consistent in showing that complaints related to network service (ie, 1 4 IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

21 the categories of supply 2% and provision 2%) are low compared with retail complaints. Figure 6.2 Types of electricity complaints reported to EWON 2009/10a 6% 2% 2% 0% 1% Billing Credit 13% 15% 38% Customer service Transfer Marketing Supply Provision Land General 23% a Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW, Annual Report 2009/10, p 19. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 15

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23 Appendices Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 7

24 8 IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

25 A Electricity distributor customer service performance data, 2005/06 to 2008/09 Table A.1 Number of connections provided after the agreed date Country Energy Integral Energy EnergyAustralia Grand Total Table A.2 Value of compensation paid for late connections Country Energy $7,800 $4,980 $3,720 $2,880 $2,400 Integral Energy $240 $120 $120 $240 - EnergyAustralia - $ $360 Grand Total $8,040 $5,400 $3,840 $3,120 $2,760 Table A.3 Number of planned interruptions to supply Country Energy 5,436 5,375 7,117 12,030 16,321 Integral Energy 3,480 3,062 3,113 4,082 4,187 EnergyAustralia 1,615 1,335 2,464 3,443 3,133 Grand Total 10,531 9,772 12,694 19,555 23,641 Table A.4 Percentage of planned interruptions to supply where insufficient notice was given Country Energy 6.8% 7.6% 6.9% 4.4% 2.9% Integral Energy 4.4% 1.5% 1.2% 1.0% 1.0% EnergyAustralia 4.8% 5.8% 1.0% 1.7% 2.7% Grand Total 5.7% 5.4% 4.3% 3.2% 2.5% Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 19

26 Table A.5 Percentage of planned interruptions to supply that lasted longer than advised Country Energy 2.2% 2.5% 2.9% 2.3% 2.4% Integral Energy 1.2% 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 0.5% EnergyAustralia 0.0% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.3% Grand Total 1.5% 1.6% 1.8% 1.5% 1.8% Table A.6 Value of compensation paid where insufficient notice was given or planned interruptions to supply lasted longer than advised Country Energy $30,315 $34,040 $40,460 $57,020 $31,180 Integral Energy $3,940 $1,420 $1,320 $1,100 $1,280 EnergyAustralia $1,515 $1,640 $580 $1,270 $1,880 Grand Total $35,770 $37,100 $42,360 $59,390 $34,340 Table A.7 Number of reported streetlight faults Country Energy 15,005 12,748 12,516 11,789 11,501 Integral Energy 15,403 10,872 18,592 15,901 15,604 EnergyAustralia 23,179 19,049 19,440 17,129 17,609 Grand Total 53,587 42,669 50,548 44,819 44,714 Table A.8 Average number of working days to repair streetlight faults Country Energy Integral Energy EnergyAustralia Grand Total IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

27 Table A.9 Value of compensation paid for not completing streetlight faults by agreed date Country Energy $2,355 $1,050 $1,305 $2,025 $1,515 Integral Energy $225 $825 $5,925 $1,590 $1,275 EnergyAustralia $5,970 $2,865 $5,045 $495 $105 Grand Total $8,550 $4,740 $12,275 $4,110 $2,895 Table A.10 Percentage of calls abandoned or dropped out Country Energy 42.6% 31.1% 27.4% 34.4% 26.8% Integral Energy 3.2% 8.7% 3.8% 6.0% 3.4% EnergyAustralia 10.5% 15.7% 10.8% 11.1% 10.9% Grand Total 25.1% 20.3% 17.4% 22.4% 17.6% Table A.11 Percentage of calls answered by a human operator within 30 seconds Country Energy 47.2% 0.0% 61.4% 51.4% 62.5% Integral Energy 89.0% 70.9% 96.2% 92.0% 90.2% EnergyAustralia 81.3% 74.3% 81.1% 79.7% 82.6% Grand Total 65.8% 46.2% 74.4% 66.8% 73.9% Table A.12 Percentage of complaints by small retail customers about network matters Country Energy 0.40% 0.32% 0.35% 0.49% 0.58% Integral Energy 0.47% 0.43% 0.33% 0.29% 0.23% EnergyAustralia 0.10% 0.10% 0.11% 0.09% 0.07% Grand Total 0.27% 0.24% 0.22% 0.24% 0.22% Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 21

28 Table A.13 Total numbers for all performance indicators Performance indicators Number of connections as at 30 June 3,150,976 3,181,358 3,214,477 3,237,132 3,274,315 Number of residential small retail 2,758,229 2,806,201 2,834,295 2,857,092 2,829,152 connections Number of non-residential small retail 372, , , , ,751 connections Total small retail connections 3,130,646 3,161,792 3,193,444 3,215,305 3,251,903 Number of calls made to this service 1,231,710 1,302,271 1,129,277 1,088, ,131 Number of calls abandoned or 309, , , , ,483 dropped out Number of calls answered within 810, , , , , seconds Number of connections provided by 316, , , , ,100 the DNSP Number of connections provided after the agreed date Total value of compensation paid for 8,040 5,400 3,840 3,120 2,760 connections after agreed date ($) Number of planned interruptions to 10,531 9,772 12,694 19,555 23,641 supply Number where insufficient notice was given Number interrupted for longer than advised Total value of compensation paid for insufficient notice or interruptions lasting longer than advised ($) 35,770 37,100 42,360 59,390 34,340 Total number of reported street light faults Number of times where repairs were late Total value of compensation paid for repair of streetlights ($) Number of complaints by small retail customers about network matters Number of complaints from residential small retail customers Number of complaints from non - residential small retail customers 53,587 42,669 50,548 44,819 44,714 1, , ,978 8,550 4,740 12,275 4,110 2,895 7,382 6,679 6,372 6,796 6,351 6,760 6,085 5,809 6,164 5, IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

29 B Notes and definitions The following notes and definitions are provided to NSW electricity distributors for reporting of performance indicators. B.1 Customers Customer means the person in whose name an electricity account is held under one supply contract. Small retail customer means a customer whose electricity consumption in NSW is no more than 160 megawatt hours per annum. Residential small retail customer means a small retail customer who uses their premises primarily for residential purposes. Non-residential small retail customer means a small retail customer who uses their premises primarily for non-residential purposes. B.2 Telephone service for reporting network faults The resulting measures that may be used in IPART s compliance report are: Percentage of calls answered within 30 seconds. Percentage of calls that dropped out or were abandoned by the caller. These measures are based upon a guaranteed customer service standard established under clause 40 and Schedule 3, Part 2, clause 11of the Electricity Supply (General) Regulation A connection contract between a distributor and a small retail customer must require a distributor to provide a telephone service that operates on a number to which a person can be connected for not more than the price of a local telephone call and that can receive notice of, and give information concerning, faults and difficulties in the distributors electricity works. An automated answering service satisfies this requirement only if it makes provision for the transfer of calls to a human operator. B.3 Timely provision of services The resulting measures that may be used in IPART s compliance report are: Number of connections not undertaken by the agreed date. Value of compensation paid for not providing connection services by the agreed date. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 23

30 These measures are based upon a guaranteed customer service standard established under clause 40 and Schedule 3, Part 2, clause 9 of the Electricity Supply (General) Regulation A connection contract between a distributor and a small retail customer must provide that if the distributor fails to provide a connection service under the contract on or before the date agreed between the distributor and the customer (or the customer s representative) as the date by which the service is to be provided, the distributor is to pay to the customer, by way of compensation for the delay, not less than $60 for each day that elapses between the agreed date and the date by which the service is actually provided. The contract must provide that the maximum amount payable in relation to any one service is $300. B.4 Timely notice of planned interruptions to supply The resulting measures that may be used in IPART s compliance report are: Number of planned interruptions to supply. Number of planned interruptions to supply where the Licence Holder did not provide the required notice to affected customers. Number of planned interruptions to supply where a Licence Holder interrupted supply longer than indicated in the relevant customer notice. Value of compensation paid to customers for not providing the required notice or for interrupting supply for longer than indicated in the notice. These measures are based upon a guaranteed customer service standard established under clause 40 and Schedule 3, Part 2, clause 10 of the Electricity Supply (General) Regulation A connection contract between a distributor and a small retail customer must provide that, if the distributor fails to provide to the customer at least 2 business days notice of any interruption by the distributor to the customer s supply of electricity, or interrupts the customer s supply of electricity for longer than the time indicated in any such notice, the distributor must pay the customer, by way of compensation for the interruption to supply, not less than $20. B.5 Repair of faulty street lights Average number of days to repair faulty street lights = Total number of street light repair days/total number of reported street light faults The resulting measures that may be used in IPART s compliance report are: Number of reported street light faults. Number of street light repairs that were not completed by the date agreed with the person reporting the fault. Percentage of street light repairs that were not completed by the date agreed with the person reporting the fault. 24 IPART Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW

31 Average number of days to repair faulty street lights. Value of compensation paid to eligible persons for not completing street light repairs by the agreed date. These measures are based upon a guaranteed customer service standard established under clause 40 and Schedule 3, Part 2, clause 12 of the Electricity Supply (General) Regulation A connection contract between a distributor and a small retail customer must provide that, if the distributor fails to repair faulty street lighting on or before the date agreed between the customer and the distributor as the date by which the repair is to be completed, the distributor must pay to the customer, by way of compensation for the loss of illumination, not less than $15. This standard applies to street lighting that is owned by the distributor or that the distributor is under a legally enforceable obligation to maintain, but does not apply to street lighting to which the distributor merely supplies electricity or connection services. It also only applies in respect of the customer if the customer s premises about the part of the street that (but for the fault) would ordinarily be illuminated by the street lighting. B.6 Complaints Complaint means a written or verbal expression of dissatisfaction about an action, a proposed action, or a failure to act by a Licence Holder, its employees, agents or contractors. This includes failure by a Licence Holder to observe its published or agreed practices or procedures. It does not include a complaint made about the Licence Holder to any other body. The resulting measures that may be used in IPART s compliance report are: Proportion of residential small retail customers that complained about distribution network service matters. Proportion of non-residential small retail customers that complained about distribution network service matters. IPART will seek information from EWON on the number of small retail customers who took their complaint about a distributor s service to EWON. Distribution businesses performance against customer service indicators in NSW IPART 25

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