Conference Customer Experience Panel Susan R. Corbin, Director - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Michigan Energy Providers Conference

Customer Experience Panel Susan R. Corbin, Director State Response Division Michigan Agency for Energy

• Handle customer complaints/inquiries for gas, electric, alternative

providers, telecommunications and cable

• Accept complaints through agencies 800 number, web and at
• utreach events
• Escalate appropriate complaints/inquiries to providers
• Follow trends in customer complaints and utility reporting
• Protect customer rights/inform customers of their responsibility
• Clarify utility rights and responsibilities
• Direct low income customers to resources

Role of MAE AE/MPS PSC staff aff relate ated to cust stom

• mer

er exper erie ienc nce

3768 3597 3063 3485 4504 3503 3665 3149 2053 1954 1605 1426 1590 1064 1298 1342 8270 3913 2649 2186 2937 2068 4961 2625 4508 3040 1989 2124 2102 1775 2171 1705 117 2552 2670 3539 1834 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000 20000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2008-2015 MAE CUSTOMER CONTACTS

SOURCE: 2008-2015 MPSC ANNUAL REPORTS

Electric Gas, Electric Combined Service Natural Gas Telecommunications Other 10,655 17,208 11,080 13,685 9,338 9,306 12,504 18,599

27,644,182 30,609,877 42,604,269 37,379,678 61,607,502 65,248,665 51,231,931 10,000,000 20,000,000 30,000,000 40,000,000 50,000,000 60,000,000 70,000,000

2008-2015 UTILITY CUSTOMER CONTACTS

SOURCE: 2008-15 CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE REPORTS

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Referred to State Agency 2% Water/Sewage 2% [CATEGORY NAME] [PERCENTAGE] Wrong Number 2% Company Number Provided 2% General Information 3% Hang-Up 3% Attorney General 3% Service Miscellaneous 4% Rates/Surchages 4% Shutoff Protection Plan 4% High Bill 4% Outages/Interruptions 5% [CATEGORY NAME] [PERCENTAGE] MPSC 5% Estimated Billing 5% Billing Charges 6% Responsibility for Bill 6% Shutoff 7% Cancellation of Contract 9% Other Contacts 17%

Michigan Agency for Energy

2015 Customer Energy Complaints

Source: 2015 MAE/MPSC Complaint Data

7,116 Energy Contacts

• Consumer Standards and Billing Practices for Electric and Gas

Residential Service and Billing Practices Applicable to Non-Residential Electric and Gas Customers

• Office of Regulatory Reinvention 2014-037 LR, 2014-038 LR

http://w3.lara.state.mi.us/orr/Rules.aspx?type=dept&id=LR

• U-18120-Schedules public hearing 9:00 AM, September 22, 2016
• Open Investigations
• U-18098-Establishes collaborative to study guidelines, rules and procedures

for emergency medical holds

• U-18099-Investigate DTE’s compliance with rules regarding emergency

medical holds

• Staff report due August 29, 2016

Custom tomer er Ex Experie ienc nce e Updates tes

• Closed Investigations
• U-17844-Consumers Energy report to the Commission on fatality of

resident

• Recommended adoption of rule regarding utility disconnection policies during

extreme weather condition in current rulemaking

• U-18002 Consumers Energy Estimated Billing Practices
• Rules Violations-fine of $515,800
• Provide time and date stamp on customer hazard codes
• Provide post cards and information on other reporting means to customers with

threat of violence on account

• Submit substantive changes to estimated billing procedures
• Remove all pending and future rate case amounts associated with meter

estimation write-offs

• File semi-annual reports for three years

Custom tomer er Ex Experie ienc nce e Updates tes

• Recent Rule Waivers
• U-17863 Consumers Energy Select your own due date
• U-17960 Consumers Energy Pre-pay pilot
• U-17984 Consumers Energy-Shut off Protection Plan changes
• U-17995 UPPCO Budget billing, preferred due date, billing

fractional month’s electric, estimated billing procedures

• U-17880 MGU Minimum payment option-April to September

Custom tomer er Ex Experie ienc nce e Updates tes

MICHIG IGAN AN NEE EED

1.1 million Michigan households have incomes that make them eligible for energy assistance. In 2015, only 47% or roughly 510,000 households received assistance. In 2015, the Michigan 2-1-1 system provided over 679,000 phone-based referrals, with questions related to utility assistance (30.5%) being the #1 reason for calls.

MEAP IS IS ASS SSIS ISTING MICHIGAN’S MO MOST VUL ULNERA NERABL BLE CUS CUSTOM OMERS

25,493 15,710 17,489 14,363 38,697 19,693 15,666 9,911

At least one member age 60 or older At least one member age 2 or younger At least one member age 3,4 or 5 At least one member that is disabled

2014 2015

*Households may fall into more than one category and not all households fall into one of these.

Household Demographics *Of those agencies reporting, on average, 48% of households are employed.

MEA EAP P Update te

In 2014 and 2015 combined, 111,405 households were reported as receiving assistance on budgeting. In 2014 and 2015 combined, 47,952 households were reported as receiving energy services to reduce their energy use.

Approximately 90% of customers were reported as paying bills on time while enrolled in a utility affordable payment program.

A simplified, single application has been developed to be used to apply for energy assistance under the program, decreasing the application from 23 to 3 pages. DHHS and MAE have strenuous eligibility criteria and perform regular audits, to ensure that assistance is going to qualified households. Program has switched from requiring a high cost crisis or shut off notice to preventing a crisis at a lower cost.

Susan Corbin CorbinS@michigan.gov Michigan Agency for Energy 1-800-292-9555 www.michigan.gov/energy

Quest stio ions ns?