Click Here to Download the Customer Service Quality Standards Report

Recently utilities have focused on “Getting Back to Basics,” responding to disruptions caused by the collapse of the merchant market, constrained access to capital, the delivery of merger synergy savings and cost pressures. These recent events have magnified scrutiny of system reliability and overall service quality resulting in:

• Regulatory activism around setting service level standards.
• Inadequate benchmarking standards.
• Lack of consensus regarding appropriate service levels.
• Reluctant retail markets.

Between September 2002 and February 2003, the Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets (CAEM) brought together 25 senior executives (representing the public and private sectors) to begin examining the idea of a customer service standards and a certification program. In March 2003, CAEM issued a Final Report to industry leaders. Over 100 companies and organizations contacted CAEM, expressing interest in the topic and requesting copies of the report.

Based on the results of this study and further discussions with industry and regulators, it was determined that while much information was available on the subject of service quality, there was a void with respect to the use of service quality standards and their impacts.

As a result, CAEM and Navigant Consulting Inc. (Navigant Consulting) teamed to conduct research on Customer Service Quality Standards in the Utilities Industry. The goals of this study were to:

• Provide research and analysis to assist in interpreting the future direction of customer service quality (CSQ) regulation and formulating company strategy.
• Assess the applicability of NARUC’s proposed model rule on call answer time standards.
• Contribute to the ongoing deliberations in the industry as to how regulators should fulfill their public mandate to ensure that regulated utilities deliver acceptable customer service quality to consumers.

The report presents CAEM and Navigant's findings regarding how the regulation of utility customer service quality is evolving and the policy implications of mandated customer standards. As a result of this research, CAEM and Navigant are forming a Customer Care Research Consortium on behalf of utilities who have a common interest in further researching customer service quality issues of related interest.

For more information on the report or the consortium, contact:

Jamie Wimberly, CAEM President, jwimberly@caem.org (202.483.4443)

Peter Shaw, Director, Navigant Consulting, pshaw@navigantconsulting.com (215.832.4429)

Tom Brunetto, Managing Director, Navigant Consulting, tbrunetto@navigantconsulting.com (202.481.8515)