Press Release

PUC Report Indicates a Decrease in Consumer Complaints for 2006, Most Customer are Satisfied with PUC Dealings

Published on 10/15/2007

Filed under: Electric Gas Water and Wastewater Telecommunications Transportation and Safety

HARRISBURG –  Consumer complaints and inquiries to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) decreased between 2005 and 2006 while a majority of customers contacting the PUC for assistance rated it as a positive experience, according to the 2006 Utility Consumer Activities Report and Evaluation (UCARE) released today.

"While consumer complaints are on the decline, we do want to emphasize to utility consumers that they are not in it alone,” said Commission Chairman Wendell F. Holland. “I would like to take this opportunity to remind consumers that they do have a place to turn when they are having difficulties in dealing with a utility. Consumers should call their utility first. If they are unable to reach an agreement with the utility, call the PUC for assistance at 800-782-1110, after all, the PUC has proven time and time again that calling us is a positive experience.”

The report is an annual evaluation of the customer service and performance of the state’s major jurisdictional electric, natural gas, water and telephone companies. A copy of the report is available on the PUC’s Web site.

About 82 percent of consumers reported that they would contact the PUC again if they had another problem with a utility that they could not resolve with the company.  About 78 percent rated the service they received from the PUC as “good” or “excellent”.  Most electric consumer complaints were about service interruptions (15 percent) while most natural gas consumer complaints (27 percent) dealt with credits and deposit issues Service delivery issues were the main reason (29 percent) for residential consumer complaints about the telephone industry.

Additional highlights from the 2006 report include:

• 70,690 utility customer contacts to the PUC required review – a decrease of 19 percent from 2005.  Of these contacts, 21,310 were consumer complaints and 49,380 were payment arrangements requests (PARs).  In addition, 90,940 consumer contacts in 2006 were classified as inquiries.

• Inquiries decreased by 16 percent with about 27 percent of inquiries related to termination or suspension of utility service and 14 percent involving billing disputes. Data shows that 7,154 inquiries recorded in 2006 were consumer contacts related to new PARs that PUC representatives were not able to accommodate for various reasons.

• During 2006, 11,341 consumer complaints were received from residential customers of the electric, natural gas, water and sewer.  Residential customers of telephone utilities lodged 7,970 consumer complaints in 2006.

• Overall, the number of consumer complaints about natural gas utilities decreased by 3 percent from 2005 to 2006, while the volume of electric consumer complaints decreased by 10 percent.  The volume of consumer complaints about the telecommunications industry decreased by 5 percent.

• Residential customers of the electric, natural gas, water and sewer utilities filed for 46,826 PARs in 2006 – a decrease of about 20 percent. Residential customers of the telephone utilities filed 2,120 PARs , also a decrease of about 20 percent.

To help consumers make accurate comparisons between companies of various sizes, the PUC calculates the number of justified complaints per 1,000 residential customers. A complaint is considered “justified” if the Commission finds that the company did not comply with PUC regulations and polices when handling the dispute. A significant increase in a justified rate would prompt a review of a utility’s complaint handling procedures. Consumer complaint rates and justified consumer complaint rates can be found in Appendix D of the report.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities to ensure safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protect the public interest; educate consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; further economic development; and foster new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner. For recent news releases, or more information about the PUC, visit our Internet homepage www.puc.state.pa.us.

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