Press Release

PUC Report Indicates Payment Agreement Requests Decrease, Overall Consumer Complaints Decrease While Most Consumers Satisfied with PUC Dealings

Published on 9/30/2011

Filed under: Electric Gas Water and Wastewater Telecommunications

HARRISBURG – Both requests for payment agreements (PARs) and overall consumer complaints about utilities decreased and a majority of customers contacting the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) for assistance rated it as a positive experience, according to the 2010 Utility Consumer Activities Report and Evaluation (UCARE) released by the PUC today.

"Consumer complaints may be on the decline, however, utility customers need to know that resources are available to help them,” said Commission Chairman Robert F. Powelson.  “Consumers should call their utility first. If they are unable to reach an agreement with the utility or are unhappy with that contact, we urge them to call the PUC at 1-800-692-7380 for assistance. Our employees are trained to navigate the various programs designed to help consumers restore and maintain service and, as this report shows, calling the PUC is a positive experience.”

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

Residential electric, natural gas, water and wastewater customers filed 54,363 PARs in 2010 – up just 79 from 54,284 in 2009. Residential customers of the telephone utilities filed 619 PARs, a 34 percent decrease.

The report also shows that 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.  Further, 78 percent rated the service they received from the PUC as “good” or “excellent”.  Most residential consumer complaints about the electric (21 percent) and natural gas (26 percent) industries involved billing disputes.  Billing dispute issues were also the main reason (34 percent) for residential consumer complaints about the telephone industry.

Additional highlights from the 2010 report include:

• 68,659 utility customer contacts to the PUC required review – a 7 percent decrease from 2009.  Of these contacts, 13,341 were consumer complaints and 55,318 were PARs.  In addition, 77,761 consumer contacts in 2010 were classified as inquiries.
• Inquiries increased by 3 percent with 23 percent of inquiries related to termination or suspension of utility service and 17 percent involving CAP issues. Data shows that 6,545 inquiries recorded in 2010 were consumer contacts requesting new PARs that PUC representatives were not able to accommodate for various reasons.
• During 2010, the PUC received 8,207 consumer complaints from residential customers of the electric, natural gas, water and wastewater companies.  Residential customers of telephone utilities lodged 3,395 consumer complaints in 2010.

From 2009 to 2010, the volume of consumer complaints decreased by less than 1 percent in the electric utilities, by 40 percent in the natural gas utilities and by 43 percent in the telecommunications industry.

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 policies 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 are located in Appendix F 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, audio of select Commission proceedings or more information about the PUC, visit our website at www.puc.state.pa.us.

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