Ohio Admin. Code 4901:1-10-09 - Minimum customer service levels

(A) On a calendar monthly basis, each electric utility shall complete the installation of new service or upgrade of service as follows:

(1) Ninety-nine per cent of new service installations requiring no construction of electric facilities shall:

(a) Be completed within three business days, except for meters that are capable of starting and stopping service remotely, after the electric utility has been notified that the service location is ready for service and all necessary tariff and regulatory requirements have been met.

(b) Be completed by the requested installation date, when an applicant requests an installation date more than three business days after the service location is ready for service and all necessary tariff requirements have been met.

(c) Be completed within one business day after the electric utility has been notified that the service location is ready for service and all necessary tariff and regulatory requirements have been met for meters that are capable of starting and stopping service remotely.

(2) Ninety per cent of service upgrades and new service installations that require construction of electric facilities (including the setting of the meter) and that are not primary line extensions shall:

(a) Be completed within ten business days after the electric utility has been notified that the service location is ready for service and all necessary tariff and regulatory requirements have been met.

(b) Be completed by the requested installation date, when an applicant or customer requests an installation date more than ten business days after the service location is ready for service and all necessary tariff requirements have been met.

(3) If an applicant or customer, complies with all pertinent tariff requirements and the electric utility cannot complete the requested service installation or service upgrade as set forth in paragraph (A)(1)(a), (A)(1)(b), (A)(2)(a), or (A)(2)(b) of this rule, then the electric utility shall promptly notify the applicant or customer of the delay, the reasons for the delay, the steps being taken to complete the work, and the probable completion date. The electric utility shall make a reasonable attempt to provide such notification at least one business day prior to the end of the prescribed time interval. If a rescheduled completion date cannot be met, the applicant or customer shall be promptly notified. If the rescheduled completion date is delayed more than two business days, written notification, including email, shall be given, stating the reason(s) for the delay, the steps being taken to complete the work and the new rescheduled completion date. This notification process shall be repeated as necessary. Each subsequent missed completion date shall count as a missed service installation or upgrade pursuant to paragraph (A)(1) or (A)(2) of this rule.

(4) If the electric utility fails to complete the requested service installation or upgrade as set forth in paragraph (A)(1) or (A)(2) of this rule, as a result of a military action, war, insurrection, riot or strike, or as a result of a lack of access to the premises when necessary, then such failure shall not be included in the monthly percentage calculations for this rule. Each electric utility must justify and document in its records each instance where it relies on any of the exceptions listed in this paragraph.

(B) On a calendar monthly basis, each electric utility's average (arithmetic mean) answer time for telephonic customer service calls shall not exceed ninety seconds. An electric utility shall set its queue to minimize the number of disconnected calls and busy signals.

(1) As used in this paragraph, "answer" means the service representative or automated system is ready to render assistance and/or to accept the information necessary to process the call.

(2) Answer time shall be measured from the first ring at the electric utility or at the point the caller begins to wait in queue, whichever comes first.

(3) When an electric utility utilizes a menu-driven, automated, interactive answering system (referred to as the system), the initial recorded message presented by the system to the caller shall only identify the company and the general options available to the caller, including the option of being transferred to a live attendant. At any time during the call, the caller shall be transferred to a live attendant if the caller fails to interact with the system for a period of ten seconds following any prompt.

(4) Callers shall not be delayed from reaching the queue by any promotional or merchandising material not selected by the customer.

(5) When an electric utility is experiencing system related issues or is otherwise unable to accept inbound customer calls, the electric utility shall notify the director of the service monitoring and enforcement department, or his or her designee, of such messaging, and the anticipated timeframe for returning to normal business operations.

(C) Electric utilities shall comply with the following reporting requirements:

(1) When an electric utility fails to meet any minimum service level, as set forth in paragraph (A) or (B) of this rule, for any two months within any twelve-month period, the electric utility shall notify the director of the service monitoring and enforcement department in writing within thirty calendar days after such failure. The notification shall identify any factors that contributed to such failure, as well as any remedial action taken or planned to be taken or rationale for not taking any remedial action. Any failure to report the lack of compliance with the minimum service levels set forth in paragraphs (A) and (B) of this rule constitutes a violation of this rule.

(2) By March thirty-first of each year, each electric utility shall submit an annual report to the director of the service monitoring and enforcement department, setting forth its actual monthly customer service performance data during the previous calendar year as compared with each of the minimum monthly customer service performance levels set forth in paragraphs (A) and (B) of this rule.

(3) Performance data during major events, consistent with that reported in accordance with paragraph (C)(2) of rule 4901:1-10-10 of the Administrative Code, may be excluded from the calculations of actual monthly customer service performance pursuant to paragraphs (A) and (B) of this rule.

Notes

Ohio Admin. Code 4901:1-10-09

Effective: 4/8/2024
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 9/30/2026
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: R.C. 4905.22, 4905.04, 4928.06, 4928.11
Rule Amplifies: R.C. 4905.06, 4905.22, 4905.28, 4928.11
Prior Effective Dates: 07/01/1999, 09/18/2000, 01/01/2004, 06/29/2009, 12/20/2014, 11/01/2021