Pennsylvania Code › Title 52 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part I - Public Utility Commission › Subpart C - Fixed Service Utilities › Chapter 62 - NATURAL GAS SUPPLY CUSTOMER CHOICE › Subchapter B - REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALITY OF SERVICE BENCHMARKS AND STANDARDS › Section 62.32 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this
						subchapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
						otherwise:
Act
-Chapter 22 of 66 Pa.C.S. (relating
						to the natural gas choice and competition act).
BCS
-Bureau of Consumer Services of the
						Commission.
Busy-out rate
-The number of calls to an
						NGDC's call center or business office that received a busy signal divided by
						the number of calls that were received.
Call center
-A centralized facility
						established by a utility for transactions concerning installation and repair of
						service, billing and other inquiries between residential and small commercial
						customers and NGDCs representatives, but not including special purpose call
						centers established to respond to service emergencies and operating for a
						temporary period of time.
Call abandonment rate
-The number of
						calls to an NGDC's call center or business office that were abandoned divided
						by the total number of calls received.
Customer
-A retail gas customer as
						defined in section 2202 of the act (relating to definitions).
Informal consumer complaint
-An appeal by
						a consumer to the BCS about a utility's proposed resolution of a dispute
						related to billing, service delivery, repairs and all other issues not related
						to requests for payment arrangements.
Informally verified infraction
-An
						apparent misapplication of Commission regulations as determined by the BCS
						through its examination of information obtained as part of its review of
						informal consumer complaints and payment arrangement requests.
(i) The informal verification process
					 implemented by the BCS notifies a utility of the information which forms the
					 basis of an alleged infraction, affords the utility the opportunity to affirm
					 or deny the accuracy of the information and concludes with a BCS determination
					 regarding the alleged infraction.
(ii) An informally verified infraction is not
					 equivalent to a formal violation under
					 66 Pa.C.S. §
												3301
					 (relating to civil penalties for violations) unless otherwise determined
					 through applicable Commission procedures.
Infraction
-A misapplication of a
						Commission regulation, particularly the standards and billing practices for
						residential service.
Infraction rate
-The number of informally
						verified infractions, as determined by the BCS, per 1,000 residential
						customers.
Justified informal consumer complaint
-A
						complaint where the BCS has determined that an NGDC did not follow Commission
						procedures or regulations.
Justified informal consumer complaint
						rate
-The number of justified informal, residential consumer
						complaints, as determined by the BCS, per 1,000 residential customers.
Justified payment arrangement request
-A
						payment arrangement request where an NGDC did not follow Commission negotiation
						procedures or regulations.
Justified payment arrangement request
						rate
-The number of justified payment arrangement requests, as
						determined by the BCS, from residential customers per 1,000 residential
						customers.
NGDC
-Natural gas distribution
						company.
Payment arrangement request
-A customer
						request for payment terms to the BCS.
Promptness
-The state or condition of
						acting or responding with speed or readiness to a customer's question,
						complaint, dispute or request. An example of promptness might be the NGDC
						responding to a customer's request for a premise visit with an appointment in 5
						days rather than in 5 weeks.
Small business customer
-A person, sole
						proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association or other business whose
						annual gas consumption does not exceed 300 Mcf.
Timeliness
-The state or condition of
						acting at the appropriate or correct time as previously determined or promised
						when responding to a customer's question, complaint, dispute or request. An
						example of timeliness might be an NGDC representative arriving at the
						customer's residence on the date and at the time previously agreed upon by the
						NGDC and the customer.
Transaction survey
-A survey targeted
						toward individuals that have had a recent interaction with an NGDC.