September Collections Overview Presentation — original pdf

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Collections Overview Disconnection and Reconnection Process September 2013 Mission: Deliver clean, affordable, reliable energy and excellent customer service. www.austinenergy.com Collections Process Steps August 2013 2 Bill Generation 24 Hour Notice Bill Due Late Fees / Letters Mailed Delinquency Due Disconnect for Non-Payment Collections Process 17 days 17 days 4 days 6 days Overview The collections process begins with the generation of the customer’s bill The process is highly automated, events trigger each process step The customer can stop the next event at any point in the process www.austinenergy.com Overview Allow a minimum of 17 Days from Bill Generation to Bill Due Date May vary due to holiday or weekend COA Regs 15-9-131 DETERMINATION OF BILLING CYCLES Bill Generation: Due Date How We Compare Number of Days from Bill to Due Date August 2013 3 Austin Energy 17 CPS Energy 16 Pedernales Electric Cooperative 16 PUC (TXU, Reliant) 16 MLGW 16 Colorado Springs Utilities 14 www.austinenergy.com Overview Assess 5% Late Fee On Metered Services only On Current Amount Due only Listed on the Payment Stub COA Regs 15-9-137 PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS AND LATE PAYMENT PENALTY Past Due: Late Fee Assessed August 2013 4 www.austinenergy.com Delinquent Letters Mailed August 2013 5 Austin Energy $0 CPS Energy $0 Pedernales Electric Cooperative $0 Reliant $0 TXU $10 per notice Gexa Energy $15 per notice Amigo Energy $22 per notice Bounce Energy $20 per notice How We Compare Disconnect Notice Fee Overview Mail letter stating that Account is subject to Disconnection for Non-Payment if no action is taken Letter type based on account activity Friendly Firm COA Regs 15-9-106 NOTICE OF SERVICE DISCONNECTION www.austinenergy.com No Response from Customer: 24 Hour Notice August 2013 6 Overview Leave Courtesy Door Hanger Cost of $1.5M annually COA Regs Requirement for notice of service disconnection per 15-9-106 NOTICE OF SERVICE DISCONNECTION is met through Delinquent Letter. NOTICE OF SERVICE TERMINATION Previous attempts to collect on you utility account have been unsuccessful. Payment of your past due balance must be made immediately or utility services will be disconnected. In order to prevent disconnection, payment must be made at an authorized pay station and you must contact the utility service center to provide receipt information. If you are experiencing difficulty paying your bill, you may qualify for a Payment Arrangement or financial assistance. Please contact us for more information. Austin Energy Yes CPS Energy Yes Pedernales Electric Cooperative No Reliant No TXU No MLGW No Colorado Springs Yes [1] How We Compare Do you provide 24-hour door hangers? [1] Door hangers are used but not consistently, not every customer will receive a door hanger. www.austinenergy.com Payment Arrangements (PA) Policy August 2013 7 Overview Balance is broken up into monthly installments Up to 8 months of installments Installments appear on the bill Customers pay installment in addition to monthly utility charges each month www.austinenergy.com Special Payment Arrangement (PA) Policy Suspension Period August 2013 8 Overview Normal policy terms are “relaxed” Allows greater flexibility as Customers adjust to reinstatement of Collections Currently in effect Migrating back to normal policy to be fully implemented Dec 31, 2013 Normal Policy Suspension Period Monthly Installments Allowed[1] Up to 8 Up to12 Down Payment Required Yes No Must bring Account Current for a New PA Yes No Eligible If Service Is Disconnected No Yes Normal Payment Arrangement Policy vs. Suspension Period [1] This is the maximum that may be offered by a Customer Service Representative; Additional installments may be available for customers in Low Income, Medically Vulnerable or Life Support Programs through Austin Energy’s Customer Solutions Management Team. www.austinenergy.com Customer Service Representative (CSR) Training Program August 2013 9 Classroom (5 weeks) Instructor Led Course Start & Stop Services Account Inquiries Conservation Outage Response 12 Students per Class 80 Hrs Phone Time 2 Written Assessments On the Job (6 weeks) Transition Team Extra Support 12 Hrs Customer Relationship Building (CRB) Course Coaching (Ongoing) Team Meetings Weekly Huddles Quality Call Monitoring Monthly Coaching Instructor Led Courses & Online Training Based on Needs Assessments & Business Process Changes www.austinenergy.com Focus on Customer Assistance: New Tarriff April 30, 2012 10 New Rates effective October 2012 included changes to Customer Assistance Program (CAP) OLD TARIFF NEW TARIFF Eligibility requirements: Parts of Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, CEAP, MAP Eligibility requirements: All of Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP, Lifeline Funded by Green Choice Batch ($3M) Funded by Community Benefit ($9M) Enrollment capped at 10,000 Enrollment grows to >25,000 Separate free weatherization Integrated free weatherization Labor intensive eligibility screening Vendor to perform automatic enrollment www.austinenergy.com Customer Assistance Program: Automatic Enrollment Build Out April 30, 2012 11 www.austinenergy.com Customer Assistance Program: Discount Enrollment April 30, 2012 12 Monthly Number of Program Participants Community Benefit Charge: FY 2013 CYE Expenses FY 2013 CYE Revenues (Over) / Under Recovery FY 2014 Budget 5,419,395 10,444,316 (5,024,921) 9,950,013 8,63910,38511,46012,18711,55511,24211,22011,44311,65711,83317,80625,000Oct-12Nov-12Dec-12Jan-13Feb-13Mar-13Apr-13May-13Jun-13Jul-13Aug-13Sep-13Estimated enrollment amounts Actual enrollment amounts www.austinenergy.com Customer Assistance Program: Weatherization Program with Education / Evaluation April 30, 2012 13 Overview Includes appliance replacement as determined by NEAT audit Complete education curriculum prior to weatherization 3 month interval site visits by AE staff after weatherization / education complete 18 month follow up services Household / Usage evaluation for 18 months Qualifications CAP Participant Homeowner / Renter Only 4 Months of 2,500 kWh Usage or 6 Months of 1,500 kWh Usage Home structure value less than $250,000 www.austinenergy.com CAP Education Program Community Connections Sept 2013 Classes to begin October 2013 Required for participants in the Weatherization Program (starting Oct 1) Developed in conjunction with the Discount Steering Committee Customer Assistance Program: Education Curriculum Components Understanding Your Usage & Bill Energy & Water Conservation Budgeting Sources of Energy & Water Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Safety Hazards Tenant Rights Additional curriculum components target children, include educational games April 30, 2012 14 www.austinenergy.com How Does a Disconnect Occur? August 2013 15 Failure Points: •Customer does not pay by due date •Customer ignores FTN letter •Receives 24-Hour notice, contacts AE to negotiate 1st PA •Fails to uphold PA, customers requests updated 2nd PA •Fails to uphold PA, customers request 3rd PA •Fails to uphold PA •AE provides account management for specialty customer class •Community Plus1 referrals •Basic Services Agency referrals •Customer is disconnected for non-payment •Customer must pay balance to reconnection •AE offers a 50% down-payment PP to reconnect •Remaining 50% due in 15 days •Reconnect fee of $25, Same Day fee of $55 added to next bill www.austinenergy.com Disconnect for Non-Payment (DNP) Comparison August 2013 16 Austin Energy CPS Energy Pedernales Electric Cooperative Reliant Energy TXU Energy Oncor CenterPoint MLGW Colorado Springs Utilities DNP Fee $0 $0 $0 $25 $30 -- -- -- -- Reconnect Fee $25 $24 $100 -- $40-60 $3.10 $9.00 $25 $30 Same Day / After Hours Fee $55 $0 $250[1] -- -- $5.30 $34 $54 $10 after hrs Remote Connect/ Disconnect? No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes How We Compare [1] If the customer fails to make payment by 5pm and chooses to be reconnected same day, an additional $250 same day fee is charged, plus an additional deposit amount. COA Regs 15-9-101 BASIS FOR TERMINATION OF SERVICE 15-9-112 RESTORATION OF SERVICE www.austinenergy.com Disconnect/Reconnect Fees The number of reconnections after disconnect for non-payment totaled roughly 21k between October 2010 - September Same day reconnect service requests accounted for approximately 18k of that amount. April 30, 2012 17 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Disconnect for Non-Payment Reconnects FY2010 - 2011 Same Day Reconnect Fee ($80) Reconnect Fee ($25) www.austinenergy.com Reconnects Received by Time of Day Over the fiscal year 2011, field orders were charted by time of day The majority of the reconnect orders occurred during the mid-day period Very few orders were worked after 8:00 pm April 30, 2012 18 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 6AM 7AM 8AM 9AM 10AM 11AM 12PM 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM 6PM 7PM 8PM Reconnect Service Orders Received by Time of Day FY 2010-2011 Number of Reconnect after DNP Service Orders www.austinenergy.com Analysis of Change to Same Day Fee Policy Proposed policy change includes a deadline for customers requesting reconnects Analysis was performed to determine appropriate deadline time The data shows that a 4:00pm deadline will be most cost effective April 30, 2012 19 Breakdown of Actual Reconnect ions for the Year (FY2011 by Time of Day) 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 225 381 1700 2382 1393 3280 3558 1759 3360 2672 2666 2134 931 1034 78 Scenario 1: 3:00pm deadline 9695 remaining after deadline Scenario 2: 4:00pm deadline 7023 Scenario 3: 5:00 pm deadline 4889 www.austinenergy.com Cost Comparison to Cost of Service Current Fees Assessed $25 and $55 Cost of Service $52.34 [1] Proposed Fee $25 (no same day fee) [1] April 30, 2012 20 $- $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Cost of Disconnect/Reconnect FY2011 Current Fees Proposed Fees Cost of Service [1] estimates that will be revised in final document www.austinenergy.com Contact Us April 30, 2012 21 Thank You! City of Austin - Austin Energy Customer Care Center 721 Barton Spring Rd. Austin, Texas 78704-1194 p. 512-494-9400 e. custinfo@austinenergy.com Twitter @austinenergy Facebook facebook.com/austinenergy www.austinenergy.com Appendix CAP Comparison Chart Disconnect Policy by Utility Comparison Summary Chart August 2013 22 www.austinenergy.com Customer Assistance Program Comparison April 30, 2012 23 How We Compare Program Feature AE Colorado Springs Utility Seattle City Light Los Angeles Dept of Water & Power Sacramento Municipal Utility El Paso Electric Account Management + -   - - Community Collaboration + +     Community Outreach + + -  - - Weatherization +      Electric Discounts  -  - - - Other Fee Waivers + - - - - - Financial Assistance +      Gatekeeper Program   - - - - Budget Programs  - - - -  Medically Vulnerable + - -  -  3rd Party Notification  - -  - - + - this feature is managed through a formal program  - this feature is managed through a formal program www.austinenergy.com Agenda August 2013 24 Disconnect Policy Comparison by Utility – July 2013 Austin Energy CPS Energy Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) Reliant Energy TXU Energy MLGW Colorado Springs Utilities Door Hangers? Yes Yes No No No No Yes[1] No. of Days for Door Hanger after Bill Due Date 15-44 20 -- -- -- -- -- No. of Days for DNP after door hanger 2 6 -- -- -- -- --[2] No. of Days for DNP after Bill Due Date 17-46 26 29 20-25 6 46 28-30[3] No. of Notices prior to DNP 3 3 3 1[4] 1[5] 2 1[6] Courtesy letter, delinquency letter, door hanger letter, call, door hanger Courtesy call, letter, collection call Pink notice letter, text, email, call letter, call Letter Reconnect Fee for DNPs? $25 $24 $100 --[7] $40-60 $25 30 Same day reconnect fee amount? $55 none $250[8] -- -- $54 none[9] Remote Connect/Disconnect? Fee? No No Yes $100 Yes none Yes None No Yes 30 Follow PUC Guidelines? No No Yes[10] Yes Yes No No Responses given by Collections Mgr AR Manager Collections Mgr E-Source CSR Public Relations CSR Supervisor [1] Door hangers are used but not consistently, not every customer will receive a door hanger. [2] No set amount of time indicated on door hanger, customer is requested to contact Customer Service. [3] Disconnect generated 14 days after bill due date and payment due is 14-16 days after disconnect notice generated. [4] Pink notice sent out 10 days after bill due date. Disconnect is 10-15 days after. [5] All customers receive a letter but have the additional choice of being contacted through the other options. [6] A disconnect notice is generated 14 days after bill due date, but utility will make other attempts to contact customer through calls and notices. [7] Since Reliant is not the transmission and distribution service provider, it does not charge for reconnection. It may charge a $25 disconnect recovery fee if payment is not received prior to the expiration of the disconnection notice. [8] If the customer fails to make payment by 5pm and chooses to be reconnected same day, an additional $250 same day fee is charged, plus an additional deposit amount. [9] No same day fee, but charge an afterhours fee of $10 for weekends and after office is closed. [10] Yes, with exceptions