Welcome from the People s Counsel

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2 Welcome from the People s Counsel District of Columbia Utility Consumers, As your utility consumer advocate, a critical part of OPC s comprehensive advocacy program is to educate District residents about their public utility services. This guide is designed to help you better understand how the District s utility companies provide these vital services, as well as OPC s role as your utility consumer advocate and to inform you about critical utility issues. OPC has always believed that a strong partnership with the community it serves is vital to its consumer advocacy efforts. To that end, we continue to work diligently with advisory neighborhood commissions, civic and citizens associations, offering their members valuable utility information and technical assistance for public hearings. It is equally important to hear their concerns and issues. The District has entered into a new era of utility technology, with changes affecting delivery of telecommunications, natural gas and electric services to our neighborhoods. OPC will increase its efforts to ensure reliable delivery of your utility services. OPC will work with you, the consumer, to protect your rights to have affordable basic services, quality of services and to provide all necessary educational information to empower you to become informed utility consumers. OPC is here to give you a voice in the District s public utilities services regulatory process. Please share this information with your neighbors. And remember... OPC is always here to serve you. Sincerely, Sandra Mattavous-Frye People s Counsel

3 Table of Contents How OPC Works for You 4 How to File a Complaint 5 Electricity Current Issues in Electricity 6 Understanding Your Electric Charges 9 Sustainable Energy Utility Current Issues in Sustainable Energy 11 Natural Gas Understanding Your Natural Gas Charges 12 Telecommunications Current Issues in Telecommunications 14 Understanding Your Telephone Charges 16 Utility Consumer Bill of Rights 17 Resource Information for You 18 Page 3

4 How OPC Works for You The Office of the People s Counsel is the public advocate for natural gas, electric, and telecommunications ratepayers in the District of Columbia. By law, the Office represents D.C. utility ratepayers interests before the Public Service Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ( FERC ), Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ), other utility regulatory bodies and the courts. The Office is mandated to conduct consumer education and outreach and may represent individual consumers with complaints related to their utility service and bills. The Office is headed by the People's Counsel, Sandra Mattavous- Frye, an attorney appointed to a three-year term by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the District City Council. The Office works for D.C. ratepayers in the following ways: Litigation: OPC s attorneys manage and present cases involving utility companies before the Public Service Commission (PSC), federal regulatory agencies and the D.C. Court of Appeals. This work includes developing overall litigation strategies, preparing aspects of each case, coordinating outside counsel, and marshaling various expert technical witnesses. Consumer Complaints: If you have a problem with your utility bill or service, OPC may be able to help you. Staff is available to contact the utility on your behalf to address the problem informally. If your complaint cannot be resolved informally, OPC may provide you with a staff attorney who will represent you at a hearing before the PSC. Community Outreach: OPC encourages public participation in the regulatory process and provides general information and technical assistance to D.C. consumers. Staff speaks at meetings of ANCs, civic and citizens associations and other community groups throughout the District to educate the public about current utility issues and trends. OPC also serves as a technical resource for these organizations and the Consumer Utility Board. Page 4

5 How to File a Complaint with OPC As the statutory representative of the District s utility consumers, a consumer can file an individual complaint with OPC. Below is a brief description of OPC s consumer complaint process: 1. OPC staff receives utility consumer complaints by phone, , fax, walk-in visits or online. 2. OPC staff interviews you to obtain information and provides you with an overview of the complaint resolution process and time frame for follow up with you. 3. OPC staff then forwards a detailed description of the complaint to the utility company. If the complaint involves billing or question of meter accuracy, a referee meter test can be performed. This test measures the accuracy of the meter serving your home. It is conducted on the consumer s premises by a utility company representative and witnessed by a representative of the PSC at the consumer s request. 4. When OPC receives the utility company s report, a staff member will contact you to review the report and discuss proposed next steps; 5. The next steps may include: Requesting additional information from the utility company or you; Negotiating further with the utility company to resolve the complaint; If negotiations are unsuccessful, then seeking an informal hearing before the PSC; or Closing your file. When a complaint file is closed, a close out letter is sent to the consumer. The close out letter provides a summary of actions taken by OPC staff during the informal resolution phase, the complainant s statements and the utility s response. The close out letter also outlines any decision reached during the informal resolution and the consumer s right to request a hearing before the PSC. For further information or to file a complaint, contact OPC at Page 5

6 Current Issues in Electricity Are You Getting What You Pay For? Pepco Files $42.1 Million Rate Case Public Service Commission Dockets Formal Case No On July 8, 2011, Pepco filed an Application for a rate increase with the D.C. Public Service Commission requesting an additional $42.1 million in distribution rates. Pepco: seeks higher profits for its shareholders; additional revenues for reliability projects; increased revenue associated with smart grid deployment; and proposes to replace traditional ratemaking principals with two new methods that speed up the Company s ability to collect costs from ratepayers. OPC s Position on the case: Reliability is vital! Consumers are entitled to reliable service. Before any rate increase is approved, all reliability projects must be carefully designed and thoroughly analyzed to ensure they deliver a Page 6 marked improvement in the quality and reliability of Pepco s service. OPC requested the Commission dismiss Pepco s rate case in its entirety and require the company to demonstrate it is providing reliable service as a basic condition of its regulatory obligation to provide, just and reasonable utility service. Alternatively, as a minimum requirement: The Commission should designate reliability as an issue in this case and require Pepco to submit detailed testimony that supports all projects designed to improve reliability. The Commission should require Pepco to prove that the consumer benefits of the smart grid outweigh the cost of the deployment. Pepco s new proposals to change the Commission s review of future rate cases should be summarily rejected in this proceeding. The Commission must conduct a thorough review and scrutiny of Pepco s cost of service adjustments and return on equity (profit) proposals, in light of the fact that this is Pepco s third Application for rate relief in 4 years while service continues to deteriorate. Consumers must have a voice in this case. These are your dollars! The Commission will host a community hearing in each Ward of the city prior to issuing its decision. OPC will inform you of the date, time and location of each community hearing. Stay up to date with this case by visiting OPC s website The Commission s decision is expected in the Spring of 2012.

7 Current Issues in Electricity Pepco s Continuing Reliability Woes OPC-DC continues to hold Pepco s feet to the fire on electric reliability issues. Unfortunately, there has been little to no improvement on Pepco s performance throughout the years. Not only do the lights continue to flicker and go out on dry, sunny, windless, low humidity and low temperature days, but the District also finds itself facing severe outages during snowstorms, prolonged heat waves and summer storms. Needless to say, Pepco customers, OPC-DC and the District s City Council have become increasingly frustrated with the poor service provided by Pepco. After years of advocating by OPC-DC, the DC PSC finally adopted stricter Electric Quality of Service Standards which includes the ability of the DC PSC to fine the Company for failure to comply with the standards. OPC-DC strongly believes that not until Pepco is held financially responsible for the District s reliability woes will improvements occur. The Company and its executive management must feel the financial sting of its poor performance, not the District s ratepayers. As demonstrated by the chart below, every Ward is affected by a feeder, whether overhead (OH) or underground (UG) that continues to plague the most susceptible neighborhoods in the District. The chart below lists the most susceptible neighborhood feeders based upon 2010 data. OPC focuses its advocacy efforts on three main areas reliability of the network, consumer education and the development of consumer protection rules. Page 7

8 Current Issues in Electricity Smart Meter Education Continues in the District In November 2010, OPC-DC began hosting a series of joint forums with PEPCO to extend smart meter education to the more than 280,000 District of Columbia electric customers slated to receive new electronic Smart Meters over the next 15 months. OPC has repeatedly called on Pepco to step up outreach efforts to consumers around the fundamentals of how and why we are moving toward automated metering infrastructure (AMI). OPC has supported the development of the smart grid and legislative and regulatory steps to move forward with the technology, however, prior to initial deployment, Pepco consumer education efforts permitted too many consumers to be kept in the dark regarding what it is, how it will be deployed, the expected costs and what benefits are to be derived. OPC-DC has designed its series of community based forums to answer these questions. Working collaboratively with PEPCO, OPC has planned or sponsored forums in every quadrant and ward of the city to engage PEPCO engineers, community affairs and executive staff in a broad ranging discussion with consumers about the meter installation and preparation to build out the smart grid in the District of Columbia. In forums across the city, consumers continue to ask many of the same questions: what is the timetable for meter deployment (October December 2011), will personal information be secure, will data be shared with third parties, how will Pepco control data, will net metering customers be able to connect, what will be the meter reading process, how will disputes be resolved and how will rates be affected once the system is fully functional? OPC is conducting smart meter education to the D.C. community, assisted by interpreters to augment the understanding of service changes, proposed benefits and consumers rights and responsibilities within the Mandarin, Cantonese and Spanish language rate-paying communities of the District. OPC contends that Pepco can benefit from the experience of utilities that have preceded the District in smart grid deployment. Within the confines of the PSC-ordered Advanced Metering Infrastructure Advisory Education Task Force, OPC has implored Pepco to adopt the best practices and standards of utilities that have had successful deployments. Uniformly, this means adopting an ongoing multimedia and public education campaign, an effective helpdesk, and adopting a policy of information transparency. Through the Advanced Metering Infrastructure working group, OPC continues to assist in directing the scope and scale of the smart meter education program in concert with the progression of total meters installed in the District of Columbia. OPC s involvement may continue until full system deployment is complete. In 2012, the second phase of the Smart Meter Education program will be deployed. Page 8

9 Understanding Your Electricity Charges Distribution charges are regulated by the D.C. Public Service Commission. Distribution is the service provided by the energy utility to deliver electricity safely and reliably to your home. Distribution rates pay for the power poles, lines, meters, linemen and customer service representatives who serve you. You pay PEPCO for distribution. This portion is regulated by the D.C. Public Service Commission. Generation is the cost of producing power. You may obtain these services from the energy supplier of your choice. Transmission refers to the cost of transmitting electricity from power plants outside the District over highvoltage lines to PEPCO s distribution system. While PEPCO owns some transmission facilities, all transmission in the region is operated by a regional transmission operator ( RTO ). This portion of your bill is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Page 9

10 Understanding Your Electricity Charges Energy Usage History tracks monthly energy usage for comparison. Monthly Usage make sure you read your bill to ensure it s an actual reading instead of an estimated * An Asterisk denotes an estimated, not actual, meter reading. Surcharges refer to the taxes and other charges that PEPCO is required to include on customers bills. Those funds are paid to the appropriate government agency. Examples include the Gross Receipt Tax, Environmental Surcharge and Delivery Tax. Meter Summary includes your monthly meter reading information: number of kilowatt-hours (KWH) used during the billing period, your rate classification, date of your next scheduled meter reading and whether your current bill is actual or estimated. Price to Compare is the average cost per kilowatt-hour for generation and transmission service, based on your rate classification. Use this to compare your PEPCO costs with offers you may receive from other electricity suppliers. This figure will fluctuate monthly depending on your usage and rates. Page 10

11 Current Issues in Sustainable Energy DC Sustainable Energy Utility Is Launched In October 2008, the D.C. City Council passed the Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008, which requires the Mayor, through the District Department of the Environment (DDOE), to contract with a private entity to conduct sustainable energy programs on behalf of the District of Columbia. The Act authorizes the creation of a Sustainable Energy Utility (DC SEU) and designates the DC SEU to be the one-stop resource for energy efficiency and renewable energy services for District residents and businesses. The DC SEU will serve under a performance-based contract with DDOE, with input and recommendations from the SEU Advisory Board, and oversight from the Council of the District of Columbia. By law, OPC-DC is a statutory member of the SEU Advisory Board and has been an active participant since the first official meeting of the Board was held in September OPC-DC assisted in the development of a Request for Proposal for an entity to create and establish the DC SEU, including performance benchmarks for the selected contractor to meet. Under the contract, at a minimum, the DC SEU must reduce energy consumption and peak electricity demand, increase renewable energy generating capacity, and increase the number of green-collar jobs in the District of Columbia. The primary source of funding for the DC SEU is the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund, which, in turn, is funded by a surcharge on consumers electric bills. By March 2011, the SEU Energy Partnership was selected through competitive bid to design, develop, and deliver SEU services. The Partnership is led by Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), a nonprofit organization founded in 1986 to reduce the economic and environmental costs of energy use. The other team partners are local organizations and businesses. In May 2011, the DC SEU launched a program to reduce energy use in lowincome multifamily buildings. Two other quick-start programs soon followed to address commercial and institutional buildings and singlefamily homes. The initial contract term was through September 30, 2011 and is expected to be renewed for Fiscal Year 2012 beginning October 1, The DC SEU is located at: 80 M Street, SE, Suite 310 Washington, DC Phone: Toll Free: 855-MY-DCSEU ( ) Fax: SEU must reduce energy consumption and peak electricity demand, increase renewable energy generating capacity, and increase the number of greencollar jobs. Page 11

12 Understanding Your Natural Gas Charges Charges: look at this section to ensure your previous month s payment has been correctly posted to your account. 12-Month Energy Use History tracks monthly energy use patterns. Distribution Charges are the cost of delivering the natural gas through Washington Gas system to your residence. System Charges cover some costs of providing your service, including depreciation, taxes, maintenance and repair of gas lines, along with customer-related expenses, such as meter reading and billing. Taxes are imposed by your federal and District governments, and are collected and remitted to the appropriate taxing authorities. Page 12

13 Understanding Your Natural Gas Charges Days in This Billing Period pay close attention to this section because it affects the amount of your total bill. CCF of Gas Used is the unit of measurement on your meter of the amount of natural gas used. One CCF is equal to 100 cubic feet of gas. There is a conversion factor for the heating value of the fuel and a converted usage figure, which is Total Therms. Purchased Gas Charge includes the cost of the natural gas and transporting the gas to the Washington Gas system. Page 13

14 Current Issues in Telecommunications OPC Calls for Review of Verizon Service Quality Issues Consumers of Verizon s traditional land line service in the District of Columbia have voiced their frustrations for months about Verizon s poor service quality. The Office of the People s Counsel has been contacted by District residents, City Council members and their staff, in addition to Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners relaying their complaints about Verizon s poor service. District residents have even taken to social media outlets, such as neighborhood listserves to express their dissatisfaction with Verizon. District consumers frequently experience phone service outages, especially when it rains or during other inclement weather. Outages also occur on good weather days. In both instances, it often takes Verizon days, or even weeks in certain circumstances, to restore phone outages raising serious public safety concerns. In addition, consumers regularly experience noise and other interference on their phone lines, or a totally inoperable line. District consumers become even more frustrated when they contact Verizon s customer service department to report their issue. Consumers have complained that their calls to Verizon are routinely met with at least a thirty minute wait before a customer service representative is available. Moreover, consumers report that when service technicians do arrive they are unable to resolve the problem, leading to prolonged service outages, essentially posing a public safety concern. Verizon has acknowledged that repairs, replacements and upgrades are needed to improve its copper infrastructure, but has failed to take any significant action. To address these consumer concerns, on August 26, 2011, OPC filed a Petition for an Investigation into the Reliability of Verizon s Telecommunications Infrastructure in the District of Columbia before the District of Columbia Public Service Commission. OPC s petition asks the Public Service Commission to examine a broad array of service quality issues ranging from an investigation of the causes of the outages and Verizon s efforts to resolve these problems to whether Verizon is deliberately failing to repair its copper infrastructure. The Public Service Commission holds the express authority to resolve these issues by directing Verizon to make repairs, replacements, or upgrades to service or equipment within a reasonable time. Verizon s land line service in the District of Columbia must now face regulatory scrutiny before the Public Service Commission. Page 14

15 Current Issues in Telecommunications Lifeline/Link-Up Program To qualify for any of the discounts below, utility bills must be in the applicant's name and they must meet the income guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Economy II Telephone Service (ECON II) The Economy II program offers discounted local Verizon telephone service to qualified District residents age 64 years and under for $3.00 a month. Economy II customers will be provided with unlimited calling in the Washington metropolitan area. Seniors age 65 and older will receive a monthly discounted rate of $1.00 with unlimited calling in the Washington metropolitan area. With the Economy II program, Verizon offers a free blocking option for long distance calls. If a customer chooses this blocking option voluntarily, no security deposit will be required. Other Verizon services such as call waiting, return call and three-way calling are available at the normal rates. You must be a Verizon or NationsLine customer to participate in the Economy II service. Customers must recertify each year. Link-Up America Link-Up America is for District residents who are eligible for social service assistance. They may qualify for a 50 percent reduction in service connection charges associated with installing a single phone line in their homes. Link-Up America applies only to service connection charges. How Do Residents Apply? Call the District Department of the Environment's Energy Office Hotline at 311 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, to make an appointment. What Do You Need To Apply? You MUST bring all of the following: Identification that shows social security number, picture ID, proof of household income, recent utility bills, proof of age if applying for Verizon phone bill discounts, and a copy of your lease agreement and/ or rent receipt if your heat is included in your rent. Information Compiled From DC Energy Office Website. Page 15

16 Understanding Your Telephone Charges Voice Services make sure that these are the features that you have approved and use regularly or often. Taxes, Fees and Other Charges are approved by Federal government and D.C. City Council. Bundled Services allow you to receive telephone, cable television and internet services provided by one company. Please note: Only local telephone service is regulated by the DC Public Service Commission and falls under the jurisdiction of OPC. DC Universal Service Fund is a surcharge used to pay for Economy II and Telecommunications Relay Service (telephone service for deaf consumers). Federal Excise Tax is mandated by Congress and is imposed on all telecommunications services. This charge appears on local and long distance bills. Federal Subscriber Line Charge is required by federal law and assists with providing telecommunication services to low-income and rural consumers, as well as eligible schools and libraries. Gross Receipts Tax Surcharge is required of all District public utilities. They are required to pay this tax to the District government. Page 16

17 Utility Consumer Bill of Rights The Consumer Bill of Rights (CBOR) was revised in As stated in the CBOR Introduction, its purpose is as follows: Technological changes, new federal and District of Columbia laws, and the actions of the Public Service Commission have created competitive natural gas, electricity and telecommunications service markets in the District of Columbia, providing residential consumers with new choices. Consumers have access to an array of Competitive Service Provider services as well as continued access to the regulated services of utilities. The purpose of this chapter is to set forth residential consumer rights, responsibilities and rules for the initiation and acquisition of services, such as, but not limited to, Meter reading, Billing, Deposits, Disconnections and Reconnections of service and the resolution of Complaints between residential consumers and a Utility, Energy Supplier or Telecommunications Service Provider. Consumer Bill of Rights Highlights The CBOR provides safeguards for utility consumers that use natural gas, electricity and telecommunications services in the District s competitive utility markets. It defines the relationship and responsibilities of utility service providers and consumers. Following are highlights of several of the CBOR s most important sections: The Consumer Bill of Rights defines the relationship and responsibilities of utility service providers and consumers. Energy Meter Locations describes the meters location, the responsible party for meter relocation costs and meter accessibility; Disconnection and Reconnection of Utility Services describes procedures for disconnection, policies regarding consumers health and safety if service is to be disconnected, disconnection notices and time frame for reconnecting services; and Customer Inquiries and Complaints describes the procedures for utility consumers to make inquiries or lodge complaints about their utility services, the companies customer service representatives responsibilities regarding complaints and consumers rights concerning resolution of their complaints. Copies of the CBOR are available at the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, 1333 H Street, NW, or on line at or Page 17

18 Resource Information for You PEPCO PEPCO Customer Service Centers: th Street, NW, 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Monday - Friday 2306 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E., 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday By Telephone: (202) Customer Service (202) TTY/TDD (202) Habla Español (202) Pepco Safety Emergency, to report down wires (877) hour outage report hotline (202) Meter Reading Department (202) Pepco Claims Office By Web: Website: correspondence@pepco.com Washington Gas Washington Gas Customer Service Centers: **Centers are closed on Saturday and Sunday 1100 H Street, NW, First Floor, N.W., Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, S.E., Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday. By Telephone: (703) Customer Service (703) TTY/TDD (703) Habla Español (703) Gas leaks or emergencies By Web: Website: custsrv@washgas.com Page 18

19 Verizon By Telephone: Customer Service - (800) Business Customers - (800) Verizon Center for Customers with Disabilities (Voice and TTY) - (800) Repair Services (800) Centro Hispano de Verizon - (202) Spanish Relay Center (TTY/TDD/PC) (800) /(Voice Only) (800) Administrative Offices - (202) By Web: DC Public Service Commission 1333 H Street, NW, Suite 200, West Tower Washington, DC By Telephone: (202) By Fax: (202) By Web: The mission of the DCPSC is to serve the public interest by ensuring that financially healthy electric, natural gas and telecommunications companies provide safe, reliable and quality utility services at reasonable rates for District of Columbia residential, business and government customers. DC Office of Cable Television 3007 Tilden Street, NW, Pod P Washington, DC By Telephone: (202) By Fax: (202) By Web: Website: comments.oct@dc.gov OCT administers the cable franchise contracts and is the cable customers advocate, holding cable companies to the highest levels of customer and technical service. Page 19

20 DC Department of the Environment 1200 First Street, NE, 5th Floor Washington, DC Energy Assistance: - Serving Wards 1, 2, 3, 4 and Taylor Street, NW, First Floor Washington, DC Serving Wards 6, 7 and MLK Jr. Avenue, SE, Suite 404 Washington, DC By Telephone: Main Line - (202) Energy Assistance :30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday - Friday By Web: Website: ddoe@dc.gov DC Water and Sewer Authority 5000 Overlook Avenue, SW Washington, DC By Telephone: Customer Service - (202) :00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday Water and Sewer Emergency Number (24 hour) Credit and Collections Meter Operations - (202) (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), (202) (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) Water Quality Division - (202) TDD-TYY Hearing Impaired - (202) By Web: Website: info@dcwater.com custserv@dcwater.com By Mail: District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority - Customer Service Department P.O. Box Washington, DC Page 20

21 DC Sustainable Energy Utility 80 M St, SE, Suite 310 Washington DC By Telephone: Toll Free: 855-MY-DCSEU ( ) By Fax: By Web: The District of Columbia Sustainable Energy Utility (DC SEU) is designed to help District households, businesses, and institutions save energy and money through energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. DC Office of the Tenant Advocate th Street, NW, Suite 300N Washington, DC By Telephone: By Fax: By Web: The Office of the Tenant Advocate (OTA) advocates for, educates, and provides outreach for tenants in the District of Columbia. Page 21

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