PPL Electric Utilities

1
PPL Electric Utilities

• Customer Outreach in Storm Emergencies
• June 2005

2
Why conduct Outreach?

• Customer research shows that outage information
  influences customer satisfaction and shapes
  customers perceptions of their utility.
• After Hurricane Floyd in 1999, PPL Electric
  established a customer outreach organization to
  support the overall storm restoration process.

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Purpose of Outreach

• Inform affected customers about their estimated
  restoration times (ERT).
• Provide information about free ice and water.
• Identify hardship circumstances requiring
  immediate attention.
• Refer customers to special services (e.g.,
  shelters) if circumstances warrant.

4
Outreach Organization

• System Outreach Director
• Regional Outreach Supervisor
• Logistics Specialist
• AMR Specialist
• Corporate Communications
• Phone personnel

5
Process

• System Emergency Storm Room opens
• Restoration of service 24 hours or longer
• Activation of customer outreach
• Phone personnel
• Ice and water
• Customer lists
• Scripts
• Logistics
• Conference calls

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Outreach Services - Primary

• Estimated restoration times
• Availability of ice and water
• Identification of hardship circumstances
• Referrals to other services if needed

7
Outreach Services - Specialized

• Circumstances require a higher level of response
  (e.g., service dependent customer, downed wires,
  medical, newborn, fragile elderly and isolation)
• Use of internal and/or external resources to
  address specific needs
• Dispatch a crew, call 911, work with EMAs, offer
  to pay for motel room and do customer callbacks
• Evaluate situation and balance customer
  satisfaction, costs, safety, PUC/PR/legislator
  concerns, etc.

8
Outreach Services - Extra Mile

• Severe and prolonged outages
• No cookie cutter approach because circumstances
  and needs differ
• Services include grab bags, catered meals or
  foodstuffs, delivery of meals, groceries or
  medicine, reimbursement for generators or pumps,
  special delivery of potable water, electrical
  inspections and flooding, and visits to shelters
  or affected neighborhoods

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Next Steps for Customer Outreach

• Automated dialer
• AMR ping function
• On-going assessment of lessons learned