Connecticut Opens Review of Interaction Among Customers, Consumer Services Unit, Electric Companies

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has established Docket 12-11-01 for an investigation of best practices to facilitate ratepayer, consumer services, and utility interaction in resolving consumer issues.

The docket is to, "review consumer response practices and the best practices that could be adopted by the Authority's Consumer Services Unit (CSU) as it interacts with the public, the public utility companies regulated by the Authority, and other Authority staff."

The term "public utility companies" is not generally used in the electric restructuring statute (which uses "public service company" or "electric distribution company" or "electric company") to refer to franchised and/or rate-regulated utility companies, and its meaning here is not clear. But to the extent the review includes all companies over which PURA has jurisdiction (which we presume it does for purposes of this docket given its customer focus), this would include electric suppliers and aggregators.

As part of the docket, the Authority will consider:

1) interaction with the public;

2) resolution of consumer issues;

3) coordination with public utility companies regulated by the Authority as billing and non-billing issues are addressed;

4) the mediation of alternative dispute resolution complaints; and

5) responding to any other consumer inquiries from the public.