85 percent of complaints are resolved in favour of consumers – PUC

Mar 25, 2011 News

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About 85 percent of all complaints directed to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) are completed in favour of consumers, according to PUC Manager, Raymon Cummings. He however noted that the ultimate result is usually dependent on the nature of complaints.
Cummings made reference to complaints about allegations of tampering, of which 90 percent of the time consumers are the defaulting party.
“We have found that most of the time when the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) accuses consumers of tampering with its service the power company is correct.” And once a consumer is found guilty of tampering with the service offered by GPL, there are certain penalties that consumers must face.
According to Cummings, in such cases consumers are required to pay the sum of 24 months back charges on the service, thus leading to consumers filing complaints of inaccurate calculation on the part of the power company.
“The majority of the complaints that we get are about the calculation…If you have a tampered service there is no way that the power company could accurately assess what power you have been consuming. It means that the power company would have to create an estimate of what you would have been consuming and this is what usually creates a problem.”
With the new Customer Service Standard Act in place, which is governed by the Electricity Sector Reform (Amendment) Act 2010 No. 17 of 2010, Cummings said that the length of time in which complaints relating to billing are addressed, cannot exceed a maximum of 120 days. He however noted that while other complaints do not have a specified limit, they are normally the ones that are resolved within a shorter period.
“So billing complaints can be from two to 120 days at a maximum. We do have issues that are before us at periods of time and that is because some of them are very technical…”
But should billing matters not be resolved at the end of the stipulated period, Cummings disclosed that the PUC then has the right to issue an order based on the evidence that was gathered from the utility company and consumers. It is for this reason, he noted, the PUC is insisting that the latter party ensure that they always have documentation to support whatever it is that they are claiming.
“If there is going to be an order issued by the PUC, it will have to be issued based on the evidence presented. So the stronger your evidence, the more likely it is that the ruling will be in your favour,” Cummings disclosed.
According to the PUC, consumers who have queries in relation to their bills, service quality and other queries about their account, and seek to lodge complaints with the company via telephone, correspondence or over the counter, which does not involve investigations outside the office, are expected to receive an acknowledgement to their query within five days of submission. A response should be availed to consumers within 10 days thereafter.
However, the Act stipulates that where investigations are required at the consumer’s premises, a maximum of 50 days is allowed and a penalty of $500 per day to a maximum of $3,000 will be imposed on the company for breaches. The PUC has highlighted, too, that at least 90 percent of all such inquires shall be responded to within 21 days of notice and 100 percent responded to within 40 days of notice.
The Act also caters to consumers’ suspicion as it relates to inaccurate billing. The PUC has revealed that “consumers who have reason to suspect that the meter at their premises is improperly registering, causing them to be billed for more or less than they consume must notify the company in writing, stating their concerns”.
GPL, the PUC said, is required to respond to them in writing within seven days and complete testing the meter for its accuracy within 30 days thereafter. And if the meter is found to be defective after a test it must be replaced within 60 days of the test – provided that the customer has rewired the meter interface, where necessary, to the current standard, and has obtained an inspection certificate.
Based on the Act, GPL could again be penalized $500 up to $3,000 for failure to respond in writing within seven days of a notification from a consumer that a meter may be defective. And if the test is not completed within 30 days after notification a fine of $1,000 per day and up to $5,000 could be imposed. An additional penalty of $500 per day to a maximum of $2,500 shall be applied if the defective meter is not replaced within the 60 days limit.
All fines as a result of breaches on the part of the company will be repayable to consumers via credit to their service account.
The PUC at a press briefing on Wednesday said that it plans to monitor closely the Customer Service Standard which became active last month and will seek to impose the outlined penalties wherever necessary.

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