Customer Service Overview

Corina Stretch

Debra Humphrey

March 2007

HISTORY

1873 Washington Natural Gas Introduced to the NW

1886 Puget Sound Power & Light Introduced to the NW

1997 PSE Arises From Puget Power/Washington Natural Gas

Puget Sound Energy

Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington An investor owned gas & electric utility

(NYSE:PSD) As Washington state's oldest and largest

energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service territory stretching across 11 Washington counties, primarily in the Puget Sound region, PSE serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 700,000 natural gas customers.

Strong residential base

Puget Sound Energy Service Area

65% suburban20% metropolitan15% rural

Bothell Facility

325 employees 75,000 square foot facility Activities

Customer Access Center Exception/Special Billing Payment Processing Credit & Collection Customer Service Training

Bothell Facility

sample

Bothell Facility

7 X 24 Hours of Operation Core Business

7:30AM – 6:30PM Emergency Service

24x7

Products: Electric and Gas Merchandise Street Lights

35% of calls handled automatically

75% of calls handled within 30 seconds

Less than 1% call abandonment rate

Multiple languages supported

Bothell Customer Access Center

State of the Art Facility

Spacious Training & Meeting

Rooms Ergonomic

Workstations Advanced

Technology

Workout Room/Showers

Lunchroom/Kitchen Private Phone Booths Private Break Rooms Private “Mothers

Room” Free Parking Walking Trail

Bothell Access Center

Call Distribution

Start/Stop Service Credit Arrangements Billing Inquires Other

Gas Emergency Outage Restoration Appliance Repair Account Inquiry Pay Station Locations

Staffing Customer Access Center

Customer Service Agents (220)

At Home Agents (16) Spanish Speaking

Language Bank Agents (2)

In house Training department

In house Help desk

Supervisors (6) Team Leaders (12) Business Analysts

Forecasting & Scheduling

Communication

Administrative (2)

Staffing Support Department Back Office

Billing Department Supervisors (2) Senior Business

Analysts (3) Business Analysts (6) Agents (35)

Credit Department Supervisor (1) Lead (1) Agents (23) Program Manager (1) Senior Business

Analysts (1)

Payment ProcessingSupervisor (1)Agents/Clerks (16)Analysts (1)

Technology Tools

Updated Customer Information System (ConsumerLinX)

Quality Assurance Tools (E-talk; Qfinity) Updated Telephone System (Aspect;

Uniphi) Skills Based Routing Ability (Aspect ACD)

Technology Tools

E-workforce management suite (Aspect) Real Time Adherence Performance Tools Empower – Agent schedules Agent Performance Optimization (APO)

Statistical performance reporting e-notification server – Communicating schedule

changes to staff Esp-IVR – Allows phone access to Empower

through the VRU

December 2006 Storm

Corina Stretch

Debra Humphrey

Overview

Storm forming

Major Storm Forming

Communicated advanced warning of possible outages from approaching storm

Media, Customers ,Communities &Governments Call Center Website Outreach

Once the storm hit, messages tied to PSE Emergency Operations Center (EOC) conference calls

The storm’s damage

Conditions led to extensive damage caused by fallen trees

December 2006 windstorm had winds speeds that typically can occur every 10 + years

Two-month period preceding windstorm was extraordinarily wet-breaking all-time precipitation records

People moving into traditional forested lands

Land use and “Boutique Trees”

Unprecedented Damage

Unprecedented Damage

Poles to replace

Boutique trees!!

Unprecedented Damage

Dec. 15: >700,000 Customers Out

Dec. 18: ~ 500,000 Customers Restored

Storm Damage and Restoration Metrics

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Cus

tom

ers

Transm

ission Lines and Substations

December 2006

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

85 Transmission Lines Out

159 Substations Out

700,000 Customers Out

Response personnel and crews

Crews (Line, Tree and Substation)

Service Teams

Assessment and Coordination Teams

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

December 2006

Tea

ms

and

Cre

ws

Crews from various areas here to help

Multiple crews on each major line

More damage

Assessing the damage

Dangerous conditions

Transformer and Line damage

Pole, tree and lines down

More line damage

Line and Tree damage

Call Center Metrics

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 250%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

VRU Option 1 Outage Info Offered to Agent

VRU Option 2 Regular Calls Service Level

Num

ber

of C

alls

December 2006

Service Level

Sharing InformationOperations, Corporate Affairs, and Customer Services

Media, Customer (Major Accounts/Access Center), Community, and Government

Message Development tied to PSE Emergency Operations Center (EOC) conference calls every four hours (4 a.m. to 8 p.m)

Media Outreach News Releases In advance of drive-time and scheduled news casts

and immediate response (more than 100 calls daily) CEO ads and news conference Web site updates (four+ times daily)

Sharing Information – pse.com

Sharing InformationWeb Hits on Service Alert Pages

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Num

ber

of h

its c

ombi

ned

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

December 2006

Sharing Information

Community Outreach EOCs – King County and State CRMs – Counties and Cities Shelters

Government Outreach State – WUTC, Governor, Legislature Federal – Delegation

Employee Support

Hotel Accommodations Shuttle from hotel for those requiring assistance Meals provided during the entire storm duration Other departments volunteered to assist the call center

with customer and escalated calls Security was provided for all essential and critical areas

in the company Chair massages, toiletries for hotel including some

clothing. A coach and a counselor volunteered to help support our employees during this difficult time. (Access Center)

Gift wrap stations set up for holiday wrapping Accommodated Holiday pre-planned activities

Community Support

Many pictures and Thank you notes have been received by our departments

Communications

State EOC WUTC Governor’s Office Legislators

Counties and Cities EOCs Elected Officials Shelters

Federal-Delegation

Next Steps

Operational Permanent repairs Evaluation (restoration/response,

internal/external communication, future system, etc.)

Communications Information sharing Stakeholder outreach and input Ongoing stakeholder dialogue

Regulatory

At Home Agent Program

Access Center

1996-2007

At-Home-Agent ProgramPilot Program

1996 – March; Pilot program launched 3 agents began pilot program

1998 – November; Additional 16 agents added in two more phases sporadically since 1996. Total of 19 agents in pilot program Approximate cost p/agent $6,600 (one time) $150 p/month for telephone Regular 8/10 hour shifts Through attrition, currently 6 agents still

working from home since 1996/98

At-Home-Agent ProgramOfficial

2006 December; Program became official with an additional 10 agents Approximate cost p/agent $2000 (one time)

Equipment (Computer, fax/printer, telephone)

$1500 p/year general operating expenses $40-60 p/month for telephone (Verizon, Vonage, etc.) $50 p/month for Internet (Comcast, Verizon, etc.)

Split shifts during core hours (7:30AM-6:30PM)

2007 2nd quarter; plans for an additional 10-15 agents

At-Home-Agent ProgramBenefits/Advantages

Improves Outage Response Improves Schedule Flexibility Reduces Absenteeism Reduction in Turnover Agent Morale Lower Commuting Costs and Time for

employees Lowers companies needs for office space

and parking

At-Home-Agent ProgramDisadvantages

Isolation Burn out with too much overtime Training and/or meetings may be limited to

“day-in” the office Decreased mentoring to less skilled agent Less likely to advance in company due to

comfort at home Skills may decrease due to less exposure

to policies and procedures

Union Agreements

1996 – Pilot Program 2006 – Official

At Home Agents (AHA) contracted prior to this agreement will continue to work their current schedule unless the employee and the Company agree to a change in their current scheduled shift.

New agents will be scheduled to work a shift based on operational needs, which will include an extended lunch break.

Selected agents will report on-site at their residence and are otherwise covered by all terms and conditions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the signed AHA agreement.

The Company and the Union agree to review the progress of this project within 90 days and as often as necessary thereafter to ensure that issues are addressed in a timely manner.

IT Requirements

Internet Preferences in priority order for deployment should be: High Speed Internet DSL Dial up is the last option and will not be

considered for AHA roll out.

There is no preferred cable company

Agent requirements

IT requirements met Meet expectations

Attendance Quality/Quantity of performance Independent worker Advanced agent (at least 3 years) – This is still

in the review process. Other

Willing to work split shifts (non-traditional) Must pass a technical and procedural

questionnaire

AHA Equipment

PSE provides computer, battery back up/surge protector, headsets, adapter, printer, fax and telephone. The PSE provided equipment specified cannot

be used for personal use by any member of the household.

Employee must provide desk, and PSE will provide chairs. An ergonomic assessment will be provided.

PSE is not responsible for support of any non-PSE equipment.

Security

Home must have a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher.

Employee must have a locked room or office for non-disruptive work environment from others in the household.

Employees must provide Proof of Homeowners/Rental Insurance for fire and theft, when requested.

AHA Expectations

Availability Be available for call outs to work from home,

and/or hours outside your shift to assist with call volume and outage calls.

If on scheduled PTO, (Paid time off) or if unavailable for the weekend AHA is to notify the Outage Manager

Call outs are paid at double time. (minimum of two hours)

Call outs/message: Respond to voice message as soon as possible to see if still needed.

AHA Expectations

Reporting to the office If employee elects to bid a traditional or part-time shift,

they are electing off the split shift opportunity. They are no longer eligible for an at-home-agent position and must return to the office.

Scheduled overtime for weekend shifts, will be required to come in to the office as staff is limited. (Major holidays can be the exception if mutually agreed upon by the supervisor)

Committed to 90 calendar days from the date started working at home. If returning to the Access Center agent will be re-assigned to a shift based on operational need.

AHA Expectations

Reporting to the office Equipment Failures (ETA of more than 1 hour) Meetings/training One day a week (Scheduled in advance)

Department mail pick-up Coaching/meeting with team or Leadership

Power failure (ETA of more than 1 hour) Equipment upgrade

General AHA Housekeeping

Lunch/Breaks/Split Shift. Split shifts will reflect three hours “off schedule” in the middle of the shift.

Childcare: The AHA will provide a professional, safe and noise free environment during work hours. Being an at-home-agent is not a substitute for child-care.

Random site visits during working hours, scheduled or unannounced.

If the AHA is not meeting expectation standards, they will no longer be eligible for this program and will be required to report to the office.

Leadership & Support

Direct telephone numbers to leadership (Same as in-house agents)

Supervisor direct Cell telephones (Nextel-Blackberry)

Direct telephone numbers to In-house help desk technician

Designated help desk technician for At home Agent

TBD- Instant messaging

Process ImprovementAction Items

Solicit on-going feedback from AHA Web Chat-Instant messaging capabilities

for prompt communication between leadership and AHA team

Develop a more defined escalation process for technical problems

Review/grant access to in-house computer programs – Firewall issues

Formalize off-site visit process – quarterly