DAWG Subgroup D -- Consumer Protection and Education

Minutes of August 28, 1996 Meeting

at PG&E, San Francisco

Lynn Maack facilitated and Mack McCay served as scribe for most of the meeting.

The meeting began with a discussion of the upcoming October 30 report of the group. The "blue sheet" containing the original 14 issues our group is to cover was copied and handed out. Issues 1 thru 5 and 7 were covered, at least in part, in the August 30 report of the DAWG. The dates set by the Commission for the Consumer Protection and Education subgroup's reports were October 30 for Consumer protection and education and December 6 for the education trust. Our intent is to cover everything, including the trust, in the October 30 report.

The logistics of production of the October 30 report were discussed. There are three meetings scheduled for discussion of issues and two dates for draft distributions. Details to be announced, such as San Diego meeting location, meeting times and agendas. The following schedule was set in pencil:

9/12 - Meeting at Oakland Airport Hilton (after the Full DAWG meeting that morning - meet at 11:00, if possible)
9/26 - Meeting at LAX - Wyndham Hotel (host, SCE)
10/8 - Distribution of first draft report
10/15 - Meeting in San Diego (hosts, SDG&E and UCAN) to discuss draft
10/22 - Final draft review by editorial team
10/30 - File report

What issues do we have to cover for October 30?

Issue #10, Low-Income issues, will be covered by the Low-Income Working Group to a large extent, and their report will be input to group D. All participants are invited to contribute writings on the subject and we will discuss at our October 15 meeting.

Issue #3, Registration and Oversight, may be modified to accommodate pending legislation on this subject. The issue remains on our plate, but could be as simple as explaining what the legislature requires.

Issues #2 and #5, Consumer Privacy and Obligation to Serve, were covered in the August 30 report.

Issue #12, Customer Representation and Advocacy, will be combined with Issue #11, Dispute and Complaint Resolution due to similar content.

Issue #7, Service Quality, is to be pared down to pertain to customer service, rather than reliability or safety. (Standards for service reliability and safety are being handled in another proceeding.)

Various parties accepted responsibility for the various remaining issues, as follows:

Issue #1, Consumer Principles …………… ……… UCAN
#3, Registration & Oversight ………………… UCAN
#4, Consumer Information & Education …… … UCAN/DRA
#6, Fair, Non-discriminatory Access …… …… UCAN/Greenlining
#7, (Customer) Service Quality ……………… PG&E
#9, Unfair Trade & Marketing Practices ……… SDG&E/DRA
#10, Low-Income …………………………… All
#11, Dispute & Complaint Resolution …… … UCAN
#X, (New issue) Implementation ………… … SCE

The issues for immediate focus are #6, #7 and #9. DRA has submitted a draft on Issue #9 for today's meeting. All three issues need more input/embellishment.

Unfair Trade and Marketing Practices, Issue #9, was discussed, focusing on DRA's submittal (see DRA website entry on this topic, dated August 23, 1996). DRA's draft emphasizes that fraud and unfair practices will likely affect small customers more than large, and lists examples of abuses. We should review existing remedies for fraud, e.g., in telco, and beef up remedies section. Susan Brown, Greenlining, will assist in this effort.

Consumer Education, Issue #4 was discussed. Legislation gives utilities a role in education, with CPUC oversight. Question is who actually provides the educational content and materials and who pays? Further, how is information dispensed, what types of info and by whom?

PUC function could be limited to oversight of the education trust and utility efforts, but could include info content. Need definition of utility function.

Implementation of an education program needs to be laid out. The following were mentioned for consideration:

• Phased-in dissemination of info
• Magnitude of the effort must be determined
• Duration of the effort must be determined
• Supplemental sources of information?
• Define utility function
• Funding sources
• Proactive vs reactive education efforts
  

Several possibilities were presented as funding sources:

• Redirect DSM funds
• Registration fees
• Surcharge on bills
• Public Goods Charge
• UDC customer service funds
• Penalties
• Usage charge (sales tax)- equal cents/kWh or percent of bill
• Percent of usage-based CTC (consider a transition issue)
• Tax or surcharge on purchases of RTP meters (based on KW capacity?)
• Use existing utility assets, e.g., bill inserts, utility poles, plant structures as billboards, etc.(as cost reducers, rather than funding sources per se)
  

The target audience must be determined for proper focus of education effort. Large customers probably do not need the level of information that small customers do.

Timing of the education effort is critical. Should a massive, all-inclusive campaign be launched all at once? Or should the market be "primed" with preliminary, quizzical or hot-button ads? (The recent PacBell caller ID ad campaign was discussed as having pros and cons as a model.)

Discussion centered on prioritizing the release of information:

Change is coming

What is the change? (industry structure, right to choose, etc.)

How to choose an energy provider

How to protect yourself and get help (things to watch out for, where to get redress)

Targeting schools is a possibility. Teach the students and the students teach their parents. Also school projects, generating interest in making videos (school competitions) that get the message across.

We need to gauge the interest in direct access by interviewing potential customers. We will do "man-on-the-street" interviews to see what people think about what's coming.

SDG&E is engaging in focus groups with customers on this topic and will share results with the our group. The state of Wisconsin has done some market research and has published results. Diana Brooks will e-mail the results to D participants of record.

A necessary component of customer support in the preliminary and transition stages of restructuring is an 800 number that can be accessed statewide for relevant information. A local UDC number would also be desirable.

The question arose, "Will there be any service providers for residential customers on 1/1/98?" If not, the education effort should be tailored to consider that fact. "What is the reality?" Is the Commission committed to direct access for small customers? It would be an exercise in futility, not to mention bad press to expend massive resources educating the public and then have no one offering service.

We need a market assessment to determine the education effort needed. The October 30 report could outline for the Commission our proposed schedule, including allowing for market assessment, audience targeting and dissemination of information.

Issues #6, 7 and 9 will be given priority at our next meeting, on September 12. Contact the responsible persons with any ideas or questions. As usual, written submittals are preferable, and preferably submitted to DRA (by e-mail or diskette) three days ahead of the meeting for posting on the DRA website so parties can have a chance to read and digest them. E-mailing (or faxing to those without e-mail) to everyone on our list is even faster.