Barbadians who receive “bad” service from the Barbados Light & Power Company (BLPC) may no longer be required to file a claim in order to receive compensation, if newly proposed Standards of Service get the nod from the Fair Trading Commission (FTC).
The FTC is proposing automatic compensation for some service categories as it seeks to update the guaranteed standards.
If passed, it would mean that customers would get automatic compensation for fault repairs relating to the BLPC’s distribution system. The utility would also be required to provide a cost estimate for complex connection within 25 days as opposed to
the current 30 days, and this category of service would also require automatic compensation.
In relation to reconnections, the current target is within six working hours of receipt of payment with working hours meaning from 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on a working day. However, the proposal is for reconnection within two hours for customers with advanced metering infrastructure. The standard remains six hours for other customers.
Customers are required to notify the BLPC of their payment and present a receipt number as evidence when the payment is made at a place other than the BLPC.
In relation to response time to a billing complaint, the new proposed target is for an assessment and resolution within eight working days of receipt of complaint where a service visit is required. The current standard is 10 days.
The FTC is further proposing that all advanced metering infrastructure meter readings are to be verified monthly for all customer classes.
The regulator is also proposing a new standard requiring “the issuance of a relating-to-technician inspection receipts in 95 per cent of inspections at customer’s premises with adequate documentation of issues investigated during the visit, for example, photographs or video recording”.
The FTC said in its proposed Standards of Service document that the BLPC in its submission repeatedly referenced the COVID-19 global pandemic as a major challenge.
“The Commission is mindful of the challenges highlighted. On the other hand, the future is uncertain and the Commission is of the view that the BLPC must continue to strive for an improved standard of service and reliability for its customers, aiming for the Commission’s targets which fully examine the constraints and capabilities of the BLPC. Where unavoidable shortfalls occur, the Commission will consider the extension to BLPC of any prudent and required exemptions, as covered under this framework,” said the FTC.
The utilities regulator is also proposing new Standards of Service for Cable and Wireless (Barbados) Ltd. (C&W) as it relates to landline services. If a customer wants to end the service, the company is also required to give a timeline for the account to come to an end.
Also, once a landline customer files a complaint the company, which operates here as FLOW, is required to measure the time it takes to complete a service once that complaint has been lodged.
The FTC said it had the responsibility to ensure C&W meets the standards necessary to ensure consumers have access to efficient and reliable fixed-line services.
The C&W standards relate to installation or transfer of service, fault repair, customer complaint resolution time, repeated loss of service, customer appointments, reconnection after disconnection for non-payment, wrongful disconnection, billing accuracy and account cancellation time after customer request.
The FTC had proposed automatic compensation for several of the Standards of Service, but C&W claimed that to make the switch to automatic compensation in those instances it would require substantial adjustments to its billing system and the input of the system vendor. This process is said to take months and pose considerable costs to C&W.
In its response, the FTC said “In keeping with the principles of fairness and a need to balance the needs of the consumer with the continued viability of the service provider, the Commission considers it prudent not to adjust the mechanisms for the delivery of compensation under the Standards of Service at this time.”
The regulator also said it acknowledges C&W’s argument and it agreed that actual compensation paid to customers could be improved by a greater focus on enhancing customer awareness. “As such, the current structure for compensation remains the same,” the FTC said.
As part of its review of the Standards of Service, the commission will hold public hearings, which will start next week.
Once adopted, the proposals will be part of the 2022-2025 Standards of Service, which becomes effective for a period to be determined by the commission but no longer than five years with a right for the FTC to review the standards before the end of the period and extend its decision for an additional two years if necessary.
The FTC added that there are consequences, including fines, for the utilities’ failure to comply with the prescribed targets under the Guaranteed Standards of Service and the overall Standards of Service. marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
