2013 Ice Storm Update Outage Management Improvements Presentation to Markham Special Committee Meeting December 8, 2014
Agenda • Ice Storm Re-cap • The Formal Review • Improvements • Storm Hardening 2
Worst Storm in our Service Territory • Worst storm seen in our service territory, level of tree destruction on overhead system and residential services was unprecedented and only tempered by the high concentration of underground services in our system • Over 35% or 92,000 of PowerStream customers without electricity – storm hit York Region • Approximately 85% of the affected customers were restored by the end of the second day • Final customers restored on Saturday December 30 th (8 days) 3
2013 Ice Storm Review • Internal Review conducted and reviewed by third-party Consultant • 35 Key Recommendations made - internal Project Management Office is tracking the status of action items • Task Force established to implement actions/recommendations • Hired Communications Consultant to review customer-facing systems and processes • Findings shared with all employees, management and Board • Report was issued publicly on July 31, 2014 and covered by York Media 4
Improvement Areas Addressed • External Communications & Customer Care • Emergency Restoration • Capital Asset Management & System Hardening • Technical Issues 5
External Communications & Customer Care ACTIONS TAKEN Power Outage Live Agents • Implemented a “live agent” option in the Outage Interactive Voice Recognition (Outage IVR) system • Previously, customers could only leave a voice message • Customers can now speak to a Customer Service Representative (CSR) 365/24/7 if that is their preference or if they have difficulty 6
External Communications & Customer Care ACTIONS TAKEN Implemented “One Number” Solution Main Corporate Number 1-877-963-6900 Power Outage Number 1-877-777-3810 • All phone calls are now routed to same location • Customers have the choice to: a) report an outage or b) speak to Customer Service to deal with typical issues (bill questions, etc.) • System has capability for upfront broadcast type messages to let customers know about significant outages and updates for specific areas. 7
External Communications & Customer Care ACTIONS TAKEN • Provided Customer Service Representatives with better tools to assist customers during outages • Developed a Crisis Communications Plan • Plan will addresses any crisis that may occur 8
External Communications & Customer Care WORK CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS • Customer callback – option for customers to receive a call after their power is restored (2015) • Migrating the pilot Outage E-mail Notification Service to a permanent solution (2015) • Information package for Councils and Municipal Staff on utility operations and Emergency Preparedness (2015) • Implementing an out-of-province Call Centre to be deployed in the event of wide-spread provincial outages (2015) 9
Emergency Restoration ACTIONS TAKEN Damage Assessment Process • Enhanced process for damage assessment and restoration following a major outage • Improved planning and prioritization of power restoration efforts • Ensure efficient use of resources • Provide more accurate estimates of times for restoration (ETRs) to be provided to customers and stakeholders 10
Emergency Restoration ACTIONS TAKEN Emergency Preparedness Plan • Recruited and hired a Manager of Emergency Preparedness • Initial priorities: • enhancing the Emergency Preparedness plan • providing training • liaising with municipalities • Provided on-line Incident Management System refresher training to senior/key management WORK CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS • Roll-out of enhanced Emergency Preparedness Plan with training for all parties involved (December 2014) 11
Capital Asset Management ACTIONS TAKEN • Completed a third- party engineering study on ways to “harden” the power distribution system and make it more resilient • Met with municipalities on the issue of planting trees that are compatible with power lines • Through newsletters and social media, encouraged customers to safely perform tree trimming on their property 12
System Hardening ENGINEERING CONSULTANT REPORT Engineering Consultant was engaged to: • Examine potential changes in weather • Identify best practices from other North American utilities • Review PowerStream’s power distribution system and make recommendations Recommendations will be incorporated into budgets with due consideration to customer rate impacts. 13
System Hardening ENGINEERING REPORT FINDINGS: • Scientific research suggests more frequent severe weather can be expected • Enhanced forestry management is necessary • Rear lot services areas to be converted to underground front lot over time • Utilize stronger poles in key areas, including additional guying of pole lines • Convert plant to underground in critical areas • Move certain electronic equipment in transformer stations from the basement to the main floor in case of flooding 14
Technical Issues ACTIONS TAKEN • Third-party consultant completed a detailed technical review of the performance of the Outage IVR during and immediately after the ice storm. • Improvements made to the “logic” in the IVR, in order to enhance customer experience • Incoming telephone capacity can be rapidly increased “on demand” • Incoming capacity to the corporate website has been increased significantly 15
Technical Issues ACTIONS TAKEN • Implemented a Cloud-based Outage Map on the corporate website to better handle large scale outages • Implemented Outage Map viewing for smart phones WORK CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS • Develop the ability to perform “mass interrogation” of smart meters, to ensure that the Outage Management System is accurately tracking outages (2014) 16
Conclusion PowerStream is committed to delivering power and related services to its customers and municipal stakeholders in a safe, efficient and cost-effective manner. 17
Thank You
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