Introduction and background:
On December 18, 2003, the Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), predecessor to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC or Commission), issued Directive 002 for owners of electricity distribution systems and Directive 003 for regulated rate providers and default supply providers. These directives were put in place to set minimum performance standards of service quality and reliability for electricity distributors and regulated retailers and to facilitate the monitoring of performance in relation to those standards.
On January 2, 2008, the Commission issued AUC Rule 002 and AUC Rule 003. There were no changes made to the original directives other than to issue them under the AUC name.
Revisions to AUC Rule 002 and AUC Rule 003 were approved on March 23, 2010. Rule 002 has been expanded so that both electricity distribution system owners and gas distributors are included in the rule. In addition to incorporating gas distributors into Rule 002, the changes to Rules 002 and 003 are primarily:
- To ensure consistency in both interpretation and reporting of the metrics;
- To standardize the reporting format; and
- To streamline the reporting process for owners, distributors and regulated retailers by centralizing reporting from other Commission rules into Rules 002 and 003.
Service Quality and Reliability Performance Rule developments:
On March 26, 2010 the AUC issued Bulletin 2010-13 Stakeholder Consultation on Rule 002 and Rule 003 – Service Quality and Reliability Performance Monitoring and Reporting Rules to inform stakeholders that Rule 002 and Rule 003 have been approved. The Commission thanks stakeholders for their time and participation requested by the Commission in Bulletin 2010-08. The following provides further information and resources for the development of the rules.
1) Rule 002, Service Quality and Reliability Performance Monitoring and Reporting for Owners of Electric Distribution Systems and for Gas Distributors
Rule 002 sets minimum performance standards for owners of electric distribution systems and for gas distributors. The rule includes standards for billing and meter reading, worker safety, reliability performance and customer satisfaction performance.
2) Rule 003, Service Quality and Reliability Performance Monitoring and Reporting for Regulated Rate Providers and Default Supply Providers
Rule 003 sets minimum performance standards for regulated rate providers and default supply providers. The rule includes standards for call answering, billing and customer satisfaction performance.