Solar and Smart Meter Update - EWOV · 1 EWOV Solar and Smart Meter Update ... 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 Oct to Dec 2011 Jan to Mar 2012 April to Jun 2012 July to Sept 2012

Energy & Water Ombudsman (Victoria) Limited A.B.N. 57 070 516 175

1 EWOV Solar and Smart Meter Update - 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012

Solar and Smart Meter Update

1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012 Released February 2013



CONTENTS

1. Solar and Smart Meter Cases ................................................................................ 3

2. SMART METER UPDATE ........................................................................................ 4

2.1. Smart Meter Cases Stabilise ........................................................................................ 4

2.2. Monthly Trends ............................................................................................................ 4

2.3. Case Registration Snapshot ......................................................................................... 5

2.4. Top 10 Smart Meter Case Issues ................................................................................. 5

2.5. Smart Meter Case Study .............................................................................................. 6

3. SOLAR UPDATE ..................................................................................................... 7

3.1. Solar Cases Continue to Rise ........................................................................................ 7

3.2. Monthly Trends ............................................................................................................ 8

3.3. Case Registration Snapshot ......................................................................................... 8

3.4. Top 10 Solar Issues....................................................................................................... 8

3.5. Solar Case Study ......................................................................................................... 10

APPENDIX - GRAPHS AND TABLES ............................................................................. 11

Graph 1: Monthly Trends - Smart Meter Cases ................................................................ 11

Table 1: Case Registration Snapshot - Smart Meter Cases ............................................... 12

Table 2: Case Registration Snapshot - Solar Cases ........................................................... 13

PUTTING THIS REPORT IN CONTEXT .......................................................................... 14

GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................. 15

This report provides stakeholders with an analysis of solar and Advanced Meter (Smart Meter) complaint data, including case issues, case studies and outcomes.

A copy of this Update is uploaded onto the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) (EWOV)'s

website.



This report details the solar and Smart Meter complaint issues presented by Victorian energy customers to the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) (EWOV) over the period of 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012.

1. Solar and Smart Meter Cases The graph below indicates the number of solar and Smart Meter-related cases EWOV received during the period of 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2012.

SOLAR AND SMART METER UPDATE

1,352 1,335

1,012 1,031 1,119

2,468 2,461

2,019

2,515 2,608

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Oct to Dec 2011 Jan to Mar 2012 April to Jun 2012 July to Sept 2012 Oct to Dec 2012

EWOV solar and Smart Meter cases received by quarter

1 October 2011 to 31 December 2012

Smart Meter Cases Solar Cases



2. SMART METER UPDATE

2.1. Smart Meter Cases Stabilise During this reporting period, EWOV received an increase in the number of Smart Meter cases compared to the previous quarter - 1,119 cases in total. However, this number is still significantly lower than what EWOV experienced in the same period of 2011 (a 17% drop between the 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2011 period compared with the 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012 period).

Descriptions of case levels: Enquiry, Referral and Investigation are available in the glossary on page 15.

2.2. Monthly Trends During this reporting period, EWOV received 1,119 Smart Meter cases - 39% of which were received in November 2012 alone. The majority of these cases were resolved as Referrals1. Appendix: Graph 1 shows Smart Meter cases received by month and case type.

1 82% of Smart Meter cases received between 1 October 2012 and 31 December 2012 were resolved as

Referrals, with 66% resolved as Assisted Referrals and a further 16% resolved as Unassisted Referrals. Descriptions of Assisted and Unassisted Referrals are available in the glossary on page 15.

72 76 30 41 44

1,124 1,084

868 910 921

156 175

114 80 154

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600


EWOV Smart Meter cases received by quarter 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2012

Enquiries Referrals Investigations



2.3. Case Registration Snapshot

Notably, the highest number of Smart Meter cases continues to involve Retailer 1 customers in the Distributor 2 distribution area (157 cases). This was followed by Retailer 2 customers who resided in the Distributor 5 distribution area (130 cases). Table one in the appendix on page 12 shows the case numbers registered against each retailer categorised by individual distribution areas. 2.4. Top 10 Smart Meter Case Issues

Of the 1,119 Smart Meter cases received in this reporting period, 1,673 issues were registered2, of which 20% were from customers who complained about high billing following the installation of a Smart Meter. This was followed by 13% of customers who complained about the installation of the Smart Meter itself.

Of the meter exchange cases EWOV received, 68% were registered against the distributor and 82% were handled as referrals3 - 32% of these cases were found to be

2 A case can have more than one issue.

3 Of the 82% of referrals registered, 46% were resolved as Assisted Referrals and a further 36% resolved as

Unassisted Referrals.

32

36

37

46

57

61

68

129

215

331

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Billing > Backbill > Other

Customer Service > Failure to Consult / Inform

Billing > Meter > Faulty

Billing > Meter > Reading

Billing > Tariff > Loss of Off Peak Rates

Customer Service > Poor Service

Billing > Estimation > High

Billing > Delay

Provision > Existing Connection > Meter Exchange

Billing > High > General

Top 10 Smart Meter Issues 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012



out of EWOV's jurisdiction because the complaint related to the content of government policy. It is interesting to note the impact on EWOV case handling following the December 2012 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting. The decision to introduce a non-compulsory national rollout of Smart Meters, and the subsequent media coverage of this decision, resulted in EWOV receiving a number of calls from customers querying whether the Victorian rollout was still mandatory. EWOV advised customers that this COAG decision did not impact the Victorian Government's policy for a mandatory rollout of Smart Meters across Victoria by the end of 2013. 2.5. Smart Meter Case Study The following case study is about high billing received after a Smart Meter was installed. 2012/51225: Retailer: Retailer 1 - Distributor: Distributor 2

Opened 1 November 2012: Closed 20 December 2012 Issue: High Bill and estimated meter readings A customer of Retailer 1 contacted EWOV after receiving a high bill of $2,308.25. He believed that the bill was too high, as he had previously received estimated bills of $300-$500 per quarter. His meter is located on the front verandah of his property where there are dogs, but they are usually locked in the backyard when a meter reading is scheduled to occur. He contacted EWOV because he was dissatisfied that meter readers were not checking to see if the dogs were in the backyard, and that as a result he had received estimated bills. He had just had a Smart Meter installed in 2012, and thought that his meter would be read remotely. EWOV’s investigation confirmed that the meter reads were estimated between January 2012 and October 2012, as a result of 'vicious dogs preventing access'. Distributor 2, the electricity distributor, confirmed that the property had a Smart Meter installed, but its Smart Meters aren’t currently configured to be read remotely. Retailer 1 confirmed that the bill of $2,308.25 was a catch-up bill, based on an actual meter read, and was issued because previous estimations were lower than the customer's actual consumption. The customer accepted this information and agreed to pay the outstanding amount. Retailer 1 advised EWOV that it had sent Distributor 2 updated instructions for reading the meter -

“Meter on front verandah, knock as someone is always home to give clear access”. Retailer 1 also advised that if the meter reader did not feel that it was safe to read the meter, they will not be required to do so. However, it advised that if this occurred and resulted in an estimated meter read, Retailer 1 would accept the customer's own reading and issue a bill on this basis. It also provided a direct contact to facilitate this. It is important to note that customers are required to provide safe and unhindered access to the meter, as per clause 25 of the Energy Retail Code.



3. SOLAR UPDATE 3.1. Solar Cases Continue to Rise EWOV received 2,608 solar cases during the reporting period from 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012. This figure is 5% higher than the level recorded in the same period in 2011 (1 October 2011 to 31 December 2011). EWOV had not seen this level of solar cases since the 1 July 2011 to 30 September 2011 reporting period (2,691). It also represents a 23% increase in cases since the 1 April 2012 to 30 June 2012 quarter.

Descriptions of case levels: Enquiry, Referral and Investigation are in the glossary on page 15.

70 71 47 133 134

2,003 1,986

1,547

2,073 2,081

395 404

425

309 393

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000


EWOV solar meter cases received by quarter 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2012

Enquiries Referrals Investigations



3.2. Monthly Trends From 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012, EWOV received 2,608 solar cases and registered 3,963 solar case issues4 - 40% of these cases were received in October 2012. The majority of these cases were resolved as Referrals (80%)5. (Table two in the appendix on page 13 shows solar meter cases received by month and case type.) 3.3. Case Registration Snapshot During this reporting period, 88% of all solar cases were registered against energy retailers. Similar to the last reporting period, 58% of all these were registered against three energy retailers (Retailer 2, Retailer 1 and Retailer 10). Cases regarding electricity distributors accounted for 6% of solar cases, an almost unchanged figure from the previous reporting period of 1 July 2012 to 30 September 2012 (5%)6. During this period, a further 138 cases were found out of EWOV's jurisdiction because the complaint was about a private solar installer. In these instances, customers were referred to Consumer Affairs Victoria. 3.4. Top 10 Solar Issues

As shown in the graph on page nine, between 1 October 2012 and 31 December 2012, the top solar issue reported to EWOV was about delays in upgrading customer supply (428). The majority of these cases were registered against energy retailers (80%) and were handled as Referrals (85%). This is the first reporting period since June 2009 to December 2009 where the most common issue was not about the Premium Feed-in Tariff not being applied. Solar customers also continued to complain about billing (62%), provision (18%), and customer service (11%) issues. The following is a breakdown of EWOV cases received about connection upgrade delay complaints7:

In 37% of delayed connection cases, the retailer had contributed to the delay in connection after delaying the service order request. It was found that: o Customers were not being advised that service orders were rejected or were not

informed in a timely manner.

4 Please note that a case can have more than one issue.

5 80% of solar meter cases received during this reporting period were resolved as Referrals, with 64%

resolved as Assisted Referrals and a further 16% resolved as Unassisted Referrals. Descriptions of Assisted and Unassisted Referrals are available in the glossary on page 15. 6 A further 6% of all solar cases were not allocated against a provider.

7 Given the majority of these cases were registered as Assisted Referrals, it is unclear whether the delay

was truly caused by the retailer, distributor, customer or installer as the matter was referred back to the provider for resolution and EWOV was only provided with the customer's statement.



In 28% of the delayed connection cases, electricity distributors were found to have delayed the meter reconfiguration/installation. Examples of this include: o The distributor attending the incorrect property and not following up with the

customer. o Incorrect timeframes being advised. Customers were initially told it would take

20 days for installation and were later advised that the timeframe was more likely to be 50 business days.

o Customers complaining about being put back into the queue if their service order was rejected due to an error or missing information on the original solar paperwork.

o Customers, particularly those who resided in new properties (e.g. new estates), advising EWOV that they had had service orders rejected. Many were told that council rates notices were needed to update the supply address before the distributor would attend.

* The majority of these cases were about solar installers. These cases are outside of EWOV's jurisdiction and customers were referred to Consumer Affairs Victoria.

In 16% of cases, customers were confused after being provided with conflicting information from both the retailer and distributor. This was especially evident when customers queried whether their newly installed Smart Meter was solar-enabled.

Eight cases were out of jurisdiction as it was the solar installer who was responsible for the delay in upgrade - most likely caused as a result of not providing or errors in the paperwork. Errors in paperwork accounted for 5% of delayed connection cases

86

93

124

149

188

194

254

279

388

428

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Customer Service > Failure to Consult / Inform

Provision > Existing Connection > Meter Exchange

General Enquiry > Energy / Water*

Billing > Error > Other

Billing > Tariff > Transitional Feed-in Tariff > Not Applied

Customer Service > Poor Service

Billing > High > General

Billing > Delay

Billing > Tariff > Premium Feed In > Not Applied

Provision > Existing Connection > Supply Upgrade > Delay

Top 10 Solar Meter Issues 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012



received. The investigations revealed that the majority of errors were the result of the Registered Electrical Contractor inputting incorrect, insufficient or incomplete information.

In 8% of cases both the retailer and distributor contributed to the delay in the upgrade/reconfiguration.

3.5. Solar Case Study

The following EWOV case study demonstrates a common issue customers experience

when completing the solar process.

2012/43686: Retailer: Retailer 1 - Distributor: Distributor 2 Opened 26 September 2012: Closed 26 November 2012 Issue: Solar meter reconfiguration delay and conflicting information from the retailer and the distributor The customer was dissatisfied with Retailer 1 regarding a delay in upgrading the meter to be solar-enabled. She installed a solar system in June 2012 and sent all paperwork to Retailer 1. Retailer 1 confirmed it had received the paperwork on 22 June 2012 and that it was completed correctly. Retailer 1 requested a meter exchange from Distributor 2 but the exchange was delayed due to a high volume of meter exchange requests at the time. An EWOV Assisted Referral was lodged on 26 September 2012. As a result, Retailer 1 confirmed the meter was exchanged to a solar-enabled meter on 11 September 2012 and that the customer would receive Transitional Feed-in Tariff (TFiT) credits from this date. The customer was satisfied that the meter had been exchanged, but she advised that Retailer 1 had previously promised to backdate solar credits to June 2012. This was disputed by Retailer 1. The customer re-contacted EWOV and an investigation commenced. As part of the investigation, EWOV requested copies of call recordings. The call recordings revealed that Retailer 1 did promise to backdate solar credits to June 2012. The customer requested a credit of $150 in light of the customer service issues and the incorrect advice from Retailer 1. Retailer 1 apologised for the customer service issues and the delayed meter exchange, and agreed to apply a $150 credit to the customer’s account. The customer accepted Retailer 1’s offer in lieu of backdating TFiT.



APPENDIX - GRAPHS AND TABLES

Graph 1: Monthly Trends - Smart Meter Cases

Graph 2: Monthly Trends - Solar Meter Cases

21 17 6

340 377

204

50 46

58

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Oct-12 Nov-12 Dec-12

EWOV Smart Meter cases by month 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012

Enquiry Referral Investigation

64 42 28

829 754

500

146

137

108

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Oct-12 Nov-12 Dec-12

EWOV solar cases by month 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012

Enquiry Referral Investigation



Table 1: Case Registration Snapshot - Smart Meter Cases

Provider

Distribution area

Total Distributor

1 Distributor

4 Distributor

5 Distributor

2 Distributor

3 Not allocated Interstate

Retailer 1 9 9 66 157 17 2 260

Retailer 2 21 6 130 33 21 1 212

Retailer 10 21 23 17 11 42 1 115

Distributor 2

77

77

Distributor 3

77

77

Retailer 14

5 11 17 8 1 42

Distributor 4

42

42

Retailer 13 2 4 11 13 13 1 44

Retailer 8 2 5 16 13 7

1 44

Retailer 16 2 2 6 16 11

37

Retailer 11 5 2 8 11 8

34

Distributor 5

32

32

Not allocated

30 30

Distributor 1 18

18

Retailer 15

3 4 6 1

14

Retailer 7

4 8

12

Retailer 18 3

3 3 1 1 11

Retailer 4 2

5

2

9

Retailer 17

2

1 1 4

Retailer 5

4

4

Retailer 12

1

1

Total 85 102 315 369 209 38 1 1,119



Table 2: Case Registration Snapshot - Solar Cases

Provider

Distribution area

Total Distributor

1 Distributor

4 Distributor

5 Distributor

2 Distributor

3 Not

allocated Interstate

Retailer 2 30 31 398 134 107 25 5 730 Retailer 1 4 38 113 248 66 9 478 Retailer 10 7 65 79 55 101 7 2 316 Retailer 13 5 23 73 50 31 5 187 Retailer 16 2 11 82 51 17 2 165 Not allocated 4 9 38 30 11 60 1 153 Retailer 14 4 9 59 27 11 6 116 Retailer 8 1 17 34 33 18 3 106 Retailer 11 3 5 30 36 22 2 98 Distributor 2 85 85 Distributor 5 40 40 Retailer 15 2 14 11 3 30 Retailer 4 1 5 10 6 22 Distributor 3 17 17 Retailer 7 10 3 1 2 16 Retailer 5 4 6 4 1 15 Retailer 18 6 4 2 12 Retailer 17 1 7 8 Retailer 3 4 1 5 Distributor 4 5 5 Distributor 1 4 4 Total 64 221 987 792 415 119 10 2,608



PUTTING THIS REPORT IN CONTEXT The following criteria need to be taken into account when reviewing this report. EWOV’s analysis is limited by its scope EWOV only examines the cases it receives. For example, EWOV is not always privy to the number of solar customers a retailer may service during and prior to this reporting period. Also, EWOV does not know about the efficiency of each retailer’s internal complaint management procedures. This affects EWOV’s ability to analyse trends and examine the ‘bigger picture’ cause of complaints. Most cases are Referred complaints This report is based on data taken from enquiries and complaints. Complaints are categorised as either Unassisted Referrals, Assisted Referrals or Investigations (Batching, Stage Two, Stage Three or Final Stage). Please refer to the glossary on page 15 for definitions. EWOV does not investigate Referred complaints and is limited to hearing only the customer’s ‘side of the story’. Customers sometimes re-contact EWOV Customers sometimes re-contact EWOV after previously being referred back to their company because their concerns remain unresolved. This can result in EWOV registering an Assisted Referral after a previous Unassisted Referral, or registering an Investigation if the matter remained unresolved after an Assisted Referral. Customers may have complaints relating to more than one issue Based on the customer’s statement, EWOV sometimes registers two issues for the one case – for example, estimated billing and the PFIT not being applied to an account. EWOV staff register cases by fuel (electricity, gas, LPG or water) and case type (enquiry and complaint). Also, a customer may have issues with two different companies at the same time.



GLOSSARY Complaint A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction regarding a policy, practice or customer service performance of an energy or water company which is part of the EWOV scheme, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected. Enquiry An enquiry is a customer's request for general information (e.g. about the Smart Meter rollout). This information may be provided by EWOV or the customer may be referred to another agency. Referred Complaint EWOV does not know the outcome of these referred complaints, except where the referral does not resolve the issue for the customer and they come back to us. There are two types of referred complaints:

Unassisted Referral - where a customer has not yet spoken with their company about their complaint and they are referred back to the company’s contact centre.

Assisted Referral - where a customer has spoken with someone at their company’s contact centre about their complaint, but it remains unresolved and the matter is referred to a higher level complaint resolution officer at the company.

Real Time Resolution EWOV's Real Time Resolution Team receive failed Assisted Referrals calls from customers and then work to negotiate a fair and reasonable resolution of the complaint – all within a one-call approach. Investigated Complaint A complaint for investigation is registered where:

an Assisted Referral has failed, as the matter remains unresolved, and the customer has recontacted EWOV, or

the matter is complex and unlikely to be resolved as an Assisted Referral, or

the provider has requested an escalation to an investigation. Batched Conciliation (previously Stage One Conciliation) The batching process provides for the streamlined resolution of complaints where an outcome can be achieved quickly through immediate negotiation. Conciliators and Scheme Participants can use this process where complaints are identified as being simple and easy to resolve, usually within 10 business days. Not allocated



This case type is registered when a customer tells EWOV about their concern but it does not involve a Scheme Participant, or the customer does not know or tell us the company's name.

Documents

Solar and Smart Meter Update - EWOV · 1 EWOV Solar and Smart Meter Update ... 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 Oct to Dec 2011 Jan to Mar 2012 April to Jun 2012 July to Sept 2012