National Grid Improves Utility Rights-Related Customer Service

 

The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has had two meetings with National Grid recently to discuss recurring customer service problems. NGRID's recently-named Massachusetts president, Marcy Reed, attended both meetings. In response, the company agreed to make certain changes to its practices that will make it easier to protect or restore service in cases of financial hardship and serious illness. The following is an edited version of a notice from NGRID to their staff summarizing the agreements.

Low Income Customer Service Process Changes

How we handle claims for medical protections (as of June 24, 2011 training underway, anticipate 30 days to fully implement)

• If service is still on:

• Electric: upon customer’s request for protection because of serious illness, we protect for 30 days, and ask customer to send us documentation within 7 days, reminder letter at 15 days
• Gas: past procedure was to protect for 7 days only, unless we got documentation. We are moving to electric procedure.

• If service is shut off:

• Electric: we accept verbal claim of protection from customer to have power restored, customer then has 30 days to send documentation
• Gas: past procedure was to require documentation to have power restored. We are moving to electric procedure

An automated medical letter in the gas system was out of date, telling customers to renew medical certification in 30 days. This has been corrected and in production: the correction is 90 days for illness and 180 if it’s chronic.

• When customers indicate a sensitive condition (financial or otherwise) agents:

  − Are offering our customers options

  − Exhibit a high degree of empathy

• We are now offering AMP (Arrearage Management Program) to all eligible customers
• Review of medical process with reps completed

Advocacy Tips

• Be sure that the patient asks for serious illness protection (these protections do not apply unless NGRID knows there is a serious illness) and informs them that there is “financial hardship”. (NGRID’s Financial Hardship form.)
• The change to documentation requirements means that patients/advocates do not have to get the letter from the doctor/nurse practitioner/physician’s assistant before seeking serious illness protection.
• NGRID customer service reps should now be offering the Arrearage Management Program (AMP) to all low-income customers who are eligible for the AMP, whether the company is calling the low-income customer to try to collect on an overdue bill, or the customer is calling the company with an inquiry about the bill, or a termination notice, or anything else. Previously, NGRID was not automatically offering information about the AMP to low-income customers when they called, and some advocates were telling NCLC that customers were having a hard time enrolling on the AMP. More information about AMP.

The NCLC is asking advocates to inform them if NGRID is not following these new guidelines.

See also - more information on documenting serious illness.

-Adapted from “IMPORTANT! Recent, favorable improvements to National GRID policies”, e-mail from Charlie Harak, Utility Network Listserv, June 24, 2011.

 

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