Case Background
Rule
25-30.130, Record of Complaints, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), requires
each water and wastewater utility to keep a record of each signed, written
customer complaint and identifies the information that must be kept in the
record. Rule 25-30.355, Complaints, F.A.C., requires a utility to make a full
and prompt acknowledgement and investigation of all customer complaints, and
defines the word “complaint.” Staff initiated this rulemaking to update
language, delete obsolete requirements, edit to improve readability, and
clarify the rules.
The
Commission also has a rule addressing customer complaints that applies to all
of the Commission’s regulated utilities, Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C., Customer
Complaints. Under this rule, if a customer complaint is not resolved informally
between a customer and the utility, the customer may file a complaint with the
Commission. Staff is not recommending any amendments to this rule because the
process set out in the rule works well.
However, staff examined Rules 25-30.130 and 25-30.355, F.A.C., in light
of the process described in Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C., to determine whether there
was any duplication between the rules and to maintain consistency between the
rules concerning requirements imposed on utilities in acknowledging and
responding to customer complaints.
The notice of
rule development for Rules 25-30.130, Record of Complaints, and 25-30.355,
Complaints, F.A.C., appeared in the February 8, 2017, edition of the Florida
Administrative Register, volume 43, number 26. The Record of Complaints and
Complaints rules were considered by the Commission at the December 12, 2017,
Agenda Conference. The Commission
deferred this docket to the February 6, 2018 Agenda Conference so that staff
could make two changes to the draft Complaints rule, Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C. At the February 6, 2018, Agenda Conference, the
Commission deferred this docket to the April 20, 2018, Agenda Conference so
that additional suggested revisions to draft Rule 25-30.355, Complaints, could
be discussed at a staff rule development workshop.
A staff rule
development workshop was held on March 1, 2018. Previous staff rule development
workshops were held on February 28, 2017, and June 27, 2017. Stakeholders participating
at the workshops were Public Counsel J.R. Kelly, Utilities, Inc. of Florida,
U.S. Water Services Corporation, and Black Bear Waterworks, Inc., Brendenwood
Waterworks, Inc., Brevard Waterworks, Inc., Country Walk Utilities, Inc.,
Harbor Waterworks, Inc., HC Waterworks, Inc., Jumper Creek Utility Company,
Lake Idlewild Utility Company, Lakeside Waterworks, Inc., LP Waterworks, Inc.,
Merritt Island Utility Company, North Charlotte Waterworks, Inc., Pine Harbour
Waterworks, Inc., Raintree Waterworks, Inc., Seminole Waterworks, Inc., Sunny
Hills Utility Company, and The Woods Utility Company (hereafter referred to as
the “Collective Utilities”). The draft rule reflects the comments made at the
workshops as well as the written comments submitted by the Office of Public
Counsel, the Collective Utilities, and Mr. Mike Smallridge.
This
recommendation addresses whether the Commission should propose the amendment of
Rules 25-30.130 and 25-30.355, F.A.C. The Commission has jurisdiction pursuant
to Sections 120.54, 350.127(2), 367.0812, 367.111, and 367.121(1), Florida
Statutes (F.S.).
Discussion
of Issues
Issue 1:
Should the Commission propose the amendment of
Rules 25-30.130, Record of Complaints, and 25-30.355, Complaints, F.A.C.?
Recommendation:
Yes, the Commission should propose the amendments to
Rules 25-30.130 and 25-30.355, F.A.C., as set forth in Attachment A. Staff
recommends that the Commission certify proposed amended Rules 25-30.130 and
25-30.355, F.A.C., as minor violation rules. (Cowdery, King, Graves, Hicks,
Guffey)
Staff Analysis:
Staff recommends that the Commission propose the
amendments to Rules 25-30.130 and 25-30.355, F.A.C., as set forth in Attachment
A.
Rule 25-30.130, F.A.C., Record of Complaints
Staff’s suggested changes to Rule 25-30.130, F.A.C., are
the same as were recommended in the previous staff recommendation heard by the
Commission at the February 6, 2018, Agenda Conference. Staff’s analysis of the recommended
amendments is explained below.
Requirement to maintain a record of all
complaints
Under subsection (1) of Rule 25-30.130, F.A.C., water and
wastewater utilities must maintain a record of all signed, written complaints.
The requirement for a signed, written complaint pre-dates electronic
communication and is technically obsolete. For this reason, staff recommends
that the Commission propose an amendment to subsection (1) of Rule 25-30.130,
F.A.C., to require water and wastewater utilities to maintain a record of all
complaints received.
Staff is further recommending that Rule 25-30.130(1),
F.A.C., be amended to state that the word “complaint” is defined in Rule
25-30.355(2), F.A.C., as discussed below. Staff believes that this will assure
that water and wastewater utilities are made aware of what customer contacts
constitute complaints that are subject to the record keeping requirements of
Rule 25-30.130, F.A.C.
Requirement to maintain a record of each
complaint for five years
As mentioned in the Case Background, the Commission has a
rule applicable to all industries that establish a procedure to resolve
customer complaints that are filed with the Commission, Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C.,
Customer Complaints. This Customer Complaints rule requires a utility to keep
copies of documentation relating to each Commission complaint for two years
after the date the complaint was closed by the Commission. This is a different recordkeeping requirement
than the requirement that water and wastewater utilities retain a record of
each complaint received directly from a customer for five years under Rule
25-30.130, F.A.C., addressed in this docket. Staff recommends that for clarity,
the Commission should add language to Rule 25-30.130, F.A.C., specifying that
documentation relating to customer complaints filed with the Commission under the
Commission’s Customer Complaints rule, Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C., shall be
retained as set forth in Rule 25-22.032(10)(a), F.A.C.
Requirement for utilities to provide records of
complaints to Commission staff upon request
Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C., Complaints
Staff’s recommended amendments to this rule incorporate
modifications resulting from the March 1, 2018 staff rule development workshop.
Staff’s analysis of the recommended amendments is explained below.
Acknowledgment of and Response to Complaints
Subsection (1) of Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C., requires water
and wastewater utilities to make a full and prompt acknowledgement and
investigation of all customer complaints. Staff believes that it is important for
the utility to make clear when acknowledging customer complaints whether the
customer should expect further action by the utility. For this reason, staff
recommends that Section (1) be amended to require a utility to specify in its
acknowledgement of a customer complaint whether any additional action would be
taken on the issue(s) raised by the customer’s complaint.
Further, staff believes that Section (1) should be amended
to specify the number of days in which a utility must acknowledge and respond
to customer complaints. The time frames recommended by staff are intended to
codify the time frames the Commission would expect utilities to already be
meeting when acknowledging and responding to customer complaints.
Staff considered whether the time for acknowledging a
customer complaint should be 3 days or 3 business days. As explained in the
Case Background, in response to staff’s second data request to all regulated
water and wastewater utilities, staff received one written response from Mr.
Mike Smallridge. Mr Smallridge stated that he would need to hire a full time
staff person whose job it would be to respond to customer complaints within the
3 day time period and to investigate the complaint and give the customer a
verbal or written response within 15 days. In addition, Mr. Smallridge asked
the Commission to consider changing the 3 day acknowledgement requirement to 3
business days to compensate for holiday weekends.
At the March 1, 2018 staff rule development workshop,
Utilities, Inc. of Florida, and Collective Utilities argued in favor of
requiring a utility to acknowledge a complaint within 3 business days instead
of 3 days after it receives the complaint. The utilities explained that
requiring an acknowledgment in 3 days is a problem for small utilities. Call
centers or personnel answering the telephone on weekends or holidays may not
know if additional utility action is needed in response to a complaint. The
Office of Public Counsel was satisfied that if a call was an emergency it would
be addressed quickly as required by new Section (3) of the rule and that most
customers would not expect a response to a non-emergency complaint on a weekend.
As previously stated, staff looked to the Commission’s
general customer complaint Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C., in order to maintain
consistency between that rule and the
water and wastewater Complaint rule, Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C., regarding
requirements imposed on utilities when acknowledging and responding to customer
complaints. Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C., essentially applies in situations where a
customer and utility have been unable to resolve a complaint between
themselves, and the Commission staff becomes involved. Under Section (5) of Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C., a
complaint will not be reported in the total number of complaints shown for that
company if it is satisfactorily resolved with the customer within 3 business
days. Staff notes that the Uniform Rules of Procedure Rule 28-106.103, F.A.C.,
concerning computation of time in proceedings for decisions determining
substantial interests, also excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays
when the period of time allowed for an action is less than 7 days.
Based on the comments received from the Office of Public
Counsel, water and wastewater utilities, and use of business days in response
times required by Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C., staff believes that it is reasonable
to require a utility to acknowledge a customer’s complaint within 3 business
days of receipt of a customer complaint. There have been no comments submitted
in this docket objecting to amending Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C., to require a
utility to investigate the complaint and give the customer a verbal or written
response within 15 days. Staff believes
that 15 days is an appropriate and sufficient amount of time for a utility to
investigate a complaint and give the customer a verbal or written response to
the customer’s complaint.
Customer Service Requests
Subsection (1) of Rule 25-30.355,
F.A.C., also requires water and wastewater utilities to “respond fully and
promptly to all customer requests.” Staff is recommending that this requirement
be deleted from Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C., because it is duplicative of other rule
requirements that better explain the utilities’ responsibilities to address
customer service requests. In this regard, Rule 25-30.310(2), F.A.C., addresses
initiation of service; Rule 25-30.250(1), F.A.C., requires water and wastewater
utilities to re-establish service with the shortest possible delay consistent
with the safety of its consumers and the general public; Rule 25-30.320,
F.A.C., addressing refusal or discontinuance of service, contains customer
notification requirements; and Rule 25-30.266, F.A.C., contains provisions that
apply when a customer requests the utility to test for meter error. Further,
customer service requests are appropriately addressed in the rules described
above instead of in the customer complaint rule because customer service
requests are not complaints.
Definition of Complaint
Subsection (2) of Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C., defines a
complaint, in part, as an objection made to the utility by the customer as to
the utility’s charges, facilities, or service that requires action on the part
of the utility. Staff believes that the rule should be amended to make clear
that the customer may inform the utility of his or her complaint by telephone
call, e-mail, letter, or utility’s web-site form. This specificity will mean
that all such customer complaints will be recorded and retained as required in
Rule 25-30.130, F.A.C., and will be responded to within the time frames
specified in Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C.
Commission Staff Inquiries
Subsection (3) of Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C., requires water
and wastewater utilities to reply in writing to Commission staff inquiries
within 15 days from the date of the inquiry. Staff recommends that this
requirement should be deleted because this same requirement is already properly
included in Commission Rule 25-22.032, F.A.C., Customer Complaints, and does
not belong in Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C. The focus of Rule 25-30.355, F.A.C.,
Complaints, is on the utility’s responsibility to acknowledge, investigate and
respond to customer complaints and attempt to resolve those complaints without
Commission staff’s involvement. If Commission staff has become involved and is
requesting information from the utility, it means the complaint has not been
resolved by the utility and customer, and the customer has filed a complaint
with the Office of Consumer Assistance and Outreach for resolution under Rule
25-22.032, F.A.C.
Emergency Calls
Statement of Estimated Regulatory Costs
Pursuant to Section 120.54(3)(b)1.,
F.S., agencies are encouraged to prepare a statement of estimated regulatory
costs (SERC) before the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule. A SERC was prepared for this rulemaking and
is appended as Attachment B. As required by Section 120.541(2)(a)1., F.S., the
SERC analysis includes whether the rule amendments are likely to have an
adverse impact on economic growth, private sector job creation or employment,
or private sector investment in excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5
years after implementation. Section 120.541(2)(a)1., F.S. None of the
impact/cost criteria will be exceeded as a result of the recommended revisions.
The SERC
concludes that the rule amendments are not likely to directly or indirectly
increase regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate in Florida
within 1 year after implementation. Further, the SERC concludes that the rule
amendments will not likely increase regulatory costs, including any
transactional costs or have an adverse impact on business competitiveness,
productivity, or innovation in excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5
years of implementation. Thus, the rule amendments do not require legislative
ratification, pursuant to Section 120.541(3), F.S. In addition, the SERC states that the rule
amendments would have minimal impact on small businesses, would have no
implementation or enforcement cost on the Commission or any other state and
local government entity, and would have no impact on small cities or small
counties. The SERC states that if transactional
costs are to be incurred by individuals and entities required to comply with
the requirements of the rule, they are expected to be minimal.
Minor Violation Rules Certification
Pursuant to Section 120.695, F.S., beginning July 1, 2017,
for each rule filed for adoption, the Commission is required to certify whether
any part of the rule is designated as a rule the violation of which would be a
minor violation. A list of the Commission rules designated as minor violation
rules is published on the Commission’s website, as required by Section
120.695(2), F.S. Currently, Rules 25-30.130 and 25-30.355, F.A.C., are on the
Commission’s list of rules designated as minor violations. If the Commission
proposes the amendment of Rules 25-30.130 and 25-30.355, F.A.C., the rules
would continue to be considered minor violation rules. Therefore, for purposes
of filing the amended rules for adoption with the Department of State, staff
recommends that the Commission certify proposed amended Rules 25-30.130 and
25-30.355, F.A.C., as minor violation rules.
Conclusion
For the reasons described above, staff recommends that the
Commission should propose the amendment of Rules 25-30.130 and 25-30.355, F.A.C.,
as set forth in Attachment A. Staff recommends that the Commission certify the
proposed amended Rules 25-30.130 and 25-30.355, F.A.C., as minor violation
rules.
Issue 2:
Should this docket be closed?
Recommendation:
Yes. If no
requests for hearing or comments are filed, the rules should be filed with the
Department of State, and the docket should be closed. (Cowdery)
Staff Analysis:
If no requests for hearing or comments are filed,
the rules should be filed with the Department of State, and the docket should
be closed.
