Kingston Hydro’s 2016 performance has, again, received high scores from the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) – the fourth year the energy regulator has issued a scorecard. The scorecard confirms that Kingston Hydro continues to perform strongly against provincial targets.

“Kingston Hydro benefits from being operated as part of Utilities Kingston’s multi-utility structure. Our high scores highlight the customer service and cost-saving benefits of this service-delivery model. We’re very proud of our results again this year and continue to strive for excellence as we help to build a better community,” says Jim Keech, president and CEO of Utilities Kingston.

Utilities Kingston provides multiple utility services under one roof, including water, wastewater, gas, electricity and fibre optics, which is unique amongst Ontario’s utility providers. The company manages, operates and maintains community infrastructure, including the assets of Kingston Hydro, to deliver safe, reliable services and a personal customer experience.

Below are some of the highlights of the Kingston Hydro scorecard. For additional information, visit the OEB website for frequently asked questions and an overview of performance measures.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE KINGSTON HYDRO SCORECARD, FOR 2016:

Customer focus:

• In early 2017, Utilities Kingston engaged UtilityPULSE to perform a third-party customer engagement telephone survey. A random sample of 401 small commercial and residential electricity customers responded and an overall rating of ‘A’ was achieved, consistent with the first time this survey was conducted in 2014.
• Kingston Hydro well exceeded industry targets for meeting 549 appointments and connecting 153 new residential and small business services on time.
• It scored 99.75 per cent on billing accuracy for the 349,780 bills issued, a slight increase from the first full year reported in 2015.
• It remains above the industry target for answering calls on time, despite a 17 per cent increase in call volume. Customer service representatives responded to 67,244 calls in 2016. Calls increased primarily due to external factors out of the utility’s control.
• Ideally, customer concerns and issues are resolved the first time the customer contacts the utility. Of 48,150 contacts, 98.86 per cent were answered without having to transfer to another staff member in 2016.

Operational effectiveness:

• The average number of times that power to a customer was interrupted was 0.59 – exceeding the distributor target of 0.92 times. While the utility strives to reduce the number of power interruptions, planned outages are required to allow crews to operate, upgrade, replace and maintain the infrastructure, as well as to ensure worker and public safety.
• The average length of a power outage was 1.32 hours. This is the only performance target not met by Kingston Hydro in 2016, and can be  attributed, in part, to the collapse of a pole line on John Counter Boulevard. The event was an isolated incident, driven by a number of unrelated factors. The company makes ongoing investments to ensure the safety and reliability of the local electricity distribution system.
• It cost Kingston Hydro $531 per customer to provide electricity distribution services in 2016 – a 1.7 per cent increase from 2015, 0.8 per cent better than the industry average of 2.5 per cent.

Public policy responsiveness:

• The Kingston Hydro 2015-2020 conservation plan was approved by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) in late 2015 and details how the utility plans to implement programs that will help customers conserve. Results published by the IESO confirm that, during 2016, Kingston Hydro achieved 2.58 GWh of annual savings (persisting to December 31, 2020), down from 5.49 GWh of annual savings in 2015.
• 2016 continued to be a transition year for Kingston Hydro, as delivery plans and service agreements for both the Small Business Lighting and Home Assistance programs were developed and put into place. These programs were introduced to customers in Kingston Hydro’s territory in 2017.
• To date, Kingston Hydro has achieved 8.07 GWh of savings, or 23.40 per cent of its 2015-2020 provincially-mandated electricity conservation target of 34.50 GWh. 

View the scorecard in its full form at Kingston Hydro Rates and Regulatory Affairs.