Electric Linemen replace a utility pole. On the Department of Public Utilities’ recent customer survey, residential and commerical customers gave high marks to the department’s field employees. They scored a 3.4 out of four. Courtesy Photo/DPU
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) recently published its 2017 customer survey and the survey results look positive.
Overall, DPU’s residential customers deemed the county utilities as good, giving it a 3.3 on a four-point scale. Additionally, commercial customers gave DPU an overall score of 3.4.
The goal, Public Relations Manager Julie Williams Hill said, is to earn a 3.5 or higher so DPU is just a few decimals shy of its goal.
The biennial survey began 12 years ago. This is the seventh survey DPU has conducted. DPU Manager Tim Glasco said the results from this year’s survey are similar to results from previous years. Although trying to figure out why some scores go up or down is a lot like gazing into a crystal ball, Glasco did say survey participants older than 65 tend to give higher scores than younger participants. He explained survey takers older than 65 have lived in town long enough to see the improvements whereas the younger survey participants have higher expectations and would like to have the latest technology.
Williams-Hill added DPU continuously scores above 3.0 in quality, reliability and communication with residential and commercial customers. When it comes to value, residential customers gave DPU just below good at 2.9.
The purpose behind the survey is to better serve the customer, Glasco said. “We use this to try to meet our customers’ needs … (we) use it to find out if they agree with things we are doing. It’s a very useful thing.”
Quite a few services and features that DPU offers its customers originated from past surveys. Williams-Hill pointed out offering renewable energy credits and DPU’s new mobile app came from customers’ feedback on previous surveys.
It also provides valuable feedback regarding current issues facing DPU such as pursuing small modular nuclear reactors to provide electricity to the County when the Los Alamos County’s ownership interest expires in the San Juan coal-fired plant.
Williams-Hill said most residential customers either agreed or strongly agreed with pursuing nuclear power while more than half of commercial customers also showed support for it. This information will be valuable when DPU staff discusses small modular nuclear reactors with the Board of Public Utilities and with County Council, she said.
In addition to better serving its customers, DPU is also looking to see how it measures up to other utilities.
Glasco said the DPU has been striving to be eligible to apply for and receive a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which is a national award given to organizations that demonstrate performance quality and excellence. To be eligible to apply, DPU would need to receive the state highest service award, which is a Zia, from the New Mexico Performance Excellence Awards Program administered by Quality New Mexico (QNM). In the past, DPU received Roadrunner recognition from QNM.
Williams-Hill said customers’ feedback in the survey is very much appreciated. “We are very thankful to our customers for providing this very valuable feedback to us.”
Glasco added the information received from surveys is studied. “We go over every item of information and figure out how we can do better.”
The survey, conducted by Southwest Planning & Marketing in May, randomly sampled 421 residential customers and 78 commercial customers for a margin of error (confidence interval) no greater than plus or minus 4.65 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
The complete 2017 Customer Satisfaction Survey is available at https://rebrand.ly/2017_DPUCustomerSurvey and the summarized presentation shared with the Board of Public Utilities at the Aug. 16, 2017 meeting at https://rebrand.ly/2017_DPU_SummarizedCustomerSurvey.
Hardcopies of the 2017 Customer Satisfaction Survey are available at the DPU office at 1000 Central Ave., Suite 130 in Los Alamos.
Clay Moseley, engineering project manager, instructs fourth grade students on pumping water out of the ground to supply Los Alamos County with water. Communication was an area that got positive feedback from the public on a recent Department of Public Utilities survey. Courtesy/DPU
