Md. Code Regs. 20.53.08.09 - Call Center Requirements-Supplier-Consolidated Billing

A. A supplier shall ensure that a supplier's call center representatives who interact with customers at a minimum are able to:

(1) Assist customers with contacting a utility, including providing the utility's phone number, to resolve safety matters related to utility service;

(2) Assist customers with billing, disputes, and complaints requests, and provide the utility customer service number upon request; and

(3) Explain how a customer can file a complaint with the Commission and provide the Commission's contact information.

B. Call Center Metrics.

(1) On an annual basis, a supplier shall answer within 30 seconds at least 75 percent of all calls offered to the supplier for customer service.

(2) A supplier shall achieve an annual average abandoned call percentage rate of 5 percent or less, calculated by dividing the total number of abandoned calls by the total number of calls offered to the supplier for customer service.

(3) A supplier shall design its telecommunications systems to accommodate expected volumes of customer calls with minimal or, if possible, no customer busy signals during normal conditions.

C. Other Customer Communications Information. A supplier shall state the following in its report to the Commission:

(1) The percentage of calls that are answered within 30 seconds;

(2) The abandoned call percentage rate;

(3) First call resolution;

(4) The average time to resolve a customer request; and

(5) The average speed of answer, which shall be calculated by dividing the total amount of time callers spend in queue after requesting to speak to a customer service representative through the automated voice response system by the total number of calls handled, including calls handled by the automated voice response system.

D. Customer Communications Standards Period.

(1) A supplier shall measure each standard in this regulation using the 12-month period ending December 31.

(2) For the calendar year in which the regulations become effective, the standards shall be measured from the date the regulations are effective until and including December 31 of that year for reporting purposes only.

E. Reporting.

(1) A supplier that uses the same call center for both gas and electric service is not required to provide separate data for both gas and electric service.

(2) A supplier that uses the same call center for both gas and electric service in multiple jurisdictions is not required to provide separate data for Maryland customers unless the supplier tracks Maryland customers separately.

(3) A supplier shall report its year-ending performance under this regulation to the Commission:

(a) For the first 3 years after obtaining a license to provide SCB; and

(b) Every 3 years after the supplier has held a SCB license for more than 3 years.

F. Except as otherwise set forth in §C of this regulation, the standards in this regulation shall apply to customer calls offered to or received by a supplier's call center, call overflow system, and a third-party vendor retained by the supplier.

G. Corrective Action Plan. If a supplier fails to satisfy the standard in §A, B, or C of this regulation, it shall provide, in its report to the Commission, an explanation of why it did not achieve the standards and provide a corrective action plan if necessary.

Notes

Md. Code Regs. 20.53.08.09

Regulation .09 adopted effective 49:5 Md. R.367, eff. 3/7/2022