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NC AWWA-WEA Utility Management Committee
Effective Marketing and Communications with Utility
Customers
February 19, 2014
Background - Charlotte Facts
• Serves City of Charlotte, Towns in Mecklenburg County (272,000 metered accounts)
• City of Charlotte enterprise fund – customer-funded, not taxpayer-funded
• 746 employees serve ~ 796,000 people
• 3 Water Treatment Plants, 5 Wastewater Treatment Plants – Treat, deliver 100 MGD drinking water – Treat, recycle 76 MGD wastewater
• Maintain over 4,000 miles of distribution – and over 4,000 miles of collection pipe
• Water Intakes at Lake Norman & Mountain Island Lakes
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Monthly Data
• 3 billion gallons (100 MGD) of water used
• 450 water line leaks & main breaks repaired (~15/day)
– Approx. 30% of repairs are classified as emergency priority & fixed w/in 24 hrs. or less.
• 2.3 billion gallons (76 million gallons per day) of wastewater collected & treated
– 23 sewer overflows cleaned up & remediated (less than 1/day).
– Average sewer overflow response time is less than one hour.
• CharMeck 311 processes approx. 45,000 citizen calls for Utility issues
• 24,000 field service orders performed by customer service division staff monthly
– Move in/move out, delinquent turn on/turn off, leak investigations
• 272,000 meters read and billed
What We Do
Why are Rate Increases Necessary?
• Rate increases are projected annually to recover the increasing costs to effectively maintain the community’s growing and aging water and waste water system.
• Although CMUD has enhanced its operating efficiency and reduced staffing levels, the cost to pay for large construction projects and operating expenses has increased.
• The FY14 CIP is funded by 55 percent PAYGO and 45 percent new debt, being the first new debt issued since 2009.
• Residential consumption continues to decline.
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Rate Setting Components
Revenue Requirements & Service Levels
Water/Sewer Sales Forecast
Policies, Guidelines
Rates & Fees
$118
$152
$66
FY 14 Total Revenue Requirement
$240M $240M
$269M $293M
Projected
($328)
$ in ( ) projected last year
$148
$108
$318M $307M
(50)
($310)
$114
$152
$52 $51
(112) (117)
(154)
(57)
(148)
$336M
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Changes in Revenue Requirements
Account Growth and Household Consumption
Use
in C
cf
Num
ber
of A
ccou
nts
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
200,000
220,000
240,000
260,000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Number of Accounts ccf per household
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How Do We Compare? (7 Ccf / 5,000 gal /month)
CMUD delivers safe, reliable water and sewer services at competitive prices. The new rates compare very favorably against existing rates in other NC municipalities and across the southern United States.
How We Communicate with Customers
Media & Social Media My Citizen Services Portal was launched in October 2012 allowing customers to view, pay and analyze their bills. As of January 2014, 24,691 utility accounts were registered representing 8.8% of total bills 283,026. CharMeck 311 Call Center handles over 45,000 utility calls per month, representing 38.5% of total call volume. Customers can call in to request water service on or off, change addresses, report a water leak, ask billing questions, check current balance and report a sewer spill. Bill Inserts/Messages, Brochures, Pamphlets, Billboards In-person Customer Service Locations
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Case Study What happened in 2009?
Effective Communication
3.3%
4.6%
2.5% 2.8%
4.8% 4.5% 5.0% 4.8%
5.2%
8.9%
7.7%
6.5%
6.3%
14.0%
5.2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Average Residential Rate Increases Typical 7 Ccf Customer
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7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Ccf U
sed
Something is wrong!
Over- billing! Meter is
wrong!
“My usage patterns haven’t changed, why has my bill increased?”
3.3%
4.6%
2.5% 2.8%
4.8% 4.5% 5.0% 4.8%
5.2%
8.9%
7.7%
6.5%
6.3%
64.0%
5.2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Not Your Typical Customer 24 Ccf Customer (<1%)
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Rate Increase
Citizen Taskforce Formed
Evaluation 40-Point Plan
Meter Audit
July 2009 Dec. 2009 Jan. 2010 Sept. 2010 Oct. 2010
• 2009 – Internal process transitions; Drought ends & watering allowed; Rate increase; Customer complaints
• City Manager evaluation in
January 2010 leads to cross departmental team and 40-Point Improvement Plan
Effective Communication
High Bill!
Lessons Learned
• Didn’t fully appreciate the complexity and depth of CMUD stakeholders – Years of neglect of the towns in Mecklenburg led to blind
spots/inability to see issues on the horizon • Delays were deadly
– Spent too much time pretending the problems would go away
– Old adage “Tell it all and tell it fast” would have helped
• Silo mentality between city departments slowed the improvement process
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Best Practices
• Two way communication – Ability for two-way communication is part of the social
media phenomenon – Stakeholders expect concerns to be validated – Customer and stakeholder expectations are
evolving – they truly want to participate in the process
Involve a broad range of people, especially those that are critics
Best Practices
• Service delivery must match expectations – Do what you said you were going to do – Be clear and honest
• Target and tailor communications
• Be willing to adjust plans – Make the process more than a rubber stamp – And, when changes are made communicate them
• Consider a facilitator
• Close the communications loop
