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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Notice of power shutoffs no longer a job for utility staff in Idaho

Idaho residents who are about to get their power shut off for delinquent payments no longer have to be notified by a utility employee knocking on their door.

The state’s “knock rule” required utility employees to try to talk to customers in person 24 hours prior to the shutoff, giving them a chance to pay up and avoid the disconnection.

But the Idaho Public Utilities Commission changed the rule last month for Avista Corp. and two other state-regulated electric utilities if they install meters that allow for remote shutoff and reconnections.

The utilities still must provide advance notification of shutoffs by mail and phone. And for customers whose meters require manual shutoffs, a utility employee still must leave a door hanger at the home or business with information.

The utilities said Idaho’s “knock rule,” which isn’t required in Washington, seldom averted shutoffs and created safety risks for their employees. But advocates for the poor opposed the change.

Low-income customers rely more heavily on electric heat and not all of them have bank accounts, wrote Brad Purdy, an attorney for the Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho, in testimony to the Public Utilities Commission.

For the elderly, infirm and disabled, “the final knock on the door and ability to make payment can literally be life-saving,” he said.

Avista began testing the remote shutoff equipment in 2007. The utility chose 600 North Idaho customers with a history of repeat shutoffs, aggressive dogs or difficult-to-access meters.

When Avista employees knock on doors, customers only answer about 15 percent of the time, said Linda Gervais, the company’s manager of regulatory policy. Sometimes, those encounters turn hostile.

“We started to see more issues as the economy tanked, and people were under financial pressures and stress,” Gervais said.

Customers have brandished guns at Avista employees and tied aggressive dogs to their meters in an effort to halt shutoffs, she said. Rocky Mountain Power Corp., which operates in eastern Idaho, said customers have tried to engage their employees in fistfights, sprayed them with water from hoses and spit at them.

For Avista, the remote connect and disconnect program has worked so well that the utility plans to expand it.

Most customers who experience shutoffs pay their bills within 24 hours and get their power restored, Gervais said. So, the ability to disconnect and reconnect remotely saves the utility the cost of repeat trips to the business or residence.

Customers also benefit, because their power can be restored faster, Gervais said. When the bill is paid, the average wait time to get power back is 14 minutes with a remote connection, versus 14 hours with a manual connection, she said. The customers also pay a smaller reconnection fee.

“We never want the customer to be in a position of facing a disconnect,” said Debbie Simock, an Avista spokeswoman.

After sending past-due bill mailings to customers, the utility will try up to seven times to reach customers by phone in the 24 hours before the shutoff. Avista representatives encourage customers to contact the utility to arrange a payment plan, or get help connecting to a heating-assistance program, she said.

If Avista employees are on someone’s property, they will still knock on the door to alert the resident, Gervais said.