Ray F from Detroit, MI. DTE Energy territory. Submitted a properly completed LOA to DTE 6 weeks ago for a large manufacturing client. Called twice to follow up. Both times I was told it is being processed. My client is getting impatient and I look unprofessional because I cannot start the analysis without data. How do you escalate when a utility is slow-walking your request?
Utility sitting on my data request for 6 weeks — how to escalate
Ray, 6 weeks is unreasonable for a data request. Most utilities have internal processing targets of 10-15 business days. Here is the escalation ladder: 1) Call commercial billing and ask for a supervisor. Get the supervisor name and a case number for your request. 2) If the supervisor does not resolve it within a week, call the utility regulatory affairs department. They are the people who deal with the Michigan PSC and they do not want complaints going to the commission. 3) If that fails, file a formal complaint with the Michigan PSC. The commission has authority to order utilities to comply with data requests within a specified timeframe.
Randy, going straight to step 2 since I already have two unanswered follow-up calls. Getting the regulatory affairs number from DTE website now.
Ray, I had DTE sit on a data request for 8 weeks on a steel warehouse client. I called their regulatory affairs department and within 48 hours I had the complete billing history in my inbox. The regulatory affairs people have the authority to push the billing department and they are motivated because unresolved customer complaints can trigger PSC inquiries. That phone call is the magic button.
Walt, you were right. Called DTE regulatory affairs yesterday afternoon. Explained the situation professionally — not angry, just factual. Six weeks, two follow-ups, no data. The regulatory affairs rep apologized, took the account numbers, and said she would personally follow up with the billing department. Data arrived in my email this morning. Six weeks of nothing and then 18 hours after regulatory affairs got involved, everything appeared.
The regulatory affairs escalation works at almost every IOU. The key is being professional and factual. Do not call angry. Call with dates, case numbers, and a clear description of what you requested and when. Regulatory affairs people are not used to getting calls from outside parties — most of their interactions are with PSC staff and attorneys. When a utility auditor calls with a documented complaint, they pay attention.
Terry, you are right about the tone. I was tempted to call angry after 6 weeks but I kept it professional and it worked. Adding regulatory affairs contact numbers to my utility reference file for every utility I work with. This is now my week-3 escalation step for any data request that has not been fulfilled.