NV Energy in Reno has their commercial billing office closed due to COVID. No walk-ins, limited phone availability, and they're telling me LOA processing times are 4-6 weeks instead of the usual 10 days. I have three clients waiting on data. Is everyone else dealing with this kind of delay right now?
Utility billing department closed for COVID — how to get data during shutdowns
Same here with NV Energy on the Las Vegas side. I pivoted to using their online portal wherever possible. If the client can add you as an authorized user through the website it bypasses the LOA processing queue entirely. Also found that emailing the LOA directly to a specific person in commercial accounts (rather than the general inbox) gets faster results. Call first, get a name and direct email, then send the LOA to that individual.
Nashville Electric Service was backed up for weeks during the early shutdown but they recovered quickly once staff started working remotely. I think utilities that already had electronic LOA processing adapted faster than ones that relied on paper. This pandemic is probably going to push more utilities toward electronic submission and online portals permanently, which would be great for us long-term.
Holly makes a good prediction. The pandemic accelerated electronic data access at many utilities. I'm seeing more utilities accept emailed LOAs now than before 2020. Take advantage of this shift — if a utility that previously required fax or mail is now accepting email, update your records and use the faster method going forward even after offices reopen. The workflow improvements from this period are worth keeping.