Energy Service Quality

Commenting on a series of reports issued by the New York Department of Public Service, the state Public Service Commission related that the reports indicate that all of the state's major energy utilities had achieved a satisfactory level of customer service in 2016. 

The commission conceded that the data showed that although there were a greater number of service outages during the year, the outages were shorter than historical averages. The reports also disclosed that the utilities were in compliance with both electric and natural gas safety standards, including those pertaining to stray voltage of streetlights and other electric facilities that are accessible to the public as well as natural gas leak management. 

In particular, the commission pointed out that over the past nine years, the total natural gas leak repair backlog has decreased by 35.3%. The commission added that its staff has asserted that it expects even greater improvement as the state's natural gas utilities continue existing outreach efforts, adopt better practices in responding to leak and odor calls, and accelerate their work in replacing aging leak-prone infrastructure.