Customer service enhancement in electrical utility

The electric utility industry in India is undergoing fundamental changes. Cogeneration, independent power production and competition from utility marketers is emerging. Larger industrial customers are opting to produce power themselves. Some of them may even opt for quality power by wheeling from distant sources. In this environment, the electricity industry's perception of its customer should change. The role of an electric utility as a power service provider is becoming critical. Rapid restoration of power supply to power distribution customers is an essential service responsibility of electric utilities. Utility response to a customer during an outage is a major factor in determining the overall customer attitude towards the utility. This requires reengineering of utility operations in this area. Process redesign potential stems from IT innovations which are available in abundance. The need for faster service restoration and one-call-response to enquiries motivated the use of computer-aided techniques like AM/FM, trouble call analysis, automatic service restoration techniques, etc. Motivated by these needs to improve customer service, the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board introduced its Trouble Call System, a computer-based complaint handling system. This is a modest start in the direction of better customer service.