Published 08/05/2010
Johnson, VT – Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc. is proud to announce significant performance improvement in its service quality and reliability standards set by state regulators during its plan year.

VEC exceeded both the SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) and CAIDI (Consumer Average Interruption Duration Index) measures for the first time since the inception of the SQRP in 2004. In 2009, VEC had an average of 2.1 outages per customer. The average duration of VEC’s outages was 2.0 hours, excluding major storms. 

“We are very pleased to report that in 2009 VEC made great strides in exceeding these measures,” said Dave Hallquist, CEO. “Our success in improving reliability can be attributed to a strong focus in 2009 on capital improvements, increased system maintenance, and smart meters. Reducing the frequency of outages not only results in lower operating costs, it also results in improved member satisfaction.” 

Consistent with other electric utilities in the state, VEC is also required to report on service quality performance benchmarks in such areas as call answering, bill accuracy, member satisfaction, and safety. 

VEC answered 100 percent of incoming calls to the company within 20 seconds, well above the 75 percent standard. Other key service quality accomplishments include: 

• a blocked call rate (busy signal) below the 3 percent achievement standard
• billing accuracy of 99.9 percent
• 90% overall member satisfaction after member initiated contact with VEC, for the second year in a row. 

Of the 17 performance benchmarks, two were narrowly missed in lost time incident and lost time severity rate which are both safety measures. “Safety is a top priority at VEC and we are confident that we will achieve all performance measures in the year to come,” said Hallquist. 

Results of VEC’s service quality standards can be found on its website at www.vermontelectric.coop under News Center>Reports.

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