Wisconsin utility to test customer choice

A Wisconsin gas utility plans a pilot program to give some of its residential and commercial customers a choice of gas supplier. Wisconsin Gas Co., Milwaukee, asked the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) to approve a program that will allow competitors to supply gas to 1,000 residential and 1,200 commercial customers, starting next November, to test how customers respond to supplier choice under deregulation. The pilot also will give marketers experience in serving those market segments.

April 15, 1996

2 min read

A Wisconsin gas utility plans a pilot program to give some of its residential and commercial customers a choice of gas supplier.

Wisconsin Gas Co., Milwaukee, asked the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) to approve a program that will allow competitors to supply gas to 1,000 residential and 1,200 commercial customers, starting next November, to test how customers respond to supplier choice under deregulation. The pilot also will give marketers experience in serving those market segments.

While all residential participants will be in the city of West Bend, commercial customers may be located throughout Greater Milwaukee, including West Bend, and the eastern part of the Wisconsin Gas service region.

The utility serves more than 505,000 customers in the state.

If approved by PSC, Wisconsin Gas will become one of the first utilities in the U.S. to offer customer choice in buying gas for residential use.

The utility will continue to transport the gas through its pipeline system. Customers in the program will be billed by the marketer instead of the utility.

Participants in the pilot will have from Aug. 1 to Oct. 15 to choose their marketer for 1 year beginning Nov. 1.

Wisconsin Gas said standards of business conduct will be developed and agreed to before marketers will be allowed to take part in the program. The standards are to include credit worthiness, telemarketing protocol, accessibility to customers, customer service, and customer complaint procedures. The utility will decide which marketers meet the standards.

The company is preparing educational materials to assist customers in deciding which supplier will best meet their needs.

Wisconsin Gas plans to survey pilot participants at the end of the program to measure their satisfaction. The company also will assess its ability to support choice of supplier throughout its service area.