CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approve the award of Single Source Procurement 26-107, PowerAssist Outage Management Services, to Util-Assist for an amount not to exceed $128,000 and for a two-year term (Item 1 of 2)
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DEPARTMENT: Electric Utility
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Groth, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The other related item on the City Council agenda is:
• 26-0393: Waive the first reading and pass the ordinance amending Section 8-0.5 (Naperville Public Utilities Customer Bill of Rights) of the Naperville Municipal Code to add outage management services as a permitted third-party service (requires six positive votes) (Item 2 of 2)
In late 2020, the non-emergency City Dispatch moved from the Police Department and merged with the Finance Call Center with the vision of serving as a broader customer service center. City Dispatch provided 24/7 non-emergency customer service and internal service support for Water, Electric and DPW, while the Finance Call Center only provided customer service during normal business hours.
Since that time, the newly consolidated Call Center has operated 24/7/365 and is available to submit service requests for Water, Electric and DPW, answer general inquiries about City services, report power outages, and assist residents with utility and other billing issues. The Call Center also serves an internal service role, completing after-hour callouts for Water, Electric and DPW, triaging power outages with Electric, and providing administrative support.
Multiple long-tenured City Dispatch employees have retired since 2021. In recent years, the Call Center has struggled with the following:
• both recruitment and retention,
• 24/7 operation challenges,
• the number of systems used by Call Center representatives,
• challenging customer interactions,
• inconsistent and varying services provided to departments, and
• legacy responsibilities.
Staff from every City department, led by the City Manager’s Office, have participated in an in-depth review of the Call Center, including scope of services, service level, hours and staffing. Based on call volume, staff does not believe the Call Center needs to be staffed 24/7 going forward. However, the following three key services must be resolved before considering a change in hours:
1. 24/7 call-taking for power outages,
2. managing JULIE locates, and
3. calling in employees to provide service outside of normal working hours (snow, main breaks, storm damage, etc.).
This agenda item addresses key service #1 listed above.
DISCUSSION:
Customers expect timely, up-to-date information on power outages. As a result of this evaluation, staff from Finance, Electric, Communications, and the City Manager’s Office recommend contracting with a third-party firm, Util-Assist.
Util-Assist specializes in providing 24/7 customer support services for electric utilities and the call center would take calls for everything from a single home outage to outages affecting thousands of customers.
The scope of services for City support includes:
• Live voice response
• Social media management
o Util-Assist would issue updates and information regarding outages using an X.com (formerly Twitter) handle
• Interactive digital channels: web chat
• Triage and classification of all power outage related incoming calls
• Coordination with the 24/7 Electric Utility Control Room for system outages through the Electric Utility’s own Outage Management System.
Contracting with Util-Assist will also increase the level of service for our customers, with increased outbound communication on outages, dynamic messaging for customers waiting on hold, and no limit on the number of in-bound calls to the Util-Assist call center. The City’s Call Center line has a limit of 50 inbound calls at one time.
The Electric Utility and Finance Department have identified this purchase as a Single Source because no other comparable service provider could be found in the marketplace.
Through nationwide inquiries from the Government Finance Officers Association and the American Public Power Association mailing lists, no other public entity was able to direct staff to a service provider with specific knowledge and expertise in the electric utility industry. The only alternative is a general answering service, which falls well short of the services provided by Util-Assist.
Staff provided Util-Assist with historical data on power outages, customer counts and call volumes to assist in the development of a cost structure. Staff finds the price proposal of approximately $60,000 annually (based on customer counts), with an $8,000 implementation fee, to be very reasonable for the level of services offered. If the Single Source was not approved, staff would continue evaluating alternative service delivery models or request additional staff to improve service levels in the Call Center.
The term of the contract is two years from the date of award, with three one-year options to extend the contract.
Municipal Code Change to the Public Utilities Customer Bill of Rights (Item 2 of 2)
Through the Municipal Code, the Customer Bill of Rights establishes that utility consumers have (1) the right to be informed, (2) the right to privacy, (3) the right to options, and (4) the right to data security.
The Bill of Rights limits what third parties have access to data that connects customers' personal information and usage data. Third parties are currently limited to:
• Employees of the Public Utilities, Finance Department, and Legal Department
• Any other entity contractually bound to the City to provide wireless meter reading, billing or collection services for public utilities accounts.
In order to contract with Util-Asist, approval of an ordinance amending the Bill of Rights is required to expand third parties to include an entity contractually bound to the City to provide “outage management” services. This ordinance is presented in agenda item 26-0393.
The Customer Bill of Rights also includes that public utility customers will have convenient access to information that helps explain outage information. The proposed text amendment and the approval of the Util-Assist contract further the customers’ right to be informed.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP #: N/A
PowerAssist Outage Management Services will be expensed to the Operational Services account number listed below. The 2026 Budget did not include funding for this use; however, sufficient funding is available due to numerous staffing vacancies that exist in the Finance Call Center. Those salaries are allocated, in part, to the Electric Utility Fund.
The cost of this service is approximately equal to that of one full-time Call Center employee. Future Call Center staffing will be determined as management continues to evaluate reallocating other services provided by that group.
|
Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
40171300-531308 |
Electric Utility |
$7,500 |