PECO PECO Customer Service & Billing Operations 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which PECO program allows eligible low-income customers in Pennsylvania to receive a discount on their monthly electric bills?
- Customer Assistance Program (CAP) (Correct answer)
- Energy Flex Program
- Budget Billing Plus
- Residential Rebate Initiative
Correct answer: Customer Assistance Program (CAP)
PECO's Customer Assistance Program (CAP) provides discounted rates to qualifying low-income customers based on household income and size.
Question 2: What is the standard timeframe within which PECO is required to restore power to customers following a reported outage under Pennsylvania PUC regulations?
- As soon as reasonably possible based on outage severity (Correct answer)
- Within 2 hours regardless of cause
- Within 24 hours for all outages
- Within 4 hours for residential customers only
Correct answer: As soon as reasonably possible based on outage severity
Pennsylvania PUC regulations require utilities to restore service as soon as reasonably possible, with timeframes varying based on the cause and scope of the outage.
Question 3: A PECO customer disputes a billing amount they believe is unusually high. What is the correct first step for a PECO representative to take?
- Review the account's usage history and compare to prior periods (Correct answer)
- Issue an immediate credit without investigation
- Transfer the call directly to the Pennsylvania PUC
- Schedule a meter replacement without further review
Correct answer: Review the account's usage history and compare to prior periods
The first step in resolving a billing dispute is to review usage history to identify any anomalies before taking corrective action.
Question 4: Which Pennsylvania law governs the termination of electric service to residential customers and defines the protections PECO must follow?
- Public Utility Code, 66 Pa. C.S. (Correct answer)
- Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law
- Electric Generation Customer Choice Act
- Pennsylvania Energy Conservation Act
Correct answer: Public Utility Code, 66 Pa. C.S.
The Public Utility Code (66 Pa. C.S.) establishes the rules and customer protections that Pennsylvania utilities like PECO must follow for service terminations.
Question 5: What is 'budget billing' as offered by PECO to residential customers?
- A plan that averages annual energy costs into equal monthly payments (Correct answer)
- A program that reduces the bill by 10% each month
- A payment plan exclusively for customers in arrears
- A fixed-rate energy contract lasting 12 months
Correct answer: A plan that averages annual energy costs into equal monthly payments
Budget billing averages a customer's estimated annual usage into consistent monthly payments, avoiding seasonal bill spikes.
Question 6: When a PECO customer requests a 'medical certificate' to postpone service termination, what condition must typically be met?
- A licensed physician must certify that termination would be a serious medical threat to a household member (Correct answer)
- The customer must be enrolled in CAP for at least 6 months
- The account must have a zero balance prior to the request
- The customer must be age 65 or older
Correct answer: A licensed physician must certify that termination would be a serious medical threat to a household member
Pennsylvania regulations allow service termination to be postponed when a licensed physician certifies that shutting off service would create a serious medical risk.
PECO PECO Customer Service & Billing Operations 1
Which PECO program allows eligible low-income customers in Pennsylvania to receive a discount on their monthly electric bills?