DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

                     PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

               SERVICE QUALITY AND RELIABILITY STANDARDS

                  FOR ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS


(By authority conferred on the public service commission by  section  10p  of 
2000 PA 141, section 7 of 1909 PA 106, section 5 of 1919 PA 419,  sections  4 
and 6 of 1939 PA 3, and sections 3, 9, and 231 of 1965 PA 380,  MCL  460.10p, 
460.557, 460,55, 460,4, 460.6, 16.103, 16.109, and 16.331)


                     PART 1.  GENERAL PROVISIONS

R 460.701  Application of rules.
  Rule 1.  (1)  These rules apply to  electric  utilities  as  defined  by  R 
460.702(k).
  (2)  These rules do not relieve an electric utility that is subject to  the 
jurisdiction of the public service commission from any of  its  duties  under 
the laws of this state, including all of the requirements of R 460.3101 to  R 
460.3908.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.702  Definitions.
  Rule 2.  As used in these rules:
  (a)  "All conditions" means conditions reflected by  data  derived  through 
the amalgamation  of  data  from  both  normal  conditions  and  catastrophic 
conditions.  "All conditions" does not mean only normal  conditions  or  only 
catastrophic conditions.
  (b)  "Answer" means that a utility representative, voice response unit,  or 
automated operator system is ready to render assistance or  ready  to  accept 
information necessary to  process  the  call.   An  acknowledgment  that  the 
customer is waiting on the line does not constitute an answer.
  (c)  "Approved by the commission" means that a favorable  commission  order 
has been obtained.
  (d)  "Call" means a measurable effort by a customer to obtain  a  telephone 
connection whether the connection is completed or not.
  (e)  "Call blockage factor" means the percentage of calls that do  not  get 
answered.   The  call  blockage  factor  is  calculated  by  multiplying  the 
remainder obtained by subtracting the number of answers from  the  number  of 
calls, multiplying by 100, and then dividing that value by the  total  number 
of calls.
  (f)  "Catastrophic conditions" means either of the following:
  (i)  Severe weather conditions that result in service interruptions for 10% 
or more of a utility's customers.
  (ii)  Events of sufficient magnitude that result in issuance of an official 
state of emergency declaration by the local, state, or federal government.
  (g)  "Commission" means the Michigan public service commission.
  (h)  "Complaint response" or "response" means a communication  between  the 
utility and the customer that identifies the problem and a  solution  to  the 
complaint.
  (i)  "Complaint  response  factor"  means  the  annual  percentage  of  the 
complaints forwarded to a utility by the commission  that  are  responded  to 
within the time period prescribed by these rules.
  (j)  "Completion date" means the day on which service at a new installation 
is permanently energized.  The  provision  of  construction  power  does  not 
affect a determination of the completion date.
  (k)  "Electric utility" or  "utility" means that term as defined in section 
2(d) of 1995 PA 30, MCL 460.562(d).
  (l)  "Interruption" means the full or partial loss of service to 1 or  more 
customers  for  longer  than  5  minutes.   The  duration  of  a   customer's 
interruption shall be measured from the time that  the  electric  utility  is 
notified or otherwise becomes aware of the full or partial loss of service to 
1 or more customers for longer than 5 minutes.
  (m)  "Meter reading factor" means the percentage of meters read  within  an 
approved billing period.  An approved billing period  is  a  "billing  month" 
within the meaning of R 460.2102(b) of not less than 26 days, nor  more  than 
35 days, or some other time period approved by the commission.
  (n)  "Metropolitan statistical area" means an  area  within  the  state  of 
Michigan identified by the federal office of management and  budget  on  June 
30, 1999.  A map of the metropolitan statistical areas was  attached  to  the 
July 11, 2001, order in Case No. U-12270 as exhibit  C  and  appears  on  the 
website of the United States department of commerce, economics and statistics 
administration,        bureau        of         the         census         at 
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/mapGallery/stma99.pdf.
  (o)  "Minimum bill prorated on a daily basis" means the amount that results 
from dividing the customer's minimum bill amount by the number of days in the 
billing period and then by multiplying that quotient by the  number  of  days 
during which the customer remained out of service.
  (p)  "MISS DIG activities" means the requirements imposed pursuant to  1974 
PA 53, as amended, MCL 460.701 et seq.
  (q)  "New service installation factor" means the  percent  of  new  service 
hookups that are completed within the time period prescribed by these  rules, 
from start date to completion date.  New service  hookups  dependent  on  the 
construction of a line  extension  other  than  the  service  line  shall  be 
excluded from the calculation of this factor.
  (r)   "Normal  conditions"  means  conditions   other   than   catastrophic 
conditions.
  (s)  "Same-circuit repetitive interruption" means a grouping of  more  than 
10 customers on a circuit who experience  multiple  interruptions  under  all 
conditions.  At its option,  an  electric  utility  may  report  on  specific 
identifiable circuit segments rather than  whole  circuits  as  long  as  the 
criteria for identification  of  the  specific  circuit  segments  are  fully 
explained in its report.  If an electric  utility  lacks  the  capability  of 
independently tracking same-circuit repetitive interruption  data,  then  the 
utility may rely solely upon notification provided by its customers to report 
the data to the commission.
  (t)  "Service restoration" means that the interruption condition  has  been 
corrected and that the interrupted customer or customers  have  regained  the 
full use of their electric service.
  (u)  "Start date for new installations" means the first business day  after 
all of the following events have occurred:
  (i)  All rights  of  way,  easements,  licenses,  and  consents  have  been 
obtained and are and remain physically unencumbered.
  (ii)  All permits have been received.
  (iii)  All joint use requirements have been met.
  (iv)  All required inspections have been completed.
  (v)  All commission-approved tariff payments have been received.
  (vi)  All MISS DIG activities have been completed.
   (v)   "Wire-down  relief  factor"  means  the  annual  percentage  of  the 
non-utility employee guarded downed wires that  are  relieved  by  a  utility 
representative within the time period specified in Rule 23.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.703  Revision of tariff provisions.
  Rule 3.  Not more than 30 days after the effective date of these rules,  an 
electric utility subject to the  commission's  jurisdiction  shall  file  any 
revisions of its tariff provisions necessary to conform with these rules.

  History: 2004 AACS.


                PART 2.  UNACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE

R 460.721  Duty to plan to avoid unacceptable levels of performance.
  Rule 21.  An electric utility  shall  plan  to  operate  and  maintain  its 
distribution system in a manner that will permit it to provide service to its 
customers without  experiencing  an  unacceptable  level  of  performance  as 
defined by these rules.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.722  Unacceptable levels of performance during service interruptions.
  Rule 22.  It is an  unacceptable  level  of  performance  for  an  electric 
utility to fail to meet any of the following service interruption standards:
  (a)  Considering data derived through the amalgamation of  data  from  both 
normal and catastrophic conditions, an electric utility shall restore service 
within 36 hours to not less than 90% of its  customers  experiencing  service 
interruptions.
  (b)  Considering data including only catastrophic conditions,  an  electric 
utility shall restore service within 60 hours to not less  than  90%  of  its 
customers experiencing service interruptions.
  (c)  Considering data including only normal conditions, an electric utility 
shall restore service within 8 hours to not less than 90%  of  its  customers 
experiencing service interruptions.
(d)  Considering data derived through the  amalgamation  of  data  from  both 
normal and catastrophic conditions, an electric utility shall not  experience 
5 or more same circuit repetitive interruptions in a 12-month period on  more 
than 5% of its circuits.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.723  Wire down relief requests.
  Rule 23.  (1) It is an unacceptable level of performance  for  an  electric 
utility to fail to respond to a request for relief of a non-utility  employee 
guarded downed wire at a location in a metropolitan statistical  area  within 
240 minutes after notification at least 90% of the time under all conditions.
 (2) It is an unacceptable level of performance for an  electric  utility  to 
fail to respond to a request for relief of  a  non-utility  employee  guarded 
downed wire at a location in a non-metropolitan statistical area  within  360 
minutes after notification at least 90% of the time under all conditions.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.724  Unacceptable service quality levels of performance.
  Rule 24.  It is an  unacceptable  level  of  performance  for  an  electric 
utility to fail to meet any of the following service quality standards:
  (a)  An electric utility shall have an average customer call answer time of 
less than 90 seconds.
  (b)  An electric utility shall have a call blockage factor of 5% or less.
  (c)  An electric utility shall have a complaint response factor of  90%  or 
more within 3 business days.
  (d)  An electric utility shall have a meter reading factor of 85%  or  more 
within the approved period, including customer reads.
  (e)  An electric utility shall complete 90% or  more  of  its  new  service 
installations within 15 business days.

  History: 2004 AACS.


                        PART 3.  RECORDS AND REPORTS

R 460.731  Deadline for filing annual reports.
  Rule 31.  Not more than 120 days after the end  of  the  calendar  year  in 
which these rules became effective, an electric utility shall file an  annual 
report with  the  commission  regarding  the  previous  calendar  year.   For 
subsequent calendar years, an electric utility shall file its  annual  report 
not more than 75 days after the end of the year.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.732  Annual report contents.
  Rule 32.  The annual report of an electric utility made pursuant  to  these 
rules shall contain all of the following information:
  (a)  The call blockage factor.  If the call blockage factor  is  more  than 
5%, then the annual report shall contain a detailed explanation of the  steps 
that the electric utility is taking to bring its performance to an acceptable 
level.
  (b)  The complaint response factor.  If the complaint  response  factor  is 
less than 90% within 3 business days, then the annual report shall contain  a 
detailed explanation of the steps that the  electric  utility  is  taking  to 
bring its performance to an acceptable level.
  (c)  The average customer call answer time.  If the average  customer  call 
answer time is 90 seconds or more, then the report shall contain  a  detailed 
explanation of the steps that the electric utility is  taking  to  bring  its 
performance to an acceptable level.
  (d)  The meter reading factor.  If the meter reading factor  is  less  than 
85%, then the report shall contain a detailed explanation of the  steps  that 
the electric utility is taking to bring  its  performance  to  an  acceptable 
level.
  (e)  The new service installation factor.  If the new service  installation 
factor is less than 90% completed within 15 business days,  then  the  report 
shall contain a detailed explanation of the steps that the  electric  utility 
is taking to bring its performance to an acceptable level.
  (f)  The wire-down relief factor.  If the wire-down relief factor  is  less 
than 90% within 240 minutes within metropolitan  statistical  areas  or  less 
than 90% within 360 minutes in non-metropolitan statistical areas,  then  the 
report shall contain a detailed explanation of the steps  that  the  electric 
utility is taking to bring its performance to an acceptable level.
  (g)  The service restoration factor for all  conditions.   If  the  service 
restoration factor for all conditions is less than 90% of customers  restored 
within 36 hours or less, then the report shall contain a detailed explanation 
of the steps that the electric utility is taking to bring its performance  to 
an acceptable level.
  (h)  The service restoration factor for normal conditions.  If the  service 
restoration factor for normal  conditions  is  less  than  90%  of  customers 
restored within 8 hours or less, then the report  shall  contain  a  detailed 
explanation of the steps that the electric utility is  taking  to  bring  its 
performance to an acceptable level.
  (i)  The service restoration factor for catastrophic  conditions.   If  the 
service restoration factor for catastrophic conditions is less  than  90%  of 
customers restored within 60 hours or less, then the report shall  contain  a 
detailed explanation of the steps that the  electric  utility  is  taking  to 
bring its performance to an acceptable level.
  (j)  The same-circuit repetitive interruption factor.  If the  same-circuit 
repetitive interruption factor is more than 5% of circuits experiencing 5  or 
more same-circuit repetitive interruptions within a 12?month period, then the 
report shall contain a detailed explanation of the steps  that  the  electric 
utility is taking to bring its performance to an acceptable level.
  (k)  A description of all catastrophic conditions  experienced  during  the 
year.
  (l)  The number and total dollar amount of all  customer  credits  provided 
during the year, broken down by customer class, for its  failure  to  restore 
service to customers within 120 hours of an interruption that occurred during 
the course of catastrophic conditions.
  (m)  The number and total dollar amount of all  customer  credits  provided 
during the year, broken down by customer class, for its  failure  to  restore 
service to customers within 16 hours of an interruption that occurred  during 
normal conditions.
  (n)  The number and total dollar amount of all  customer  credits  provided 
during the year, broken down by customer class, for  same-circuit  repetitive 
interruptions.
  (o)  A summary table indicating whether the electric  utility  complied  or 
failed to comply with each of the standards established by these rules.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.733  Availability of records.
  Rule 33.  (1)  An electric utility shall make available to  the  commission 
or its staff, upon request,  all  records,  reports,  and  other  information 
required  to  determine  compliance  with  these  rules  and  to  permit  the 
commission and its staff to  investigate  and  resolve  service  quality  and 
reliability issues related to electric distribution service.
  (2)  An electric utility shall make records, reports, and other information 
available to the commission or its staff within 5 business  days,  preferably 
in an electronic format  available  through  the  internet,  accessible  with 
standard browser software, identification, and password or as soon thereafter 
as feasible.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.734  Retention of records.
  Rule 34.  An electric  utility  shall  preserve,  in  detail,  all  records 
required by these rules for the previous 24 months  and  shall  preserve,  in 
summary form, all records for not less than 4 years, unless otherwise ordered 
by the commission.

  History: 2004 AACS.


                   PART 4.  FINANCIAL INCENTIVES AND PENALTIES

R 460.741  Approval of incentives by the commission.
  Rule 41.  (1)  The commission may authorize an electric utility to  receive 
a financial  incentive  if  it  exceeds  all  of  the  service  quality   and 
reliability standards adopted by these rules.
  (2) A request for approval of an  incentive  mechanism  shall  be  made  in 
either of the following proceedings and shall be  conducted  as  a  contested 
case under chapter 4 of 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.271 et seq.
  (a)  A rate case proceeding.
  (b)  A single-issue proceeding filed specifically to address adoption of an 
incentive program.
  (3)  An electric utility shall not file an application seeking approval  of 
an incentive mechanism until it has exceeded all of the service  quality  and 
reliability standards adopted by these rules continuously for a period of not 
less than 12 months.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.742  Criteria for receipt of an incentive.
  Rule 42.  (1) If an electric utility  qualifies  for  implementation  of  a 
previously approved incentive mechanism, it shall file an application seeking 
authority to implement the incentive mechanism  at  the  same  time  that  it 
submits the annual report required by R 460.732.
(2) An electric utility shall not apply for a financial incentive approved by 
the commission unless all of the  following  criteria  were  met  during  the 
previous 12 months:
  (a)  All required reports have been filed in a timely manner.
  (b)  All required reports fully comply with the requirements as  determined 
by the commission.
  (c)  The electric utility's performance shall  have  exceeded  all  of  the 
individual service quality and reliability standards.
  (d)  The electric utility shall have fully responded to any inquiries about 
the content of the reports made by the commission or its staff  in  a  timely 
manner.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.743  Disqualification.
  Rule 43.  An electric utility  shall  be  disqualified  from  receiving  an 
incentive if the commission issues an order finding that the electric utility 
engaged in any type of anticompetitive behavior within  the  12-month  period 
preceding the filing of an application pursuant to R 460.742(1).

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.744  Penalty for failure to restore service after an  interruption  due 
to catastrophic conditions.
  Rule 44.  Unless an electric utility requests a waiver pursuant to  part  5 
of these rules, an electric utility  that  fails  to  restore  service  to  a 
customer within 120 hours after an  interruption  that  occurred  during  the 
course of catastrophic conditions shall provide to any affected customer that 
notifies the utility of the interruption with a bill credit on the customer's 
next bill.  The amount of the credit provided to a residential customer shall 
be the greater of $25.00 or the  customer's  monthly  customer  charge.   The 
amount of the credit provided to any other distribution customer shall be the 
customer's minimum bill prorated on a daily basis.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.745  Penalty for failure to restore service during normal conditions.
  Rule 45.  Unless an electric utility requests a waiver pursuant to  part  5 
of these rules, an electric utility  that  fails  to  restore  service  to  a 
customer within 16 hours after an interruption that  occurred  during  normal 
conditions shall provide to any affected customer that notifies  the  utility 
of the interruption a bill credit on the customer's next bill.  The amount of 
the credit provided to a residential customer shall be the greater of  $25.00 
or the customer's monthly customer charge.  The amount of the credit provided 
to any other distribution customer  shall  be  the  customer's  minimum  bill 
prorated on a daily basis.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.746  Penalty for repetitive interruptions of the same circuit.
  Rule 46.  (1)  Unless an electric utility requests  a  waiver  pursuant  to 
part 5 of these rules, a customer of an electric utility that experiences and 
notifies the utility of more than 7 interruptions in a 12-month period due to 
a same-circuit repetitive interruption shall be entitled to a billing  credit 
on the customer's next  bill.   The  amount  of  the  credit  provided  to  a 
residential customer shall be the greater of $25.00 or the customer's monthly 
customer charge.  The amount of the credit provided to any other distribution 
customer shall be the customer's minimum bill prorated on a daily basis.
  (2)  Following provision of the billing credit to a  customer  experiencing 
more than 7  interruptions  in  a  12-month  period  due  to  a  same-circuit 
repetitive interruption, the electric utility's interruption counter shall be 
reset to zero to ensure that another credit to the customer will be processed 
only after the occurrence of another 8 interruptions in a 12?month period.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.747  Multiple billing credits allowed.
  Rule 47.  An electric utility's obligation to provide  a  customer  with  a 
billing credit for one reason does not excuse the obligation  to  provide  an 
additional billing credit in the same month for another reason.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.748  Effect in other proceedings.
  Rule 48.  (1)  The payment  or  nonpayment  of  a  customer  credit  or  an 
incentive award shall not affect the rights of  a  customer  or  an  electric 
utility in any proceeding before the commission or in any action in  a  court 
of law.
  (2)  The finding of  a  violation  of  a  service  quality  or  reliability 
standard adopted in these rules shall not affect the rights of a customer  or 
an electric utility in any proceeding before the commission or in any  action 
in a court of law.

  History: 2004 AACS.


                     PART 5.  WAIVERS AND EXCEPTIONS

R 460.751  Waivers and exceptions by electric utilities.
  Rule 51.  (1)  An electric  utility  may  petition  the  commission  for  a 
permanent or temporary waiver or exception from  these  rules  when  specific 
circumstances beyond the control of the utility render compliance  impossible 
or when compliance would be unduly economically burdensome or technologically 
infeasible.
  (2)  An electric utility may request a temporary waiver in  order  to  have 
sufficient time to implement procedures and  systems  to  comply  with  these 
rules.
  (3)  An electric utility need not meet the standards or grant  the  credits 
required by parts 2  and  4  of  these  rules  under  any  of  the  following 
circumstances:
  (a)  The problem was caused by the customer.
  (b)  There was a work  stoppage  or  other  work  action  by  the  electric 
utility's employees, beyond  the  control  of  the  utility,  that  caused  a 
significant reduction in employee hours worked.
  (c)  The problem was caused by an "act of God."   The  term  "act  of  God" 
means  an  event  due  to  extraordinary  natural  causes  so   exceptionally 
unanticipated and devoid of human agency that reasonable care would not avoid 
the consequences and includes any of the following:
   (i)  Flood.
   (ii)  Tornado.
   (iii)  Earthquake.
   (iv)  Fire.
  (d)  The problem was due to a major system failure attributable to  any  of 
the following:
   (i)  An accident.
   (ii)  A man-made disaster.
   (iii)  A terrorist attack.
   (iv)  An act of war.

  History: 2004 AACS.


R 460.752  Proceedings for waivers and exceptions.
  Rule 52.  (1)  A petition for a waiver of a customer credit provision filed 
by an electric utility shall be handled as a contested case proceeding.   The 
burden of going forward with a request for a waiver shall be on the  electric 
utility.  To be timely,  a  petition  for  a  waiver  of  a  customer  credit 
provision of these rules shall be filed not more than 14 calendar days  after 
conclusion of the outage giving rise to application of  the  customer  credit 
provision.
  (2)  A petition for any other waiver or exception may  be  granted  by  the 
commission without notice or hearing.

  History: 2004 AACS.