…PUC says awarded over $11M in phone credits to mobile customers

A TOTAL of 563 complaints were filed to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in 2018 against public utility companies for inefficient services, PUC Chairman Delma Britton has disclosed.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle recently, Britton detailed that, of the total number of complaints filed by consumers, 248 were made against the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), 239 against the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT), and 69 against the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI). Only seven complaints were filed against Digicel Guyana in 2018. It was explained that complaints ranged from poor services to billing issues and internet quality.

In cases where it was found that the utility companies were at fault, credits were awarded to the aggrieved customers. In 2018, Britton further disclosed that a total of $11M in credit was awarded to customers across the country, as she applauded the work of the complaints department.

While the complaints vary from year to year, Britton said PUC continues to work with the four primary utility companies to ensure the rights of customers are respected. This, she said, is in keeping with PUC’s mission to ensure that regulated utilities offer efficient services to consumers at a reasonable cost. Acknowledging that there is a backlog of cases, the PUC chairman said all hands are on deck to bring the numbers down.

“I can tell you that we have a good working relationship with both utilities (GPL and GTT) and we have been, really and truly, collaborating on reducing the backlog and we have been able to sort of clear the bottlenecks that would have marred us getting these complaints from the first application to resolution in an efficient manner,” the PUC chairman explained.

In an effort to reach more consumers, the PUC is conducting a number of outreaches to far-flung communities.
“We intend to go to other parts of Guyana because we have recognised that our consumers can’t come to us. We have also recognised that some people don’t know about the public utility commission,” she explained.

According to Britton, eight to 10 outreaches will be conducted this year, and already the first was held in Linden where scores of Lindeners had the opportunity to register their concerns. Based on the favourable response from Lindeners, the PUC has signalled its intention to return to the mining town where the primary concerns were on the quality or lack of service provided by GWI, and the internet quality in Linden.

COMPLAINTS
In explaining the process when a complaint is lodged, Britton said, this along with a letter from the PUC will be sent to the utility provider which often has two weeks to respond. The time may be truncated depending on the severity of the matter.

The commission is then contacted with the response from the utility, if not favourable, the utility is asked to re-examine the complaint. If it is found that the utility is at fault, the PUC will commence advocating for the consumer. If the utility accepts fault, then it would compensate the consumer by credit on their next bill. No cash will be returned.
Aside from receiving complaints, the PUC also educates citizens on the functions of the commission, its plans, and ongoing programmes. Britton said it is important for consumers to understand their rights as well as their responsibilities.

PUC services are free and the commission can be reached via their website – PUC.org.gy.org or at its office located at 106 New Garden Street Queenstown, Georgetown or on telephone numbers 227-3204 and 226-7042.
During the course of 2019, the PUC will be establishing an Office of Economic Research. Britton explained that a consultant has conducted a study on the pros and cons of having the office in place and a report has been submitted. Once the project gets the nod of the commission, the office will be established, Britton assured.

“That office largely will deal with the monitoring of the utilities in terms of the economic impact of the utilities and their practices on the consumer, on the utility of itself and it would cause us here at PUC to really and truly develop and administer questionnaires and other tools to help us in our deliberations during public hearings,” Britton explained.

By law, the PUC is mandated to conduct public hearings not only on complaints but on operational standards as well. It is also obligated to advise the Ministry of Public Telecommunications on related issues.

The PUC was established on October 1, 1990 under the Public Utilities Commission ACT of 1990. This act was passed to regulate the telecommunications sector in Guyana. The act was later repealed to include the regulating of the electricity sector in 1999 and further amended to regulate the water and sewage sector in 2003.