HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 284-08TO:
City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: UTILITIES
DATE:JULY 7, 2008 CMR: 284:08
SUBJECT:AMERICAN PUBLIC GAS ASSOCIATION GAS OVERALL
AWARENESS LEVEL CUSTOMER TELEPHONE SURVEY
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
SUMMARY
This report describes a telephone survey of residents being performed by the American Public
Gas Association (AGPA) in order to assist the City of Palo Alto gas utility in meeting federal
Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements for natural gas safety.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Transportation (DOT) requires that all natural gas utilities have a program
promoting gas safety and perform an annual survey of customers’ understanding of safety issues.
The survey is a test of the effectiveness of each utility’s public outreach programs. Natural gas
utilities performed baseline surveys to show the level of safety understanding in customers and
those living near gas pipelines. After the education process has been implemented, utilities are
required to continue to survey their customers each year to show that knowledge of natural gas
safety has been enhanced. The City of Palo Alto Utilities completed its first survey in May 2007
and, since that point, has provided information to customers, contractors, neighboring
communities and others throughout the year on natural gas safety.
To assist publicly owned natural gas utilities, APGA has arranged for a vendor who meets the
DOT requirements to conduct the survey at a reasonable price. The City of Palo Alto first
conducted the survey in May 2007 with the vendor, Questfore. Plans are to complete the current
year’s survey durin.g July 2008 using the same vendor. Due to the fact that customers had some
concerns about the telephone survey last year, the process is outlined below.
The telephone survey includes a statistical sample of 7,674 customers plus an equal number of
non-customers for a total of 15,348 calls. The vendor makes three attempts to automatically call
each phone number in the group. Calls are made at the time and date designated by the schedule
(typical .morning passes go from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and typical evening passes go
from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.). A call is completed when a live voice is detected, meaning the
CMR: 284:08 Page 1 of 2
system heard a person speak, not that someone picked up the phone and held it. If the system
hears a live person, even if that person then hangs up without completing any more of the
survey, that home will not be called again. A number will be sent back into the pool to get called
again if the vendor receives a busy signal, ring-no answer, congestion on the line, or an
answering machine. A person who picks up the phone and does not answer, or who picks up the
phone with excessive noise in the background, may be detected as an answering machine and
thrown back into the pool to get called again. A person with call waiting, who is talking on the
phone and receives the call, but does not take it, may get called again until the phone is
answered. In this case, the system does not perceive that it is connecting or getting a traditional
busy or ring no answer signal. ¯
RESOURCE IMPACT
The survey costs less than $4,500 and meets a federal DOT requirement. Funds are included in
the Utilities Administration Budget for FY 08/09. Some staff time will be required to prepare
staff information sheets and to answer customer questions after the telephone surveyis ongoing;
however, due to the requirements of the program, staff may not prepare customer information
bill inserts or other material prior to the survey being completed.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Completion of the survey will show the effectiveness of the City of Palo Alto’s natural gas safety
education programs. If the survey finds that customers and those in the neighborhood of a gas
line are not more aware of safety issues than they were prior to the development of this program,
the City may be required to enhance its safety program.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This survey does not meet the California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA) definition of a
project pursuant to Section 21065 of the Public Resources Code.
ATTACHMENT
A: Sample APGA survey
PREPARED BY:JOYCE KINNEAR
Manager, Utility Marketing rvices
REVIEWED BY:TOM AUZENNE
Assistant Director, Customer Support Services
DEPARTMENT APPROVAL:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
VALE~
~
Director, ~ ~
STEVE EMSLIE/KEI4LY MORAU
Deputy City Managers
CMR: 284:08 Page 2 of 2
ATTACHMENT A
APGA SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR RECORDING AND USE - MAY 19, 2008
KEY:
Y =YES
N =NO
? =UNDECIDED
S -"SKIP
U =UNKNOWN (DNU MESSAGE PLAYS ONCE AND IF THERE IS NO INTELLIGIBLE
RESPONSE THE CALL TERMINATES.)
DNU
#=
= DID NOT UNDERSTAND MESSAGE
NEXT SEGMENT THAT DISPLAYS UPON RECEIVING A PARTICULAR RESPONSE.
FOR EXAMPLE, Y = 3 MEANS ON YES GO TO SEGMENT 3.
Natural Gas Service At Home? - (YES, NO)
THIS IS The City of Palo Alto gas utility WITH A 60-SECOND PUBLIC SAFETY SURVEY.
THIS CALL IS TO MEET FEDERAL SAFETY REGULATIONS, AND WE ARE CALLING
BOTH CUSTOMERS AND NON CUSTOMERS. YOUR RESPONSES WILL HELP US
SERVE OUR CLIENTS BETTER. DO YOU HAVE NATURAL GAS SERVICE AT YOUR
HOME?
Y:2
N:2
U:2
DNUI:23
Is the City of Palo Alto Your Gas Company? - (YES, NO)
IS THE NAME OF YOUR GAS COMPANY the City of Palo Ait0?
Y:3
N:3
U:3
DNUI:23
Received information on Natural Gas Safety 12-Mos? - (YES, NO)
HAVE YOU HEARD OR RECEIVED INFORMATION ON NATURAL GAS SAFETY FROM
the City of Palo Alto IN THE PAST 12-MONTHS?
Y:4
N:4
U:0
DNUI:24
DNU2:25
Received Information with Bill? - (YES, NO)
HAVE YOU RECEIVED WRITTEN NATURAL GAS SAFETY INFORMATION WITH A GAS
BILL IN THE PAST 12-MONTHS?
Y:5
N:5
U:5
DNUI:23
Smell Natural Gas Leak? - (YES, NO)
WE ARE GOING TO LIST SOME COMMON WAYS TO RECOGNIZE A NATURAL GAS
LEAK. PLEASE SAY YES TO ANY SITUATION THAT APPLIES TO YOU. DO YOU
THINK YOU WOULD RECOGNIZE A NATURAL GAS LEAK BY BEING ABLE TO SMELL
IT? (PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY "YES" RESPONSES GO TO SEGMENT 9.ALL OTHER
RESPONSES GO TO SEGMENT 8)
Y:9
N:8
U:0
DNUI:24
DNU2:25
8 Distinctive Smell. Leave Home and Call. - (PLAY ONLY)
NATURAL GAS HAS A DISCTINCTIVE SMELL - THIS SMELL IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY
SIGNS OF A GAS LEAK." IF YOU EVER SMELL GAS IN YOUR HOME, PLEASE LEAVE
YOUR HOME AND CALL 911 FOR ASSITANCE.
S: 9
Hissing Sound of Gas Leak? - (YES, NO)
DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD RECOGNIZE A NATURAL GAS LEAK BY THE HISSING
SOUND? (PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY "YES" RESPONSES GO TO SEGMENT 11.ALL
OTHER RESPONSES GO TO SEGMENT 10)
Y:11
N:10
U:10
DNUI:23
10 Hear Sound. Leave Home and Call. - (PLAY ONLY)
NATURALLY, A HISSING SOUND COULD INDICATE A GAS LEAK. IF YOU EVER
HEAR A HISSING SOUND THAT YOU THINK IS FROM NATURAL GAS IN YOUR HOME,
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR HOME AND CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY FOR ASSISTANCE.
S: 11
11 Light a Match if Smelled Gas? - (YES, NO)
WE ARE GOING TO LIST SOME POSSIBLE ACTIONS YOU MIGHT TAKE IF YOU
SMELL GAS IN YOUR HOME. PLEASE SAY YES TO ANY SITUATION THAT APPLIES
TO YOU. IF YOU SMELLED GAS INSIDE YOUR HOUSE WOULD YOU LIGHT A
MATCH? (PLEASE NOTE ALL RESPONSES GO TO SEGMENT 12 REGARDLESS OF
RESPONSE PROVIDED)
Y:12
N:12
U:12
12 Other Method to Determine Gas Leak - (PLAY ONLY)
NEVER LIGHT A MATCH AROUND A SUSPECTED GAS LEAK. THIS MIGHT CAUSE A
FIRE. LIT CIGARETTES, OPEN FLAMES, FLIPPING LIGHT SWITCHES AND EVEN
USING A TELEPHONE CAN IGNITE LEAKING GAS. IF YOU SUSPECT A GAS LEAK IN
YOUR HOME, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR HOME AND CALL 911IMMEDIATELY FOR
ASSISTANCE.
S: 13
13 Heard You Must Call Before You Dig? - (YES, NO)
HAVE YOU HEARD THAT YOU OR AN EXCAVATING COMPANY SHOULD CALL A
CENTRAL NUMBER PRIOR TO DIGGING TO AVOID ACCIDENTALLY HITTING A
NATURAL GAS PIPELINE?
Y:14
N:14
U:14
DNUI:23
14 Number To Call - (PLAY ONLY)
THE NUMBER TO CALL IN YOUR AREA BEFORE YOU OR AN EXCAVATING
COMPANY SHOULD CALL DIG IS 811 from a landline or 800-247-4700 from a cell phone,
THAT’S 800-247-4700 from a cell phone.
S:15
15 Leave Home and Call the City of Palo Alto from Neighbors Home? - (YES, NO)
BASED ON WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD AND KNOW, IF YOU SMELLED GAS INSIDE
YOUR HOUSE WOULD YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE AND CALL 911 FROM OUTSIDE OR A
FROM A NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE?
Y:16
N:16
U:0
DNUI:23
DNU2:24
16 Know Natural Gas Company Number? - (YES, NO)
DO YOU HAVE THE NUMBER TO CALL THE City of Palo Alto’s GAS UTILITY IF THERE
WAS AN INCIDENT OR IF YOU NEEDED MORE INFORMATION?
Y:17
N:17
U:17
17 Know Natural Gas Company Number to Call? - (YES, NO)
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR THE NUMBER TO CALL THE City of Palo Alto IF THERE
WAS AN INCIDENT OR IF YOU NEEDED MORE INFORMATION? (PLEASE NOTE THAT
ONLY "YES" RESPONSES GO TO SEGMENT 18, ALL OTHER RESPONSES GO TO
SEGMENT 20)
Y:18
N:20
U:0
DNUI:23
DNU2:24
18 Hear XYZ Gas Number? - (YES, NO)
THANK YOU. THE NUMBER TO CALL the City of Palo Alto is 650-329-2579, THAT’S
650-329-2579. YOU CAN ALSO CALL 911 FOR ANY EMERGENCY INCLUDING
SUSPECTED GAS LEAKS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR THE NUMBER AGAIN?
(PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY "YES" RESPONSES GO TO SEGMENT 19. ALL OTHER
RESPONSES GO TO SEGMENT 20)
Y:19
N:20
U:20
DNUI:23
19 Number Again. - (PLAY ONLY)
THE NUMBER TO CALL the City of Palo Alto is 650-329-2579, THAT’S 650-329-2579.
YOU CAN ALSO CALL 911 FOR ANY EMERGENCY INCLUDING SUSPECTED GAS
LEAKS.
S:20
20 Have Adequate Information About Gas Safety? - (YES, NO)
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE ADEQUATE INFORMATION ABOUT NATURAL
GAS SAFETY LIKE HOW TO RECOGNIZE A LEAK, WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IF YOU
SMELL GAS IN THE HOME, ETC.?
Y:21
N:21
U:21
DNUI:23
21 Natural Gas Industry - Adequate Public Awareness? - (YES, NO)
OVERALL, DO YOU FEEL THAT THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY HAS AN ADEQUATE
PUBLIC AWARENESS PROGRAM?
Y:22
N:22
U:22
DNUI:23
22 Thank You. Goodbye. - (PLAY ONLY)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND VIEWS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT the
City of Palo Alto’s NATURAL GAS utility, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT
CityofPaloAIto.org OR CALL US AT 650-329-2161. GOODBYE.
S: 0
23 DNU - (DNU PROMPT)
PLEASE PROVIDE A YES, NO OR REPEAT RESPONSE NOW.
OR REPEAT RESPONSE)
(PROMPTS A YES, NO
24 DNU1 - (DNU PROMPT)
THIS SURVEY WILL END WITHOUT A YES, NO OR REPEAT RESPONSE NOW.
(WARNS OF SURVEY TERMINATION IF A YES, NO OR REPEAT RESPONSE IS NOT
PROVIDED)
25 DNU2 - (DNU PROMPT)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND VIEWS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT the
City of Palo Alto’s Natural Gas utility, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT
CityofPaloAlto.org OR CALL US AT 650-329-2161. GOODBYE. (PLAYS ON HANG-UP IF
NO RESPONSE IS GIVEN)
26 Ans-Deviceo - (PLAY ONLY)
THIS WAS A PUBLIC SURVEY CALL FROM the City of Palo Alto. WE MAY CALL BACK
LATER. (PLAYS IF WE GET AN ANSWERING DEVICE
S: 0