NATURAL GAS RATES QUALITY OF SERVICE PLAN (QSP)

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Jeffry French
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1 Page 1 of 8 70 APPLIABILITY All rate schedules for gas service are subject to a Quality of Service Plan (QSP) Adjustment. Under the plan, Performance Bands are established for each of the following categories: 1) Damage Prevention 2) Gas Emergency Response; and 3) Grade 2 Leak Repair Time. If the ompany s performance falls short of the established Performance Band for the Performance Year, any active gas retail ustomer affected as described herein will receive a one-time bill credit during the following July billing. If the ompany s performance exceeds the established Performance Band for any metric for the Performance Year, the ompany will receive an incentive to be recorded as a deferred regulatory asset and recovered in the next filed rate case. DEFINITIONS General Definitions Performance Year A calendar year. ustomer For the purpose of bill credit calculation and disbursement, an active customer that receives a bill from the ompany at the time of the bill credit. Bill redit A credit paid to customers as a result of performance by the ompany in any metric that falls below the established Performance Band. Incentive A credit paid to the ompany as a result of performance by the ompany in any metric that exceeds the established Performance Band. Performance Band A metric establishing performance, based on historical data, that the ompany must meet in each of the QSP categories. ontinued on 70A ADVIE LETTER DEISION VIE PRESIDENT, EFFETIVE

2 Page 2 of 8 70A DEFINITIONS ont d Damage Prevention Definitions Damage Any impact or exposure that results in the need to repair an underground facility due to a weakening or the partial or complete destruction of the facility, including, but not limited to, the protective coating, lateral support, cathodic protection, or housing for the line, device, or facility. Locate To indicate the existence of a line or facility by establishing a mark through the use of stakes, paint, flagging, whiskers, or some other customary manner that approximately determines the location of that line or facility Gas Emergency Response Definitions Gas Emergency An event or situation where there is an immediate danger to life, property or the public well-being. Response Time Response duration is measured from the time an emergency call is received to the time the responder arrives on scene. Grade 2 Leak Repair Time Definitions Grade 2 Leak An above or below ground leak that is recognized as being nonhazardous at the time of detection, but justifies scheduled repair based on probable future hazard. These leaks shall be repaired or cleared within 12 months from the date the leak was reported or reclassified, unless the leak is located within a planned reconstruction area. The time limit to repair Grade 2 leaks that fall within a reconstruction area can be extended beyond 12 months as long as the leak is not compromising safety. Grade 2 leaks shall have a safety check at least once every three months until cleared. The frequency of re-evaluation should be determined by the location and magnitude of the leakage condition. Gas Leak An unintentional escape of natural gas from a ompany-owned and operated below ground (buried) pipeline, except a non-hazardous release that can be eliminated by lubrication, adjustment or tightening. (ontinued on 70B) ADVIE LETTER DEISION VIE PRESIDENT, EFFETIVE

3 Page 3 of 8 70B DEFINITIONS ont d Repair Time The duration of days from when the leak is identified until the permanent repair is made. Permanent Repair A repair method utilizing industry accepted engineering tests and analysis that can permanently restore the service ability of the pipe and is a method that is recognized by the ompany s Gas Standards Manual as qualifying as permanent repair and therefore requires no further work. ANNUAL REVIEW PROESS AND SOPE The QSP will be in effect through At the end of each Performance Year, a new Performance Band metric will be established in category based on the previous year s performance. Each category has a Performance Band in the Performance Band section of this tariff. If improvement is achieved in the category, the Performance Band will be adjusted to apply to the next Performance Year. If improvement is not achieved in the category, the Performance Band will remain the same. The financial component for each of these metrics will be included in the Bill redit and Incentive redit sections. BILL REDIT ADJUSTMENT The maximum total Bill redit to be paid out by the ompany during a Performance Year is $750,000 allocated as follows: Damage Prevention $250,000 Gas Emergency Response $250,000 Grade 2 Leak Repair Time $250,000 During the QSP Annual Review Process, the potential Bill redit amounts for the succeeding Performance Year will stay the same. The Performance Band metrics in individual categories may change yearly depending on previous year performance, as described in the Annual Review Process and Scope. (ontinued on 70) ADVIE LETTER DEISION VIE PRESIDENT, EFFETIVE

4 Page 4 of 8 70 ` BILL REDIT DISBURSEMENT Any Bill redit will be paid out of earnings (not revenue). The Bill redit shall be calculated on a per ustomer basis regardless of usage. Any Bill redit amount that is not disputed will be paid out of earnings and will be shared by active gas customers during the July billing cycle following the applicable Performance Year. Any Bill redit amount not remitted by the end of the July billing cycle will accrue interest beginning after the September billing cycle at a rate equal to the ompany s customer deposit rate. Any Bill redit amount that is disputed will be paid out of earnings and shared by active gas customers during the billing cycle that begins thirty (30) days after the final ommission decision on the disputed amount. Any Bill redit amount not remitted by the end of the billing cycle that begins sixty (60) days after the final ommission decision on the disputed amount will accrue interest at a rate equal to the ompany s customer deposit rate. INENTIVE The maximum total Incentive to be received by the ompany during a Performance Year is $750,000 allocated as follows: Damage Prevention $250,000 Gas Emergency Response $250,000 Grade 2 Leak Repair Time $250,000 Any Incentive awarded to Public Service will be put into a regulatory asset and deferred to be recovered in a future rate case. During the QSP Annual Review Process, the potential Incentive amounts for the succeeding Performance Year will stay the same. The Performance Band metrics in individual categories may change yearly depending on previous year performance, as described in the Annual Review Process and Scope. (ontinued on 70D) ADVIE LETTER DEISION VIE PRESIDENT, EFFETIVE

5 Page 5 of 8 70D EXLUSION PROESS For a given Performance Year the metrics data will be recorded with no exclusions absent the approval of a request for exclusion as described in this section. The ompany may request the exclusion of certain events that are outside the control of the ompany from the calculation of its performance metrics. Potentially excludable events may include periods of emergency, catastrophe, natural disaster, catastrophic storm, civil unrest, product/manufacturing defects (e.g., D.O.T. Alert Notice), vendor material recall or other similar events. The ompany shall bear the burden of proving that the proposed excludable event was unforeseeable, extraordinary and outside of the ompany s control. In its request, the ompany must separately document and report the timeframe and impact of each event for which it requests exclusion and the rationale for excluding it. Requests for exclusion should be made throughout the Performance Year and as soon after the event occurs as practical. In the event of a dispute, misunderstanding, or controversy related to any exclusion request, any party may file a motion asking the ommission or an assigned Administrative Law Judge to resolve the dispute. PERFORMANE ATEGORIES 1. Damage Prevention This service quality safety measure assesses the Damage Prevention on the gas system on a Performance Year Basis. Performance Band Metric The total system Performance Band will be set annually as described in the Performance Band section of this QSP. Bill redit or ompany Incentive will be defined as below: Performance Exceeds Established Band, a $250,000 Incentive Provided to Public Service Performance Within Established Band, no Bill redit or Incentive Performance Falls Short of Established Band, a $250,000 Bill redit Provided to ustomers (ontinued on 70E) ADVIE LETTER DEISION VIE PRESIDENT, EFFETIVE

6 Page 6 of 8 70E PERFORMANE ATEGORIES ont d alculation The amount of Bill redit to customers or Incentive to Public Service will be determined by the actual result for the Performance Year as compared to the Performance Band established in the Performance Band section of this QSP. The Performance Band is calculated as 10 percent better or worse than the current 5-year average of damages found per 1,000 locates. The Damage Prevention metric will be calculated as the number of damages found per 1,000 locates. 2. Gas Emergency Response This service quality safety measure assesses the response time of Public Service to gas emergency calls received by the ustomer all enter. Performance Band Metric The total Performance Band will be set annually as described in the Performance Band section of this QSP. Bill redit or ompany Incentive will be defined as below: alculation Performance Exceeds Established Band, a $250,000 Incentive Provided to Public Service Performance Within Established Band, no Bill redit or Incentive Performance Falls Short of Established Band, a $250,000 Bill redit Provided to ustomers The amount of Bill redit to customers or Incentive to Public Service will be determined by the actual result for the Performance Year as compared to the Performance Band established in the Performance Band section of this QSP. The Performance Band is calculated as 10 percent better or worse than the current multi-year average response time to gas emergency calls beginning in The Gas Emergency Response metric will be calculated as the percentage of gas emergency calls whose response times are calculated as being less than 60 minutes. (ontinued on 70F) ADVIE LETTER DEISION VIE PRESIDENT, EFFETIVE

7 Page 7 of 8 70F PERFORMANE ATEGORIES ont d 3. Grade 2 Leak Repair Time This service quality reliability measure assesses the Grade 2 leak repair time. Performance Band Metric The total Performance Band will be set annually as described in the Performance Band section of this QSP. Bill redit or ompany Incentive will be defined as below: Performance Exceeds Established Band, a $250,000 Incentive redit Provided to Public Service Performance Within Established Band, no Bill redit or Incentive Performance Falls Short of Established Band, a $250,000 Bill redit Provided to ustomers alculation The amount of Bill redit to customers or Incentive to Public Service will be determined by the actual result for the Performance Year as compared to the Performance Band established in the Performance Band section of this QSP. The Performance Band is calculated as 10 percent better or worse than the current 5-year average leak repair time for Grade 2 Leaks. The Grade 2 Leak Repair metric will be calculated as the average time to permanently repair gas leaks classified as Grade 2 Leaks over the Performance Year. (ontinued on 70G) ADVIE LETTER DEISION VIE PRESIDENT, EFFETIVE

8 Page 8 of 8 70G PERFORMANE BAND The following Performance Bands will be applicable for Performance Year 2019: The Performance Band for Damage Prevention will be a current 5-year average of damages per 1,000 locates. The Performance Band for Gas Emergency Response will be a current multi-year average beginning in 2018 of 75 percent to 91 percent of all gas emergency calls responded to within 60 minutes. The Performance Band for Grade 2 Leak Repair Time will be a current 5-year average of 77 to 94 days for permanent repair time. ADVIE LETTER DEISION VIE PRESIDENT, EFFETIVE

360 CMR (2005)

360 CMR (2005) 1 of 15 DOCUMENTS 360 CMR 12.01 (2005) 12.01: Preamble The purpose of 360 CMR 12.00 is to promote water conservation by the communities that receive some or all of their water supply from the Authority