Homeowner Communication- PTO related billing inquiries

Background:

• The PTO letter is the Permission to Operate letter is acquired after the installer submits an application with the homeowner's utility. Proof of the letter needs to be uploaded to the M3 task and submitted for approval. It's the only task in the M3 milestone.

  • This letter is required in order to activate the system without incurring fines/fees from the utility.

  • The homeowners are given a 60 day grace period from the time the system is fully installed. At the end of these 60 days, their first payment is due.

    • The purpose of this grace period is to allow the installer time to submit the application for the PTO letter and to activate the system once it has been received (the goal is to have the system active before the homeowner's first payment).

• The system is considered fully installed after the M2 has been approved.

  • We do not require the system to be inspected to be considered fully installed.

  • We do not require the system to be activated to be considered fully installed.

• Homeowners receive notification of their first bill in a welcome email they receive just about M2 approval.

• Often “permission to operate” (PTO) can take much longer to receive from their utility.

• If PTO isn’t complete by the time the homeowner gets notification of their first payment date (that comes in their Welcome letter), it causes dissatisfaction.

How to handle calls from Homeowner

If you receive a phone call on the homeowner lines from a homeowner who has a concern about their system being inactive and they are being double billed (billed by both utility and EverBright):

• Note the address and installer of the solar system

  • Take note especially for those in the area of Littleton, Co with org Top Electric

  • Note if the org is either Blue Hammer or Stronger

• Ask the homeowner if the system has been inspected yet

• Take note of any other pertinent details provided by the homeowner such as:

  • They have been trying to contact their installer and can’t get in touch with them

  • The inspection hasn’t been scheduled or is pending

  • They failed inspection from a municipality and need have changes to the system

  • The installer has not submitted the request for PTO with the utility

• Check to see when M2 was approved in engine.

• Check to see if the M2 approval date is less than 60 days from the current date or more than 60 days from the current date.

  • If less than 60 days, inform the customer that they will not be billed until 60 days after their installation date (installation date = M2 approval date).  Let the customer know we will be reaching out to their installer to instruct them to provide an update on the current status of their PTO letter acquisition from the utility.

    • Example Response: "I see your system was fully installed in [month of install]. Your first payment will not be due until 60 days after [month of install]."

  • If more than 60 days, inform the customer that unfortunately we cannot halt the billing process but we will reach out their installer on their behalf to see if there is a way to expedite the process.

    • Example Response: "I see your system is currently awaiting the permission to operate (or PTO) letter from the utility. This letter is required in order to activate your system without incurring fines from your utility. Your installer, [insert installer name here], is responsible for submitting the PTO letter application with your utility. I will reach out to them on your behalf and instruct them to contact you with an update on the current status of the PTO letter acquisition and the next steps for your project."

  • Example response if a homeowner is still requesting information about double billing: “We will escalate this issue directly to your installer and request they take the necessary steps to expedite the process, so that we can get this resolved as soon as possible.”

How to handle tickets

All Tickets - formatting

• Transfer all PTO related tickets to PTO Support (PTO) project using this /wiki/spaces/SS/pages/2445672890

• Update the title of all Homeowner and Installer tickets using the following naming convention:

  • Homeowner Concern Received - Customer First and Last name - Organization

• Search for existing open tickets and link all new tickets to the original Homeowner ticket

Tickets from Omnidian or Account Servicing

• Tickets from Omnidian will come in from an email address that contains @omnidian.com:

  

• Tickets coming from Account servicing will look like this:

  

• For these types of tickets, update the title of the tickets using the following naming convention:

  • Omnidian (or Account Servicing) Ticket > Description of request

• Change the reporter to Omnidian or Account Servicing depending on which entity the ticket came from

• Update the ticket Organization

• Request Type - PTO/M3 Delay

• “Reply to customer” with the following canned message:

Hello,

Thank you for providing this information to EverBright support. We will contact the homeowner to coordinate communications between them and their installer to address their concerns.

We will close this ticket now. Thank you and have a wonderful day.

• Link the ticket to the corresponding homeowner ticket using relates to from the dropdown list

  

• Close the ticket

Homeowner Communications

Generating a ticket

Create a ticket in Jira (if not already created). Assign the ticket to Jessica Hauger.

• Add the email address of homeowner as the reporter

  • Add the org name

  • Label- PTO

  • Request Type - TO/M3 Delay

  • “Reply to customer” with one of the following canned messages:

If the address where the solar system is installed is in Littleton, CO and org Top Electric

1.) Respond to the Homeowner as follows:

"We’re following up regarding your inquiry about your first payment due date.

We do provide a 60-day period from the date your system was installed (our records show this date as x/x/xx) that provides your installer time to acquire the PTO letter and activate your system before your first payment.

Top Electric is aware of a delay with the utility in the Littleton area that may be causing a delay in the PTO letter acquisition. This may result in your first payment being due before the system is activated. I will instruct the installer in my communication with them to brief you on this delay as well.

Best Regards,"

If the org is Blue Hammer or Stronger:(may also be used if the system is fully installed, inspection complete and customer is only waiting on PTO from the utility)

1.) Reply to the Homeowner as follows:

Hi (customer name),  

Our records indicate that your solar system is installed and you’re awaiting permission to operate (PTO) from your utility. Your installer typically handles these activities; however, we know that this can often take some time and it can be frustrating to wait.     

If you’d like to get involved, here are some things you can do to expedite the process:   

1. Call your electric utility and let them know you’re inquiring about the status of your PTO application   

   1. Be sure to have your utility account number and other identifying information handy 

      1. They typically will only provide information to the account holder   

2. Here’s what they might tell you and what steps you could take next 

   1. We don’t have a PTO application on file for your address 

      1. You should call your installer immediately and ask them to submit the application 

   2. Your application is in progress 

      1. Ask for an approximation of how long before it’s approved 

   3. Your application is complete, and letter has been sent 

      1. Ask for a copy of the approval / PTO letter 

      2. Reply to us with a copy of your letter attached and we’ll add it to your account

Once all the work is complete and PTO is received, your system is ready for activation!

Please let us know if you have any questions,

Best Regards,

All others

1.) Reply to the Homeowner as follows:

Hi (customer name),  

We’re following up regarding your inquiry about your first payment due date, which happens to be prior to you receiving permission to operate (PTO) from your utility.

Our agreement with you indicates that first payment is due sixty (60) days after the “Start Date,” which is the date we approve installation of your system.

Sometimes PTO can take some time to coordinate with your utility.  We will reach out to your installer about your concern, and suggest they explore ways to expedite receipt of PTO from your utility.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us should you require any further assistance.

Best Regards,

Installer Communications

• Navigate to the contract phase for the homeowner’s job in engine. Copy and paste the email for the “Contractor” and use this email for the reporter in the installer ticket.

  • IF THE INSTALLER IS SHIELD ENERGY / LA SOLAR / TOP ELECTRIC:

    • Use this email for the reporter: gi@shieldenergy.tech

• Once you have the email address - go into a Jira and create a “Linked ticket” from the homeowner’s ticket. Assign the ticket to Jessica Hauger.

  • Add the email address of the installer

  • Add the installer’s org name

  • Label- PTO

  • Request Type - TO/M3 Delay

  • “Reply to customer” with the canned message below.

"Hi (Installer name),

(Homeowner name) reached out to us about some questions on their financing agreement and asked when their system would receive PTO from the utility. We had advised her that she should discuss with you about the status of PTO. Would you please reach out to (Homeowner name) to give him/her an update?

Thanks