Rochester Public Utilities | Blog

Archive for February, 2019

RPU’s Rate Structure Survey FAQs

Friday, February 15th, 2019

Q- Who is doing the survey?

  • RPU has hired GreatBlue Research to facilitate the phone survey and online survey.

Q- What is the point of the survey?

  • The RPU Utility Board wants to gather feedback from residential customers about their level of understanding and support for different types of rate structures.

Q- What are the rate structures that GreatBlue Research will be asking about?

  • The Flat Rate Structure with monthly customer charge entails a consistent rate for electricity use at any time of day, resulting in a lower cost for low energy users.
  • Time of Use Rates charge customers higher rates for using electricity during peak times and lower rates during off-peak times, providing customers with options to reduce their bill by modifying their behavior.
  • The Block Rate charges customers based on changing levels of energy consumption – customers who use more energy will be charged at a higher rate, resulting in an increased cost to high energy users.
  • The Inclining Customer Charge bills customers a monthly fee that doesn’t change based on usage. The more electricity a customer uses, the higher the monthly charge, but the cost per kilo watt hour will not change, yielding a lower cost for low energy users.


Q- What is the window of time that they will be calling RPU customers?

  • GreatBlue Research will be calling customers from February 20th to March 6th.

Q- How long will the phone survey take?

  • The phone survey will take approximately 8-10 minutes.

Q- How will I know if it is Great Blue Research calling me?

  • GreatBlue Research will show up on caller ID and the phone number will be 860.740.4000 or a variation of that (i.e., 860.740.4005, 4006, 4007 etc.).

Q- What if I’m not able to find time to do a phone survey, but would like to provide feedback still?

  • An online survey link will be available on the RPU website after March 6th.