DocuSign Envelope ID: 24DBBF20-71D0-46EA-81D6-BDA8A4905876 TO: Commissioners THRU: Carla A. Reid General Manager/CEO THRU: Monica J. Johnson Deputy General Manager Strategy and Partnerships FROM: Charles Brown Communications and Community Relations Director DATE: October 13, 2020 SUBJECT: Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Public Hearings Customer Feedback Background As you know, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) will provide numerous benefits to WSSC Water customers, including providing near real-time water usage information so customers can better manage their water use – thereby conserving water and saving money. Throughout the early planning phase of this innovative project, WSSC Water has engaged in extensive customer outreach to educate, inform and encourage public input. Because we value public feedback and complete transparency, we held two virtual AMI Public Hearings: Tuesday, September 29 and Wednesday, September 30 – both at 6:30 p.m. Public Hearing Outreach Our outreach efforts for the two public hearings were detailed at the start of each meeting and included the following: • An advertisement was published in The Washington Post on September 10, 2020. • We heavily promoted both hearings on Facebook and Twitter for the past several weeks – including paid posts on Facebook. • We issued news releases on September 21 and September 29 announcing both public hearings. These releases were posted to the home page of WSSC Water’s website: wsscwater.com. Additionally, both releases were sent to our 1,380 Constant Contact subscribers on the 21st and 29th. • We also purchased radio time to promote these hearings on WTOP, WMMJ (Majic FM), WHUR, WLZL and Pandora. The ads ran between September 21 and September 30. DocuSign Envelope ID: 24DBBF20-71D0-46EA-81D6-BDA8A4905876 Commissioners AMI Public Hearings Customer Feedback October 13, 2020 Page 2 • Information about both hearings was posted on the Events section of our homepage, as well as on the AMI webpage on our website. • Finally, we emailed information about both hearings directly to those customers who contacted us via our email address: [email protected], and to our online Customer Feedback Community. Summary of Public Feedback Tuesday, September 29, 2020 • 8 Callers • All Montgomery County residents • All opposed • Primary concern expressed: RF health/safety Wednesday, September 30, 2020 • 15 callers (two were repeat Montgomery County callers from 9/29 meeting) • Of the 13 unique callers, nine were from Montgomery County and four were from Prince George’s County • 8 were opposed • Primary concern expressed: RF health/safety • 5 callers testified in support of AMI • Those testifying in support mentioned: affordability, conservation, early leak detection, monthly billing and real-time water consumption as primary benefits County-by-County Breakdown • 17 callers from Montgomery County: 2 in support; 15 opposed • Four callers from Prince George’s County: 3 in support; 1 opposed The complete transcripts from both public hearings are included in this memo. At the October 21 Commission meeting, we will also detail results of the quantitative survey we conducted of 512 randomly selected Montgomery and Prince George’s County customers (408 residential and 104 commercial – evenly split among both counties). Here are a few key takeaways from this comprehensive survey: • 86 percent of customers surveyed had no health concerns related to AMI technology. • 84 percent of customers surveyed support implementation of AMI technology. • Vast majority of customers surveyed would use AMI to compare water usage to previous bill, conserve water and check for leaks. CC: Joseph Beach, Deputy General Manager, Administration Damion Lampley, Utility Services Director James A. Price, Jr., Deputy General Manager, Operations Advanced Metering Infrastructure Customer Survey Results October 21, 2020 1 Agenda • About Maryland Marketing Source (MMS), Inc. • About the Quantitative Survey • Quantitative Survey Demographics • Quantitative Survey Results • About Customer Feedback Community & August Activity • Customer Feedback Community Summary Results • Questions 2 About Maryland Marketing Source, Inc. • Established in 1986 Experience • Full-service market research firm Quantitative Services Qualitative Services • Telephone • Strategic planning • Family-owned and operated interviewing • In-person • On-site interviewing interviews/focus groups • Certifications: • Online surveys • Online focus groups o Women’s Business Enterprise • Mobile surveys • Mobile qualitative • Mail surveys research o Minority Business Enterprise • Sample planning • In-depth interviewing o Small Business Enterprise • Statistical analysis • Product testing o Woman Small Business Enterprise • Project management 3 About the Quantitative Study • Conducted July-August 2020 • Utilized a mixed-modal methodology: o Surveys conducted both via telephone (26%) and online (74%). o Customer data provided by WSSC Water and participants selected randomly by MMS. • Prince George’s and Montgomery County Residential and Commercial Customers participated. Prince George’s County Montgomery County Residential Customers 204 204 Commercial Customers 51 53 N = 512 4 Residential Demographics • The majority of Residential customers own their home (72%). D1. Do you own or rent your home? 72% Own Residential 28% Rent 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% • Just under two thirds of Residential customers (65%) live in a single family detached house. D2. Which of the following best describes your type of home? (READ LIST) 65% Single family detached house Residential 23% Townhouse/Rowhouse 2% Duplex/Twin/Semi-detached 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 5 Residential Demographics (cont.) • Most of the Residential participants were 35-49 years old or 50-64 years old (36% and 27%, respectively). D3. What is your age? (DO NOT READ LIST) 7% 18-25 19% 26-34 Residential 36% 35-49 27% 50-64 9% 65+ 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 6 Residential Demographics (cont.) • The majority Residential customers report earning 4-year college degrees and graduate degrees. D5. What is the highest level of education you have completed? (READ LIST) Less than high school 1% 9% High school graduate 21% Some college/technical school Residential 27% 4-year college degree 3% Some post graduate 36% Graduate degree 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 7 Residential Demographics (cont.) • WSSC Water Residential customers mostly identify themselves as African American and/or Caucasian. D6. To ensure we are speaking to a cross section of people, may I please ask how you identify your race or ethnicity? [ACCEPT ALL] 39% African American 39% Caucasian Residential 8% Asian 8% Hispanic 2% Other 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 8 Residential Demographics (cont.) • The majority of study participants report earning higher household incomes. D7. Into which of the following categories does the annual income of your entire household fall? (READ LIST) 5% Under $20K 4% $20K-$29K 4% $30K-$39K 7% $40K-$49K Residential 12% $50K-$74K 13% $75K-$99K 11% $100K-$124K 28% $125K or more 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 9 Residential Demographics (cont.) • The gender of participants skewed naturally. D8. (KEY IN GENDER. ASK IF NECESSARY.) 45% Male Residential Female 54% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 10 Commercial Demographics • The most commonly represented business types are below. • Commercial customers represent businesses of all sizes. D1. What type of business is this? (READ LIST IF NECESSARY) 20% Retail 15% Industrial process 10% Storage facility Commercial 8% Restaurant 7% Office 7% Residential apartments 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 11 Commercial Demographics (cont.) • The gender of the Commercial participants is representative of the population. D3. (KEY IN GENDER. ASK IF NECESSARY.) 64% Male Commercial Female 36% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 12 Familiarity with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Technology • Fewer than half of the WSSC Water customers surveyed (43%) are familiar with AMI technology. Q1. Are you familiar with AMI technology? Residential 33% 67% (n = 408) Yes Commercial 80% 20% No (n = 104) OVERALL 43% 57% (N = 512) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 13 Experience with AMI Technology • 39% of Residential customers report having AMI tech through another utility. • 63% of Commercial customers report having AMI tech through another utility. Q2. Do you currently have AMI technology from another utility? Residential 39% 50% 12% (n = 135) Yes Commercial 63% 36% No (n = 83) 1% Don't Know OVERALL 48% 45% 8% (N = 218) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 14 Real-Time Reporting Capabilities • Among those *few customers who currently report having AMI technology through another utility, the majority do take advantage of the near real-time reporting capabilities available to them. Q3. If you have AMI, do you take advantage of the near real-time reporting capabilities? Residential 77% 23% (n = 52) Yes Commercial 87% 14% (n = 52) No OVERALL 82% 18% (N = 104) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% * Please note the small base sizes when considering the responses to this question. 15 Concerns about Privacy • Overall, almost three quarters (74%) of WSSC Water customers expressed no concerns about the encrypted data that would be transmitted wirelessly. • More Residential than Commercial customers expressed concerns. Q4. AMI technology wirelessly transmits encrypted data, including your account number and the number of gallons used per day in your household. Do you have concerns