Oncor Launches Improved Website, New Tools to Improve Customer Experience

DALLAS, Sept. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncor launched an improved version of its Oncor.com website and two new communications channels – text and online outage reporting tools – to help customers find information and provide more outlets to communicate with Oncor.

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"The easy navigation of the new Oncor.com, and customers' ability to report outages and receive  service request updates by text are some of the ways we're improving our communication with customers by incorporating new technology," said Oncor Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Brenda Jackson.

The new Oncor.com

The relaunch of Oncor.com improves the web experience of customers with newly launched self-service tools that facilitate easy navigation of issues important to Oncor customers.

The Oncor.com home page provides information customers most seek, like ways to save on their electric bill and how to report an outage. Oncor's stormcenter.oncor.com is front and center, as are options to report streetlight outages and question Oncor experts through the Ask Oncor program. Social media icons on every Oncor.com page expedite the sharing of important, breaking information.

Site visitors can also choose to select a customer group that best describes them – residential, business and commercial, government, builders and developers, Retail Electric Providers and suppliers – to view relevant information.

"We re-launched Oncor.com with all of our customers in mind, based on feedback from them and expert advice on how to improve our customers' Web experience," Jackson said. "All of our customers, from residential customers to commercial consumers and more, were considered in the re-design of our website to make it more useful."

Online outage reporting

Additionally, customers will now be able to report outages online and get an estimated time of restoration (ETOR), when available, to help them plan to safely await repairs. Customers can access the portal by going to Oncor.com and clicking on the map and then clicking on the "Report an Outage" link.

Through the online outage reporting tool, customers can report their outage  by entering their Electric Service Identifier (ESI ID) or Phone Number on their account along with their zip code. They can then verify their outage location and report their outage. Customers then receive the ETOR information (if available) for their outage and have an option to receive text updates.

Text Oncor

Text Oncor allows all customers within the Oncor service area to report outages, get updates on reported outages, and receive text updates on other service related information for their homes and businesses, all by sending a simple text. Oncor launched a Text Pilot in November 2010 to a select group of customers. Given the pilot's success and utilizing feedback from customers in the pilot, Oncor implemented the suggested improvements and are excited to launch  an official program for all of our customers.

"Our customers from the Text Pilot were very pleased with the program and how easy it was to use," Jackson said. "We took important feedback from the pilot, such as adding the ability for customers to register multiple premises to one phone number and multiple phone numbers to one premise, and applied it to the expanded Text Oncor. I've heard from many customers who want text communications with Oncor, so I'm excited to see it become available to all of our customers."

Customers who participated in the Text Pilot are automatically registered for Text Oncor and do not need to register again. Customers who want to register can text "reg" to 66267 (ONCOR) and follow the instructions. Once they receive a confirmation text message, texting "help" will provide a message with available commands. For more information regarding Text Oncor, visit Oncor.com and click on the FAQs link.

"We are so proud to be reaching our 7 million customers in these enhanced ways," Jackson said. "We continue to make customers our central focus and better serve them. These three new additions to our portfolio show that we're listening and improving."

Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC ("Oncor") is a regulated electricity distribution and transmission business that uses superior asset management skills to provide reliable electricity delivery to consumers. Oncor operates the largest distribution and transmission system in Texas, delivering power to more than 3 million homes and businesses and operating approximately 118,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines in Texas. While Oncor is owned by a limited number of investors (including majority owner, Energy Future Holdings Corp.), Oncor is managed by its Board of Directors, which is comprised of a majority of independent directors.

SOURCE Oncor