Data shows wait times for PSEG Long Island’s call center spiked 1,500% in 2022.
Customers waited an average of just over nine minutes to get a hold of a representative from the utility company. The average wait time in 2021 was only 33 seconds.
The Long Island Power Authority blames staffing challenges, as well as a high volume of calls. LIPA's director of customer experience Carolyn Mackool said last year saw the end of a pandemic-era shut-off moratorium.
“With us stopping collections and then starting to pick up after three years, everyone really did receive increased call volume from more customers in collections, and customers deeper in collections," Mackool said. "This is sort of an expected thing.”
The forecast for 2023 predicts an average of three to four minutes of waiting, but LIPA trustee Laureen Harris said that’s not good enough.
“This forecast is horrendous," Harris said. "So again, this seems to me like poor planning. It just seems to me this is just not acceptable for our customers.”
To correct the problem, PSEG Long Island said 25 new agents joined the team last month, and 30 others will assist through June to meet the demand.
The high volume of calls could persist well into this year, as LIPA plans to roll out new time-of-day rates.
