Public Service Co. of Oklahoma's New CEO Gives Power to Local Managers

Tulsa World, Okla. --May 29

Local managers are being given more authority in customer dealings.

Placing the decision-making power back in the hands of local managers will lead to big improvements at Public Service Company of Oklahoma, the utility's new president and chief operating officer says.

"We've seen some rather dramatic improvements in the way we've been dealing with our customers," Stuart Solomon said Thursday in an interview. "I think this reorganization allows us to continue that process."

Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power, PSO's parent company, announced a major restructuring plan Wednesday that divides AEP's operations into several divisions and promotes more local control over services. PSO, the state's second-largest electric utility, is one of seven AEP divisions.

"Over time, our customers will see ongoing improvements in terms of responsiveness and service delivery," Solomon said.

The changes follow some highly publicized complaints from Tulsa consumers, who said the quality of service provided by PSO had dropped to an appalling level after it was acquired by AEP in June 2000. According to figures compiled by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, customer service complaints soared while employees struggled to implement new systems amid a reorganization of the utility.

But complaints are down significantly due to the improvements AEP-PSO implemented, said Solomon, who attributed the improvement to additional training and call center enhancements.

"We've instituted new processes and new approaches within our call center for dealing with complaint issues," he said. "You've seen our complaints go way down, and I think it's a direct result of the efforts that we have put into customer service.

"It's a great credit to the employees of PSO."

AEP-PSO is working to regain the confidence of its customers, said company spokeswoman Andrea Chancellor.

"It's returning to what we know as the old PSO in terms of customer service," she said.

AEP is the nation's largest electric generator, with systems serving 5 million customers in 11 states. PSO serves 505,000 Oklahoma customers, including 285,000 in the Tulsa area.

Under the reorganization plan announced Wednesday, local AEP-PSO officials will be given more authority over customer service and distribution issues. Before, such matters were dealt with centrally in Columbus.

"We're bringing the resources to the local level," Solomon said. "We're making sure we have the decision-making responsibility here so that we can react very quickly and deliver our service in a timely fashion."

Tulsa will serve as the utility's operational headquarters, while external affairs and regulatory services will continue to be housed in offices in Oklahoma City.

While PSO is gaining more local control over services, it's operations will continue to benefit from AEP's vast network of generation and transmission assets, Solomon said.

"One of the benefits of being in a large utility system like AEP is that we can have all the efficiencies that are created by that big organization," he said.

Solomon, 42, was named president and COO of PSO on Wednesday.

Before joining PSO, he served as state president of AEP in West Virginia. From 1992 to 1999, he handled regulatory issues for systems owned by Central and South West Corp., including PSO.

"I've worked on PSO matters for a number of years," he said

A native of Plainview, Texas, Solomon earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Texas. He earned his law degree from the University of Colorado.

His wife, Dana, is a Bristow native. They have two sons, ages 11 and 5. He and his family will live in Tulsa.

"I am truly pleased and privileged to be here," Solomon said. "It's going to be a very exciting time for me personally and professionally."

AEP-PSO is seeking approval from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to raise rates by $36.3 million, or 3.6 percent. That amounts to an additional $2.50 a month for the average residential customer. The commission is expected to issue a final decision by year-end or early next year.

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