Newfoundland Power is responding to concerns raised by the Consumer Advocate Dennis Browne about a $31-million upgrade to their Customer Service System.

Browne argues that there was no public hearing on the issue – calling it a “procedural travesty.” Further, he notes that the risks and benefits of such a project have not been properly analyzed.

In a statement to VOCM News, Newfoundland Power explains that their existing system was installed in 1993 and is “well past the end of its expected 20-year service life.”

Further to that, they say they are responding to “nearly triple” the number of customer inquiries they did 20 years ago, noting that there has been no customer rate increase based on their operations in six years.

They say a new customer service system is important to providing a responsive and least-cost service to customers in the long term.

They state that there was a lengthy review by the PUB, which included full participation by all stakeholders, including the Consumer Advocate.

It was found that the upgrade is needed to eliminate the risks associated with what the company calls a now “obsolete” system.

The upgrades are expected to take three years.