Vermont Public Service Board
Business Process Survey
The Vermont Public Service Board needs your input. This survey is part of an effort to serve the public more efficiently and effectively through business process improvements and better use of technology. The people who do business with us are uniquely able to give us feedback on which of our processes work well and which need improvements. Please help us identify ways we can serve you better.
The following survey asks about areas we think could benefit from change, but we do not want to limit your input. Please comment on any areas where you think the Board can improve. If you prefer to fill out the survey online on paper and email or mail it to the Board, you can download a PDF or a Word version and send it to: ServiceInitiative@psb.state.vt.us
, by fax to
802-828-3351 or by mail to Vermont Public Service Board , Business Process
Survey(Efficiency Initiative), 112 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05620-2701.
Information about you Respondent Information
1. Which of the following roles do you (or would you) play when interacting with the Board:
(Check all that apply)

Utility staff person
 Lawyer for a utility
 Lawyer for a non-utility party
 Local government official
 Environmental advocate
 Consumer advocate
 Reporter/media person

PSB staff person





Representative of a non-utility party (non lawyer)
Researcher
Student
 State agency staff person
 Low income advocate
 Business or trade group representative
Consultant/expert witness
Other: ___________________________________
2. If you work in an industry regulated by the Board, in what industry do you work: (Check all that apply)
 Electric  Telephone  Cable  Gas  Water  Sewer
3. In what type of Board proceedings have you participated: (Check all that apply)
 Tariff filing/rate case  §248 proceeding  Consumer complaint  Net metering
 Merger/acquisition  Dig-Safe  Rulemaking  I have never participated
 Other _______________________________________________________________
Web Page
4. How valuable is it or would it be to you to have each of the following types of information available and up-todate on the Board’s website, using a scale of 1 (not at all valuable) to 5
(extremely valuable):
RATING
(Circle a number: 1=not at all valuable; 5=extremely valuable)
1 2 3 4 5 Petitions (formal requests to the Board to open a case)
1 2 3 4 5 Prefiled testimony (written testimony in a case before the Board)

1 2 3 4 5 Legal briefs
1 2 3 4 5 Schedules for individual dockets (cases)
1 2 3 4 5 Transcripts of hearings before the Board
1 2 3 4 5 Tariffs currently in effect (approved utility rates and terms of service)
1 2 3 4 5 Discovery responses (answers to formal questions parties pose to each other in cases)
1 2 3 4 5 Public comments in rule makings
1 2 3 4 5 Proposals for decision (proposed Board orders written by hearing officers)
1 2 3 4 5 Interactive public comment forms
1 2 3 4 5 Interactive application forms
1 2 3 4 5 Calendar of all Board hearings and public workshops
1 2 3 4 5 Other: ____________________________________________________
1 2 3 4 5 Other: ____________________________________________________
5. How would you like to be able to search for Board orders? (Check all that apply)
 By docket number  By date  By company name  By keyword

Other: ________________________________________________________________
6. What kind of internet connection do you use to reach the Board’s website:
 Dial up  High speed connection  I have never visited the Board’s website

Other: _____________________
7. From what location do you most often visit the Board’s website:  Home  Work 
Public terminal
 I have never visited the Board’s website  Other:
_______________________________________
8. What other changes to the Board’s website do you recommend?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Communications
9. How can the Board improve the way it communicates with parties, interested persons, and/or members of the public?
10. What suggestions do you have for increasing public input into Board proceedings?
11.
What improvements do you recommend for the Board’s public hearings? What steps could the Board take to increase the quantity and depth of public participation in its public hearings?
12. The Board has for several years been using Vermont Interactive Television to make public hearings more accessible without requiring interested citizens to travel as far as they would if hearings were held in one location. What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of using VIT for this purpose?
13. Would you find it helpful if the Board used e-mail more frequently to communicate with parties, interested persons, and/or members of the public? If so, what kinds of information should the Board provide?
14. Would it be useful to you if the Board made additional information available to parties, interested persons, and/or members of the public? If so, what kind of information would be useful?
15. In what ways do you believe the Board should more effectively communicate with the media?

Electronic Filing
If you have not participated in a case before the Board, you may wish to skip this section, which deals with how documents are submitted to the Board in cases. Electronic filing refers to the ability to submit documents required in cases before the Board, such as testimony, petitions and briefs, in some electronic form.
16. Would it be helpful to you if the Board were to implement some form of electronic filing?
___ Yes ___ No Comments: ____________________________________________
17. Below is a list of possible forms of electronic filing for documents associated with dockets
(cases). How valuable would you find each of these types of electronic filing using a scale of 1 (not at all valuable) to 5 (extremely valuable).
RATING
(Circle a number: 1=not at all valuable; 5=extremely valuable)
1 2 3 4 5 Submit filings to the Board and parties as email attachments simultaneous with filing paper copies due the same day.
1 2 3 4 5 Submit filings to the Board and parties as email attachments followed up by paper copies with the date of the electronic copy considered the date filed.
1 2 3 4 5 Submit filings to the Board and parties in the form of email
1 2 3 4 5 Submit filings to the Board and parties in the form of email attachments
1 2 3 4 5 Submit filings on CD, diskette or similar electronic medium
1 2 3 4 5 Submit filings to the Board and parties through an interactive feature on the Board’s webpage in which electronic files are uploaded to a publiclyaccessible document system [similar to the system now used by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Vermont bankruptcy court]
1 2 3 4 5 Submit only documents that are not part of the evidentiary record (such as discovery responses) electronically, and file electronic copies and paper copies of documents that are part of the official record
1 2 3 4 5 Submit paper and electronic copies to the Board by email attachment, but provide electronic copies only to the parties
1 2 3 4 5 Other: ____________________________________________________
1 2 3 4 5 Other: ____________________________________________________
18. Below is a list of possible forms of electronic filing for reports required of entities regulated by the Board. How valuable would you find each of these types of electronic filing using a scale of 1 (not at all valuable) to 5 (extremely valuable).
1 2 3 4 5
Submit required reports using an interactive feature on the Board’s website instead of on paper
1 2 3 4 5 Submit required reports as email attachments instead of on paper

19. If the Board were to make electronic filing a requirement, would this cause a hardship for you or your organization? If so, please explain.
 Yes  No Comments: _________________________________________________
20. Would you find electronic filing valuable even if it did not include most of your highest rated items above?
___ Yes ___ No Comments: _________________________________________
21. It is possible that electronic filing in a form you would find valuable could only be implemented using some form of fee for service. If that was the case, how willing would you be to pay a fee for the ability to file electronically, on a scale from 1 (not at all willing) to
5 (very willing).
1 2 3 4 5
22. If electronic access to documents filed by other parties could only be implemented using some form of fee for service, how willing would you be to pay a fee for the ability to access other parties’ filings electronically, on a scale from 1 (not at all willing) to 5 (very willing).
1 2 3 4 5
23. What do you think would be the best way of paying for the implementation and maintenance of electronic filing?
Document formats
24. The Board currently uses WordPerfect as its standard for word processing software. How convenient or inconvenient do you find this practice, on a scale from 1 (very inconvenient) to 5 (very convenient)?
1 2 3 4 5
25. The Board currently accepts spreadsheets in both Excel and Lotus123 format. If the Board required that any spreadsheets be filed in Excel format only, how convenient or inconvenient would you find this practice?
1 2 3 4 5
26. A common problem in Board dockets is that conversion of orders from the Board’s standard of WordPerfect to other formats including Word and PDF (Adobe Portable
Document Format) causes errors and incompatibilities in page numbering, resulting in confusion and inaccurate citations. Two possible solutions would be for the Board to begin issuing official copies of its orders in PDF form or to convert the style of the Board’s orders to numbering of all paragraphs, as the Vermont Supreme Court, the FCC, and other tribunals have done. Please comment on these options or suggests other alternatives.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Other processes
27. What other processes should the Board consider improving, and how should it improve them? Please be as specific as you can, although it is acceptable to identify an area that you think needs improvement even if you don't have a proposed solution. Processes can include a substantive area (e.g., "dig-safe" or "tariff filings"), or a more administrative area that is part of many substantive areas (e.g., "scheduling hearings" or "issuing orders").
Attach additional sheets as needed.
28. What processes are currently working well, and why?
29. Other comments
Follow-up
30. The Board is considering conducting focus groups on some of the topics addressed in this survey. Would you be willing to participate in such a focus group and, if so, in what areas are you particularly interested?
 Yes, I would participate in a focus group on the following topics: __________________
_____________________________________________________________________
 No, I am not interested in participating.
If you indicated a willingness to participate in a focus group, please provide contact information below.
Would you like the Board to be able to follow-up with you about your suggestions if we have questions or would like additional information? If so, please provide your name and contact information below. This is an invitation, not a requirement. It is perfectly acceptable to provide anonymous comments.

Respondent Name: __________________________________________
Company Name: __________________________________________
Phone Number: __________________________________________
Email Address: __________________________________________