The Consumer and Public Affairs Department administers the OUR’s consumer affairs regulatory functions which include monitoring and evaluating the customer service performance of all regulated utilities, serving as the primary point of contact for the general public, spearheading all mass public consultations, managing the organisation’s public image and discharging the organisation’s public education functions. The Department consists of two units: Consumer Affairs (CAU) which handles complaints and appeals and drives consumer policy development; and the Public Affairs Unit (PAU) which, guided by the OUR’s Communications Policy and Procedures, develops and implements all approved public education activities for the OUR and interfaces with the media.
The Appeals Process, Consumer Empowerment, Guaranteed Standards, and Overall Standards are administered by the Consumer and Public Affairs department. These regulatory functions are critical to the monitoring and evaluation of customer service dispensed by licensed utilities.