Manitoba hydro closing 24 regional offices

Manitoba Hydro plans to close 24 of its rural offices "as part of an ongoing effort to modernize operations," the Crown utility announced.

According to a news release,12 of the corporations district offices willclose by the end of March 2014 with an additional 12 offices closing by March 2017.

Hydro says the changes, which will see employees being consolidated into existing customer service centres,will improve service and achieve savings for customers.

Hydro expects to reduce costs by approximately $2 million annually once thechange is completed in March 2017. The corporation will also avoid another $50 million infuture costs associated with facility upgrades that would have been required to the 24 offices.

Manitobansare changing the way they do business with us. With fewer and fewercustomers using local offices to make bill payments or access other services, the timewas right for us to take the next steps in streamlining our district office model, said ScottThomson, president and CEOof Manitoba Hydro.

Those customers who wish to do business in person are generally within 40minutes of one of our customer service centres. Our field staff will continue to be able torespond to the majority of calls within 45 to 60 minutes, addedlocation, said Brent Reed, VP of customer service for Hydro.

The first stage of closures will begin in January 2014 when customer service countersin the 24 affected district offices will close. Customers who wish to pay their bills, makeservice inquiries or request electrical wiring permits in person will needto visit one of Hydros customer service centres.

Manitoba Hydro first began reorganization of its customer service districts in 2007 withthe creation of 16 customer service centres in rural Manitoba. A similar reorganization in Winnipeg the following year createdfour customer service centres, whilethree district offices were closed.

In addition, many customer services, such asapplications for electrical permits, are available online through the corporationswebsite.