Los Alamos DPU launches 2026 voice of the customer survey campaign

1. Overview of the 2026 RVOC/CVOC survey

The Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities (DPU) launched its 2026 Voice of the Customer survey the week of Jan. 13, 2026. The annual effort solicits feedback from both residential (RVOC) and commercial (CVOC) utility account holders and runs through Feb. 17, 2026, providing a focused window for comprehensive customer input.

2. Who is running the survey

GreatBlue Research is conducting the survey on behalf of the DPU, bringing an external research firm into the county’s customer-feedback process. Using a third-party vendor helps standardize methodology and supports benchmarking against other utilities and prior years’ results.

3. How residents and businesses are invited to participate

Randomly selected utility account holders will receive email invitations to participate, ensuring the sample includes a cross-section of ratepayers. In addition, residents and businesses may access the surveys directly at ladpu.com/RVOC for residential responses and ladpu.com/CVOC for commercial feedback, expanding access beyond the randomly invited sample.

4. Timeline and outreach methods, including phone contact for businesses

The main survey field period is Jan. 13–Feb. 17, 2026; for commercial accounts, DPU has planned supplemental phone outreach from Feb. 2–17 to increase response rates and capture the perspectives of local businesses. Those outreach methods, email invitations, web links and targeted phone calls, reflect a mixed-mode approach intended to reach customers where they are most likely to respond.

5. Topics covered: service quality, reliability and overall satisfaction

Questions focus on core utility functions: perceived service quality, reliability of water and power delivery, and overall satisfaction with DPU operations. These topics align with operational performance indicators utilities use to track system health and customer experience, making the survey a direct input into performance measurement.

7. How DPU intends to use results for improvements and benchmarking

DPU has stated the results will guide improvements and benchmarking, meaning the survey outcomes will inform service changes, prioritization of capital investments, and comparative performance assessment with peer utilities. For local governance, those findings can shape DPU reporting to the county council and influence utility planning, asset management, and customer-service enhancements.

8. Institutional and democratic implications for Los Alamos

The survey functions as a civic feedback loop: when residents and businesses participate, they create evidence that can influence policy choices, budget allocations and accountability measures. High and representative participation strengthens the legitimacy of DPU decisions; conversely, low or skewed response patterns can leave gaps in understanding community priorities and needs, complicating equitable service planning.

9. Representativeness and what to watch for in results

Because the DPU uses random email invitations plus open links and phone outreach, the final sample will mix probability-based and self-selected respondents, a combination that affects how confidently results can be generalized. Watch for DPU transparency about response rates, demographic breakdowns and response weighting in published results; those disclosure practices determine how useful the data are for policymaking and public scrutiny.

10. How you can make your feedback matter

To maximize influence, respond promptly if you receive an invitation, or use ladpu.com/RVOC or ladpu.com/CVOC to submit a direct response; for immediate service issues use ladpu.com/123. Provide specific, factual examples (dates, locations, outage durations) so DPU can link feedback to operational records; follow up by tracking DPU reports and county meeting agendas where survey findings may be discussed.