Utility Providers Better Understand the Power of Customer Engagement

Electric utility providers might not immediately conjure up the most amazing customer engagement strategies, but, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Calendar-Year Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, they’re improving at a rapid pace.

Electric utility providers are communicating with more of their business customers, more often, and in more ways, and their efforts are resulting in record-high levels of satisfaction, the study notes.

The study measures satisfaction among business customers of 87 targeted U.S. electric utilities, each of which serves more than 40,000 business customers. In aggregate, these utilities provide electricity to more than 11 million customers. Overall satisfaction is examined across six factors (listed in order of importance): power quality and reliability; corporate citizenship; price; billing and payment; communications; and customer service. Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.

Overall satisfaction among electric utility business customers improved for the fourth consecutive year to a record high of 755 points, a significant increase over the last two studies (704 and 677, respectively). Satisfaction improves significantly in each of the six factors, with the largest year-over-year increases in price (plus 60 points), communications (plus 56) and customer service (plus 55).

“Utilities are really beginning to understand the importance of engagement with their business customers, which is reflected in increased communication,” said John Hazen, director in the utility & infrastructure practice at J.D. Power. “Business customers expect their utility to do more than just keep the lights on. In the absence of communication, which creates a void of critical information such as the status of outages, customers may not recognize the good things their utility is doing for the economy, the community, and the environment. Proactive engagement creates awareness, which leads to higher satisfaction.”

The study revealed that 56 percent of business customers recall at least one communication from their utility provider in the past six months, up from 54 percent last year. What’s more, there has been an increase in communications via email, the utility provider’s social media site, and text messaging.

“It’s remarkable how utilities have improved as an industry in understanding the importance of being customer-focused,” Hazen said. “In doing so, they hope to not only improve their financial performance but also to be viewed more favorably by regulators. Furthermore, business customers are also more supportive of the investment plans utilities have in such projects as updating or developing their infrastructure.”

The following utilities rank highest in business customer satisfaction in their respective regions:

East Large: Con Edison

East Midsize: Met-Ed

Midwest Large: Ameren Missouri

Midwest Midsize: Louisville Gas & Electric

South Large: Georgia Power

South Midsize: Gulf Power

West Large: Salt River Project

West Midsize: Seattle City Light

The 2016 Calendar-Year Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more 20,000 online interviews with business customers who spend at least $200 a month on electricity. The study was fielded from February through June 2016 and July through November 2016.

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