Public Power Utilities Recognized for Residential Customer Satisfaction

Several Florida public power utilities have earned high scores for residential customer satisfaction in a recently released J.D. Power study.

Overall, electric utility residential customer satisfaction for the industry is high, especially for customers that are aware of payment deferment and other good deeds offered by their utility during the pandemic, according to the J.D. Power 2020 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, which was released in December.

The study is based on responses from 96,546 online interviews conducted from January through November 2020 among residential customers of the 143 largest electric utility brands across the United States, which represent more than 102 million households.

Scores are based on a 1,000-point scale and also covers investor-owned utilities and electric cooperatives.

In the Midwest midsize category, Nebraska public power utilities Lincoln Electric System (750 score) and Omaha Public Power District (749 score) were in the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. City Utilities was in the 13th spot with a score of 716.

In the South large segment, San Antonio, Texas public power utility CPS Energy ranked third with a score of 779.

In the South midsize segment, a total of 11 public power utilities earned a spot in the rankings as follows:

• EPB (Tennessee) (#1 spot with a score of 800)
• Orlando Utilities Commission (Florida) (#2 spot with a score of 799)
• Santee Cooper (South Carolina) (#8 spot with a score of 769)
• Austin Energy (Texas) (#10 spot with a score of 750)
• City of Tallahassee, Fla. (#13 spot with a score of 744)
• Huntsville Utilities (Alabama) (#14 spot with a score of 741)
• JEA (Florida) (#15 spot with a score of 739)
• Lakeland Electric (Florida) (#16 spot with a score of 735)
• Nashville Electric Service (Tennessee) (#17 spot with a score of 724)
• Memphis Light Gas and Water (Tennessee) (#20 spot with a score of 692)

 In the West large utility segment, Arizona public power utility Salt River Project earned the top spot with a score of 806, while California public power utility SMUD came in second place with a score of 783. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was in the 12th spot with a score of 721.

In the West midsize segment, Washington State’s Clark Public Utilities earned the top spot with a score of 812, while California public power utility Anaheim Public Utilities earned a score of 764, landing it in the fourth spot.

Colorado Springs Utilities was in the fifth spot in the West midsize segment with a score of 761, while Seattle City Light was in the sixth spot with a score of 751. Washington State’s Snohomish County PUD was in the 10th spot with a score of 742, while California’s Imperial Irrigation District was in the twelfth spot with a score of 736.

Article reposted with permission from Public Power Daily.