Duke's utilities hit bottom in customer satisfaction survey

Dive Brief:

J.D. Power has released its utility business customer satisfaction survey, and Duke Energy's three units in the south region took the bottom three spots among large power suppliers.
Customer satisfaction winners around the country included PSE&G, Delmarva Power, Southern Co., Salt River Project and MidAmerican Energy. The full list of winners is available from J.D. Power.
Overall satisfaction among electric utility business customers, however, has reached its highest point in seven years, the survey revealed. It is also the second consecutive year of improvement for more than 80% of the electric utilities included in the study.

Dive Insight:

The story to come out of J.D. Power's 2015 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study will be Duke's bottom three slots in the south region. But overall business customer satisfaction has not been higher in years, and most utilities are improving their customer relations — even those scoring poorly.

"It's important to note that many electric utilities that have traditionally ranked at the low end of the overall index now include in their business goals initiatives that are aimed at improving customer satisfaction," said Andrew Heath, director of the energy practice at J.D. Power. "Among those utilities, several are posting substantial increases in satisfaction as a result. When utilities highly satisfy its customer base, there is a quantifiable positive impact on profitability and credit ratings for the utility."

Charlotte Business Journal reports that Duke issued a prepared statement: "These results are a clear indication that we need to do more to better understand and meet our customers' expectations, and we are committed to doing that. Last year we began making changes in our operations to improve power reliability and customer service, and we will continue that work this year and beyond."

In the east region, PSE&G ranked highest among large electric utility providers; among midsize electric utilities, Delmarva Power ranked highest. In the midwest region, MidAmerican Energy was tops among large utilities and Omaha Public Power District was highest in the midsize category.

Georgia Power and Gulf Power took top rankings in the south region in the large and mid-sized categories, respectively.

Salt River Project ranked highest among large electric utilities in the west for a second consecutive year, and among midsize electric utility providers, business customers were most satisfied with Seattle City Light.