Residential Consumer Satisfaction Jumps
JULY 23, 2010
Better service reliability and lower monthly bills led to an increase in the satisfaction level of residential electric utility customers this year, according to J.D. Power & Associates’ annual satisfaction study, released last week. Several electric cooperatives scored strongly in the study and received high satisfaction rankings.
Overall customer satisfaction averaged 630 on a 1,000-point scale in this year’s study, increasing from 618 in 2009. Customer-reported bill amounts decreased by 5 percent from 2009, and power reliability improved, with service interruptions falling by 8 percent.
“Utility companies are continuing to improve when it comes to managing customer expectations around power outages and restoration of service,” said Jeff Conklin, senior director of the Energy and Utility Practice at J.D. Power. “Even though outages can have a negative impact on satisfaction, utility providers who manage these incidents properly—by providing sufficiently detailed information about the outage and restoring power when they say they will—may be able to mitigate declines, or even improve satisfaction.”
Tags: CFC, Cooperative Finance Corporation, Electric Cooperatives, electric utility satisfaction, J.D. Power