CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Business customers are engaging more with their utility as their satisfaction with service and perception of their utility as a trusted energy adviser increase. Greater business community outreach, more communication spending and being easier to do business with are largely responsible for these improvements in utility-business customer relationships. These findings are from the 2019 Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Business study from Escalent.
The Engaged Customer Relationship (ECR) score among utility business customers has significantly increased this year to 762 on a 1,000-point scale. The ECR score is a benchmark composite index of Service Satisfaction, Brand Trust and Product Experience performance to measure how engaged customers are with their utility. This year’s ECR increase is driven by an 8-point increase in Service Satisfaction (to 780) and a 13-point increase in Brand Trust (to 745).
Greater customer engagement leads to businesses increasingly looking to utilities to provide enhanced offerings around rate plans, consumption management, alternative fuels, digital service and EV incentives.
Selected Enhanced Offerings Usage |
2018 |
|
2019 |
|
Increase |
|
Digital service (8 offerings) |
88% |
|
90% |
|
2% |
|
EV incentives (2 offerings) |
34% |
|
40% |
|
6% |
|
Energy efficiency (18 offerings) |
79% |
|
82% |
|
3% |
|
Alternative fuels (10 offerings) |
58% |
|
66% |
|
8% |
|
Alternative rate plans (6 offerings) |
62% |
|
65% |
|
3% |
“Utilities are doing a great job managing their business customer touchpoints on service, communication and outreach,” said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Escalent. “This performance is providing utilities the ability to influence product demand and adoption of key offerings that will have a positive impact on their bottom lines.”
The study designates 18 utilities this year as 2019 Business Customer Champions.
2019 Cogent Syndicated Business Utility Customer Champions |
||
AEP Ohio |
MidAmerican Energy |
|
BGE |
Nicor Gas |
|
CenterPoint Energy – South |
NV Energy |
|
Chattanooga Gas Company |
Puget Sound Energy |
|
DTE Energy |
Salt River Project |
|
Duke Energy Midwest |
SDG&E |
|
Florida Power & Light |
SMUD |
|
Idaho Power |
Virginia Natural Gas |
|
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power |
Xcel Energy – West |
|
The following charts reflect the ECR scores for the 76 utilities covered in the study.
East Region Utility Brands |
Engaged Customer
|
|
BGE |
813 |
|
Con Edison |
791 |
|
Jersey Central Power & Light |
782 |
|
Eversource Energy |
768 |
|
PSE&G |
765 |
|
PPL Electric Utilities |
759 |
|
PSEG Long Island |
745 |
|
NYSEG |
738 |
|
PECO Energy |
726 |
|
Appalachian Power |
719 |
|
National Grid |
713 |
|
West Penn Power |
710 |
|
Penelec |
707 |
Midwest Region Utility Brands |
Engaged Customer
|
|
Duke Energy Midwest |
808 |
|
MidAmerican Energy |
806 |
|
DTE Energy |
798 |
|
AEP Ohio |
792 |
|
Nicor Gas |
790 |
|
NIPSCO |
786 |
|
CenterPoint Energy – Midwest |
785 |
|
Consumers Energy |
784 |
|
The Illuminating Company |
782 |
|
Dayton Power & Light |
782 |
|
Ameren Illinois |
782 |
|
Indiana Michigan Power |
781 |
|
Ameren Missouri |
770 |
|
OPPD |
765 |
|
Wisconsin Public Service |
761 |
|
Indianapolis Power & Light |
747 |
|
Evergy |
744 |
|
Xcel Energy – Midwest |
736 |
|
ComEd |
735 |
|
Alliant Energy |
734 |
|
We Energies |
728 |
|
Ohio Edison |
722 |
South Region Utility Brands |
Engaged Customer
|
|
Chattanooga Gas Company |
826 |
|
Virginia Natural Gas |
808 |
|
Florida Power & Light |
808 |
|
CenterPoint Energy – South |
799 |
|
TECO Tampa Electric |
792 |
|
Alabama Power |
790 |
|
Georgia Power |
775 |
|
Entergy New Orleans |
774 |
|
Entergy Mississippi |
772 |
|
Entergy Louisiana |
770 |
|
Entergy Texas |
766 |
|
El Paso Electric |
764 |
|
Duke Energy Florida |
762 |
|
Dominion Energy Virginia |
756 |
|
Public Service Company of Oklahoma |
753 |
|
Louisville Gas & Electric |
751 |
|
Duke Energy Carolinas |
750 |
|
CPS Energy |
749 |
|
Duke Energy Progress |
748 |
|
Entergy Arkansas |
743 |
|
Gulf Power |
739 |
|
Kentucky Utilities |
733 |
|
OG&E |
731 |
|
Dominion Energy South Carolina |
728 |
|
Southwestern Electric Power Company |
717 |
West Region Utility Brands |
Engaged Customer
|
|
Xcel Energy – West |
776 |
|
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power |
776 |
|
Puget Sound Energy |
774 |
|
SMUD |
772 |
|
Idaho Power |
769 |
|
SDG&E |
767 |
|
Salt River Project |
762 |
|
NV Energy |
762 |
|
Pacific Power |
752 |
|
NorthWestern Energy |
750 |
|
Southern California Edison |
750 |
|
Portland General Electric |
747 |
|
APS |
746 |
|
Rocky Mountain Power |
739 |
|
PG&E |
726 |
|
PNM |
717 |
|
|
|
About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Business
Escalent conducted surveys among 14,072 business electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 76 largest US utility companies (based on customer counts). Utilities are given equal weight to balance the influence of each utility’s customers on survey results. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
About Escalent
Escalent is a top human behavior and analytics firm specializing in industries facing disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, we tell stories that transform data and insight into a profound understanding of what drives human beings. And we help businesses turn those drivers into actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences and inspire product innovation. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.
