Greater Reliability and Stronger Trust Shape Business Customer Satisfaction with Electric Utilities

Trust Satisfaction Rises as Business Customers Value Transparency and Partnership

• Fewer and shorter electric utility outages ease the strain on business customers
• Trust dimension increased 14 points (on a 1,000-point scale), offsetting pressure elsewhere
• Utilities are communicating more proactively

TROY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Business customer satisfaction with the nation’s electric utilities in 2026 is underpinned by improvements in reliability and a strengthening of trust, according to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study,^SM released today. Overall satisfaction increased 1 point (on a 1,000-point scale), to 614, despite increased demand and continued economic pressure on businesses. A key component to the overall satisfaction score is the growth in trust, up 14 points compared to 2025.

“Even as electricity demand grows, business customers are seeing fewer and shorter outages. That’s an encouraging sign of progress as utilities prepare for continued growth,” said Ramah Vaughn, director of utilities intelligence at JD Power. “The improvement in outage frequency, duration and financial impact is a positive sign that reliability is moving in the right direction for business customers.”

“Additionally, business customers report significantly higher trust when they believe their utility communicates transparently and acts in their best interest,” added Vaughn. “As energy needs become more complex, businesses are looking for more than reliable service. They want a utility that communicates openly, understands their needs and acts as a trusted partner.”

Following are some key findings of the 2026 study:

• Reliability is moving in the right direction: Number of indicated outages declined, plus fewer businesses are affected by storms or suffer financial losses from outages. 37% of business customers say a storm event affected their business in 2026, down from 39% in 2025. The share reporting financial impact on business from outages or power quality issues is 24%, down from 25% in 2025. These reliability gains reduce the strain outages place on business customers.
• Trust is rising: Overall trust satisfaction is 14 points higher (624) than 2025. Providing accurate restoration time is a key component of trust. When power is restored on time as promised, business customers have a trust satisfaction score of 655, versus 465 when restoration is after the projected time. Business customers who say their utility is transparent in its communications and decision also have high trust satisfaction. Customers who believe their utility acts in their best interest have a trust score of 704, compared with 350 among those who do not.
• Communication with customers improves: Utilities are communicating more proactively with customers, and 80% state their utility contacted them after power was restored, while 83% say they were notified ahead of scheduled work.

Study Rankings

Within each of the four U.S. geographic regions included in the study, utility providers are classified into one of two segments: large (serving 100,000 or more business customers) and midsize (serving 50,000-99,999 business customers).

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

• East Large: PSE&G
• East Midsize: Penelec
• Midwest Large: Xcel Energy
• Midwest Midsize: AES Ohio
• South Large: Georgia Power (for a third consecutive year)
• South Midsize: Entergy Texas (for a third consecutive year)
• West Large: Puget Sound Energy
• West Midsize: Seattle City Light (for a fifth consecutive year)

The Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, now in its 28th year, measures satisfaction among business customers of 80 targeted U.S. electric utilities, each of which serves more than 50,000 business customers. In aggregate, these utilities provide electricity to more than 12 million customers.

Overall satisfaction is examined across eight dimensions (listed in order of importance): total monthly cost; trust; safety & reliability; ease of doing business; people; information provided; problem resolution; and digital channels. The 2026 study is based on responses from 19,358 online interviews of business customers in decision-making roles related to their utility company. The study was fielded from February through October 2026.

To view the complete rankings visit: https://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2026119

For more information about the U.S. Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/u-s-electric-utility-business-customer-satisfaction-study/.

About JD Power

JD Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, JD Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 55 years. The world’s leading businesses across major industries rely on JD Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

JD Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company’s business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The JD Power auto-shopping tool can be found at JDPower.com.

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