J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Satisfaction of Business Customers With Electric Utilities Continues to Climb to a New High Due to Improvements in Customer Care

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing a steady upward trend since 2004, business customer satisfaction with electric utility providers has reached record high levels, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) released today. The study's nationwide customer satisfaction index has increased from 690 points on a 1,000-point scale in 2007 to 697 in 2008.

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The study is based on interviews with representatives of more than 13,500 U.S. businesses that spend between $500 and $50,000 monthly on electricity. Overall customer satisfaction is measured through six factors: power quality and reliability; customer service; company image; billing and payment; price; and communications. Businesses served by the 58 largest electric utilities in the United States report improvements in four of the six factors in 2008, with customer service and billing and payment factors registering the largest increases. Ratings for power quality and reliability and communications factors have also increased, while company image and price ratings have remained flat.

"Across the industry, utilities have made substantial gains in customer service and billing," said Alan Destribats, vice president of the energy utility practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "For example, providing a wide variety of payment options, giving customers electronic copies of billing statements and making customer service available 24 hours a day through utility Web sites are all particularly satisfying to business customers."

East Region

PPL Electric Utilities is the highest-ranking electric utility in the East Region with an overall customer satisfaction index score of 710. PPL has ranked highest in the region for seven of the past nine years. Other strong performers are Public Service Electric and Gas, FirstEnergy-East, Allegheny Power and Con Edison.

Midwest Region

For a second consecutive year, E.ON U.S. and MidAmerican Energy rank highest in a tie in the Midwest Region, each with an overall score of 728. Other utilities in the region with strong performances include Aquila, Consumers Energy and Xcel Energy-Midwest.

South Region

CPS Energy improves by 40 points and ranks highest with a score of 748. 2008 marks the first time that CPS Energy has ranked highest in the region. Other utilities with strong performances in the South Region include South Carolina Electric & Gas, Southern Company, Progress Energy and Tampa Electric.

West Region

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) ranks highest in the West Region for a second consecutive year, achieving a score of 777. Other utilities performing particularly well in the region include L.A. Department of Water and Power, Salt River Project, Pacific Gas and Electric and Portland General Electric.

"Sacramento Municipal Utility District not only ranks highest in the West Region, but also earns the highest score of all the utility companies in the 2008 study, improving by 15 points since 2007," said Destribats. "In addition, SMUD leads the study in several key performance areas, with business customers reporting particularly high rates of outage call-backs, receipt of electronic billing statements, contact with members of the utility's senior management and awareness of SMUD's energy conservation and efficiency programs."

The study results include the following key findings: -- Business customers report experiencing slightly fewer outages in the 2008 study (5.7, on average) compared with the 2007 study (5.8). The average length of power outages decreased from 8.8 hours in the 2007 study to 7.9 hours in the 2008 study. -- The percentage of businesses that report visiting their utility's Web site in the past 12 months has increased from 37 percent in the 2007 study to 52 percent in the 2008 study. In addition, the number of businesses that typically pay their bill online has increased from 12 percent to 14 percent within the past year. -- Approximately 37 percent of business customers report being aware of their utility's energy conservation and efficiency programs. Customer awareness of a utility's community outreach or conservation activities raised overall satisfaction by as much as 108 index points in the 2008 study. Customer Satisfaction Index Scores (Based on a 1,000-point scale) East Region PPL Electric Utilities 710 Public Service Electric and Gas 706 FirstEnergy - East 705 Allegheny Power 702 Con Edison 701 Energy East 699 Pepco Holdings 693 NSTAR Electric 691 East Region Average 691 Exelon - PECO 682 National Grid 682 Duquesne Light 680 Northeast Utilities 672 Baltimore Gas and Electric 665 Long Island Power Authority 621 Midwest Region E.ON U.S. 728 MidAmerican Energy 728 Aquila 719 Consumers Energy 712 Xcel Energy - Midwest 711 Alliant Energy 710 Kansas City Power & Light 704 We Energies 703 AEP - Midwest 692 Duke Energy - Midwest 690 FirstEnergy - Midwest 689 Midwest Region Average 686 Detroit Edison 675 Exelon-ComEd 671 NiSource 666 Westar Energy 641 Ameren 612 South Region CPS Energy 748 South Carolina Electric & Gas 742 Southern Company 728 Progress Energy 727 Tampa Electric 723 Duke Energy - South 721 South Region Average 705 Oklahoma Gas and Electric 698 AEP-South 695 Florida Power & Light 694 Dominion Virginia Power 681 Reliant Energy 678 Entergy 673 TXU Energy 670 West Region Sacramento Municipal Utility District 777 L.A. Dept. of Water and Power 724 Salt River Project 722 Pacific Gas and Electric 721 Portland General Electric 717 West Region Average 703 Southern California Edison 701 Arizona Public Service 700 PNM Resources 695 Puget Sound Energy 682 PacifiCorp 681 Sierra Pacific Resources 679 Xcel Energy - West 672 San Diego Gas & Electric 662 About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

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Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2007 were $6.8 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts: John Tews Syvetril Perryman Troy, Mich. Westlake Village, Calif. (248) 312-4119 (805) 418-8103 john.tews@jdpa.com syvetril.perryman@jdpa.com

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Al Destribats http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=58117