December 17, 2019
40 Utility Customer Champions Designated
Although customers are highly satisfied with their utility service this year, ratings for enhanced utility offerings, specifically those that help manage bill amounts, have dropped. Adoption of digital services and consumption management programs is also beginning to stall. This signals that customer satisfaction does not translate to the use of enhanced utility offerings and the industry must focus on developing and marketing these offerings for future success. These findings are from the 2019 Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study from Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics firm.
The study benchmarks and trends performance of 140 utilities on the Engaged Customer Relationship (ECR) score—a composite index of Service Satisfaction, Brand Trust and Product Experience performance based on over 67,000 nationwide customer interviews. The 2019 overall industry ECR score is 713 (on a 1,000-point scale), which is unchanged from last year.
To continue to succeed with customers in the future, the utility industry needs to become proficient at developing and marketing enhanced offerings and ensuring customers are engaged. Younger Millennials and Generation Zers now compose 20% of the utility market and score utilities significantly lower on customer engagement this year. The study shows these younger customers expect innovation, digital convenience and social responsibility. They will continue to demand utilities deliver on those expectations through enhanced offerings.
| Engaged Customer Relationship Score | 2019 | 2018 | Change |
| Gen Zers (18–24) | 690 | 710 | -20 |
| Millennials (25–34) | 709 | 722 | -13 |
| Gen Xers (35–54) | 712 | 706 | 6 |
| Late Boomers (55–64) | 712 | 711 | 1 |
| Early Boomers (65+) | 726 | 722 | 4 |
“Customers currently have push-pull relationships with utilities where they appreciate the basic service they receive but aren’t seeing the value in engaging beyond that,” said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Escalent. “We also see that the best utilities are those that are emerging as great product marketers. The future belongs to utilities that innovate to move from service providers to value-added partners in the eyes of their customers.”
The study designates 40 utilities as 2019 Customer Champions. These utilities have higher offering usage and provide value-added offerings and services, and are best positioned for future customer success and industry innovation.
| 2019 Cogent Syndicated Utility Customer Champions | ||
| AEP Ohio | Elizabethtown Gas | Piedmont Natural Gas |
| Ameren Illinois | Florida Power & Light | PPL Electric Utilities |
| Atmos Energy – South | Georgia Power | Public Service Company of Oklahoma |
| Avista | Idaho Power | Puget Sound Energy |
| Black Hills Energy – Midwest | Kentucky Utilities | Salt River Project |
| Cascade Natural Gas | MidAmerican Energy | Seattle City Light |
| CenterPoint Energy – South | National Fuel Gas | Southwestern Electric Power Company |
| Columbia Gas – South | New Jersey Natural Gas | TECO Peoples Gas |
| Columbia Gas of Ohio | NW Natural | Texas Gas Service |
| ComEd | OPPD | UGI Utilities |
| CPS Energy | OUC | Washington Gas |
| Delmarva Power | Peoples Gas | West Penn Power |
| DTE Energy | Philadelphia Gas Works | Xcel Energy – South |
| Xcel Energy – West | ||
The following are ECR scores for the 140 utilities covered in the study.
| East Region Utility Brands | Engaged Customer Relationship index | Service type |
| Delmarva Power | 714 | Combination |
| PECO | 711 | Combination |
| Con Edison | 710 | Combination |
| PSE&G | 708 | Combination |
| RG&E | 704 | Combination |
| National Grid | 701 | Combination |
| BGE | 686 | Combination |
| Eversource | 684 | Combination |
| NYSEG | 668 | Combination |
| PPL Electric Utilities | 730 | Electric |
| West Penn Power | 728 | Electric |
| Green Mountain Power | 709 | Electric |
| Penelec | 709 | Electric |
| Met-Ed | 706 | Electric |
| Appalachian Power | 702 | Electric |
| Duquesne Light Company | 701 | Electric |
| Pepco | 701 | Electric |
| Penn Power | 698 | Electric |
| Atlantic City Electric | 692 | Electric |
| PSEG Long Island | 690 | Electric |
| Jersey Central Power & Light | 686 | Electric |
| Monongahela Power | 684 | Electric |
| Potomac Edison | 661 | Electric |
| Central Maine Power | 573 | Electric |
| UGI Utilities | 745 | Natural Gas |
| New Jersey Natural Gas | 737 | Natural Gas |
| Washington Gas | 737 | Natural Gas |
| Philadelphia Gas Works | 731 | Natural Gas |
| National Fuel Gas | 729 | Natural Gas |
| Elizabethtown Gas | 728 | Natural Gas |
| Peoples | 717 | Natural Gas |
| South Jersey Gas Company | 710 | Natural Gas |
| Columbia Gas – East | 688 | Natural Gas |
| Midwest Region Utility Brands | Engaged Customer Relationship index | Service type |
| DTE Energy | 746 | Combination |
| Ameren Illinois | 743 | Combination |
| Black Hills Energy – Midwest | 738 | Combination |
| MidAmerican Energy | 738 | Combination |
| Xcel Energy – Midwest | 723 | Combination |
| Duke Energy Midwest | 722 | Combination |
| Wisconsin Public Service | 716 | Combination |
| Consumers Energy | 713 | Combination |
| NIPSCO | 699 | Combination |
| Vectren | 692 | Combination |
| Alliant Energy | 689 | Combination |
| We Energies | 689 | Combination |
| OPPD | 738 | Electric |
| AEP Ohio | 735 | Electric |
| ComEd | 718 | Electric |
| Dayton Power & Light | 712 | Electric |
| The Illuminating Company | 705 | Electric |
| Ohio Edison | 694 | Electric |
| Toledo Edison | 693 | Electric |
| Indiana Michigan Power | 683 | Electric |
| Indianapolis Power & Light | 682 | Electric |
| Evergy | 680 | Electric |
| Ameren Missouri | 676 | Electric |
| Peoples Gas | 763 | Natural Gas |
| Columbia Gas of Ohio | 743 | Natural Gas |
| CenterPoint Energy – Midwest | 739 | Natural Gas |
| SEMCO Energy Gas Company | 726 | Natural Gas |
| Nicor Gas | 719 | Natural Gas |
| Citizens Energy | 714 | Natural Gas |
| Dominion Energy Ohio | 711 | Natural Gas |
| Kansas Gas Service | 709 | Natural Gas |
| Spire Missouri – East | 701 | Natural Gas |
| Atmos Energy – Midwest | 692 | Natural Gas |
| Spire Missouri – West | 682 | Natural Gas |
| South Region Utility Brands | Engaged Customer Relationship index | Service type |
| CPS Energy | 733 | Combination |
| Louisville Gas & Electric | 699 | Combination |
| Dominion Energy South Carolina | 687 | Combination |
| MLGW | 647 | Combination |
| Florida Power & Light | 750 | Electric |
| Southwestern Electric Power Company | 749 | Electric |
| OUC | 746 | Electric |
| Georgia Power | 741 | Electric |
| Kentucky Utilities | 740 | Electric |
| Xcel Energy – South | 737 | Electric |
| Public Service Company of Oklahoma | 732 | Electric |
| OG&E | 730 | Electric |
| Mississippi Power | 729 | Electric |
| JEA | 725 | Electric |
| Nashville Electric Service | 725 | Electric |
| Alabama Power | 723 | Electric |
| Entergy Louisiana | 718 | Electric |
| TECO Tampa Electric | 711 | Electric |
| Entergy Texas | 710 | Electric |
| Gulf Power | 710 | Electric |
| Entergy Arkansas | 706 | Electric |
| Entergy Mississippi | 702 | Electric |
| Duke Energy Carolinas | 698 | Electric |
| Dominion Energy Virginia | 696 | Electric |
| Duke Energy Progress | 691 | Electric |
| Austin Energy | 690 | Electric |
| Entergy New Orleans | 686 | Electric |
| Duke Energy Florida | 683 | Electric |
| El Paso Electric | 680 | Electric |
| Kentucky Power | 662 | Electric |
| TECO Peoples Gas | 779 | Natural Gas |
| Piedmont Natural Gas | 765 | Natural Gas |
| Columbia Gas – South | 760 | Natural Gas |
| CenterPoint Energy – South | 753 | Natural Gas |
| Atmos Energy – South | 750 | Natural Gas |
| Texas Gas Service | 749 | Natural Gas |
| Florida City Gas Company | 741 | Natural Gas |
| Oklahoma Natural Gas | 740 | Natural Gas |
| Dominion Energy North Carolina | 739 | Natural Gas |
| Virginia Natural Gas | 736 | Natural Gas |
| Spire South | 723 | Natural Gas |
| Chattanooga Gas Company | 711 | Natural Gas |
| Spire Mississippi | 666 | Natural Gas |
| Spire Gulf Coast | 652 | Natural Gas |
| West Region Utility Brands | Engaged Customer Relationship index | Service type |
| Xcel Energy – West | 732 | Combination |
| Avista | 721 | Combination |
| Puget Sound Energy | 716 | Combination |
| SDG&E | 690 | Combination |
| NorthWestern Energy | 687 | Combination |
| PG&E | 645 | Combination |
| Black Hills Energy – West | 637 | Combination |
| Salt River Project | 749 | Electric |
| Idaho Power | 739 | Electric |
| Seattle City Light | 730 | Electric |
| SMUD | 728 | Electric |
| Tucson Electric Power | 725 | Electric |
| Portland General Electric | 722 | Electric |
| NV Energy | 717 | Electric |
| Pacific Power | 711 | Electric |
| Southern California Edison | 708 | Electric |
| Rocky Mountain Power | 704 | Electric |
| PNM | 691 | Electric |
| APS | 675 | Electric |
| Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | 673 | Electric |
| NW Natural | 763 | Natural Gas |
| Cascade Natural Gas | 744 | Natural Gas |
| SoCalGas | 740 | Natural Gas |
| Southwest Gas | 736 | Natural Gas |
| Intermountain Gas Company | 735 | Natural Gas |
| Dominion Energy – West | 723 | Natural Gas |
| New Mexico Gas Company | 691 | Natural Gas |
About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential
Escalent conducted surveys among 67,379 residential electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 140 largest US utility companies (based on residential customer counts). The sample design uses a combination of quotas and weighting based on US census data to ensure a demographically balanced sample of each evaluated utility’s customers based on age, gender, income, race and ethnicity. Utilities within the same region and of the same type (e.g., electric-only providers) are given equal weight in order to balance the influence of each utility’s customers on survey results. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
Click below to learn more about the report.
