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Consumer Demand for Clean Energy Significantly Increases

April 22, 2019

Cogent Reports Names 29 Utility Environmental Champions in Honor of Earth Day

Renewable energy is now the dominant customer choice for the nation’s power supply. Over 40% of consumers now prefer renewable utility generation as a first or second choice compared with just 25% last year. And 45% of the public says it is willing to pay a higher utility bill in order to achieve 100% renewable energy. The second-most preferred fuel for generation is cleaner-burning natural gas (30%). These findings are from the 2019 Cogent Reports Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study from Market Strategies International-Morpace.

The study surveyed 61,023 utility customers of 140 electric, natural gas and combination utilities over the last 12 months and scored the utilities on an Environmental Dedication index. Today, in honor of Earth Day, 29 utilities score high enough on this index to be named Environmental Champions.

“Consumers have become more environmentally conscious and now expect the companies they use to share that same concern. The good news is that our research shows that utilities have responded to these expectations and are being viewed through a more positive environmental lens by their customers,” said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Market Strategies International-Morpace. “With Earth Day being celebrated today across the globe, this is a great time to name the utilities doing the best job responding to customers’ environmental expectations as Environmental Champions.”

Market Strategies International-Morpace is pleased to designate the utilities below as the 2019 Environmental Champions. These utilities have been rated among the best on their environmental commitment, support of environmental causes and aiding customers to become more environmentally friendly.

2019 Environmental Champions

AEP Ohio MidAmerican Energy PPL Electric Utilities
Atlantic City Electric National Fuel Gas Puget Sound Energy
Citizens Energy New Jersey Natural Gas Salt River Project
Columbia Gas – East NW Natural SEMCO Energy Gas Company
Columbia Gas of Ohio OUC SMUD
ComEd Peoples Gas TECO Peoples Gas
Con Edison Pepco UGI Utilities
CPS Energy Philadelphia Gas Works Washington Gas
Dayton Power & Light Piedmont Natural Gas Xcel Energy – Midwest
DTE Energy Portland General Electric

About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential

Market Strategies-Morpace surveyed 61,023 residential electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 140 largest US utility companies (based on residential customer counts). The Environmental Dedication index is a twelve-month-trailing average score derived from utility consumer ratings on five factors. 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. Market Strategies-Morpace will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.

Click below for more information on the study.

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