December 14, 2022
Escalent Names 37 Utilities as 2022 Customer Champions
A new Cogent Syndicated report from Escalent finds that despite rising energy costs, some stand-out utilities have scored well above their industry peers for building engaged customer relationships. As the impact of higher energy prices reverberates through the industry, overall perceptions that utilities are offering reasonable rates for the service they provide are declining, leading to an overall decline in customer engagement with utilities. Bucking this trend, leading utilities that have communicated with customers to help them find support in managing their energy use are building engaged customer relationships. Today, we name those 37 utilities as Escalent’s 2022 Customer Champions.
These findings are from the 2022 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study, which tracks the performance of 141 gas, electric and combination utilities to identify brand and customer experience opportunities and trends in the industry. The report is published semiannually by Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics advisory firm with extensive energy and utility experience.
The study also found that for the first time since 2018, more than half (53%) of residential customers are paying $100–$500 per month on their utility bill. Perhaps most significantly, this year marks the lowest percentage of customers (32%) who are paying less than $100 per month on their bill. Despite higher energy costs impacting customer bills, utilities have significantly decreased the level of their customer communication. Residential customers recall fewer overall communications from their utility this year and are less likely than last year to say that messaging about how they can lower their energy consumption is accurate and easy to understand.
However, in the face of these overall industry declines, the 2022 Customer Champion utilities are focused on clear communications about customer programs and are helping their customers find offerings that meet needs around managing bills. Also, unlike the industry as a whole, these utilities are sharing messaging around how to lower energy consumption that maintains a high degree of perceived accuracy and clarity.
“Customers buffeted by inflation and economic anxiety are looking for solutions to manage their energy spending,” said K.C. Boyce, vice president at Escalent. “While many utilities have approached rising energy prices by trying to explain why prices have increased, it’s clear that the utilities that have successfully navigated these challenges have instead focused on providing energy-efficiency, rate and billing programs that give customers more control over their budgets.”
Escalent is pleased to name these 37 utilities as our 2022 Customer Champions.
| Escalent 2022 Customer Champions | ||
| Ameren Missouri | Dominion Energy South Carolina | Philadelphia Gas Works |
| Atmos Energy – Midwest | Elizabethtown Gas | Piedmont Natural Gas |
| Atmos Energy – South | Florida City Gas Company | PPL Electric Utilities |
| BGE | Florida Power & Light | Puget Sound Energy |
| Black Hills Energy – Midwest | Georgia Power | Salt River Project |
| Cascade Natural Gas | Green Mountain Power | SMUD |
| CenterPoint Energy – Midwest | Idaho Power | SoCalGas |
| Chattanooga Gas Company | Mississippi Power | TECO Peoples Gas |
| Columbia Gas – East | Montana-Dakota Utilities | TECO Tampa Electric |
| Columbia Gas – South | New Jersey Natural Gas | Washington Gas |
| Columbia Gas of Ohio | OUC | Wisconsin Public Service |
| ComEd | PECO | |
| Delmarva Power | Pepco | |
* Utilities named as Customer Champions are selected based on having Engaged Customer Relationship Index scores in the top decile of the industry, the top score within their respective benchmark segment, or an Engaged Customer Relationship Index score within 20 points of the top benchmark segment score and above the industry average.
EAST REGION: Customer Engagement Benchmark Performance
| Utility brand name | Utility type | ECR score |
| BGE | Combination | 755 |
| Delmarva Power | Combination | 755 |
| PECO | Combination | 738 |
| PSE&G | Combination | 731 |
| Con Edison | Combination | 709 |
| National Grid | Combination | 707 |
| RG&E | Combination | 691 |
| Eversource | Combination | 674 |
| NYSEG | Combination | 674 |
| PPL Electric Utilities | Electric | 741 |
| Pepco | Electric | 728 |
| Green Mountain Power | Electric | 721 |
| West Penn Power | Electric | 706 |
| Penelec | Electric | 704 |
| Duquesne Light Company | Electric | 701 |
| Penn Power | Electric | 701 |
| Met-Ed | Electric | 694 |
| Atlantic City Electric | Electric | 693 |
| Mon Power | Electric | 688 |
| Potomac Edison | Electric | 687 |
| Appalachian Power | Electric | 684 |
| Jersey Central Power & Light | Electric | 679 |
| PSEG Long Island | Electric | 663 |
| Central Maine Power | Electric | 599 |
| New Jersey Natural Gas | Natural gas | 750 |
| Washington Gas | Natural gas | 747 |
| Philadelphia Gas Works | Natural gas | 747 |
| Elizabethtown Gas | Natural gas | 740 |
| Columbia Gas – East | Natural gas | 737 |
| South Jersey Gas Company | Natural gas | 726 |
| UGI Utilities | Natural gas | 716 |
| Peoples | Natural gas | 709 |
| National Fuel Gas | Natural gas | 697 |
MIDWEST REGION: Customer Engagement Benchmark Performance
| Utility brand name | Utility Type | ECR score |
| Black Hills Energy – Midwest | Combination | 761 |
| Wisconsin Public Service | Combination | 751 |
| Montana-Dakota Utilities | Combination | 747 |
| DTE Energy | Combination | 736 |
| Xcel Energy – Midwest | Combination | 734 |
| Ameren Illinois | Combination | 727 |
| MidAmerican Energy | Combination | 723 |
| Consumers Energy | Combination | 721 |
| We Energies | Combination | 715 |
| NIPSCO | Combination | 708 |
| Alliant Energy | Combination | 699 |
| Duke Energy Midwest | Combination | 679 |
| CenterPoint Energy – Indiana | Combination | 564 |
| Ameren Missouri | Electric | 731 |
| ComEd | Electric | 721 |
| AEP Ohio | Electric | 714 |
| OPPD | Electric | 708 |
| Ohio Edison | Electric | 706 |
| Indiana Michigan Power | Electric | 702 |
| Toledo Edison | Electric | 696 |
| Evergy | Electric | 695 |
| The Illuminating Company | Electric | 694 |
| AES Ohio | Electric | 671 |
| AES Indiana | Electric | 657 |
| Columbia Gas of Ohio | Natural gas | 754 |
| CenterPoint Energy – Midwest | Natural gas | 742 |
| Atmos Energy – Midwest | Natural gas | 737 |
| Peoples Gas | Natural gas | 731 |
| Nicor Gas | Natural gas | 723 |
| Dominion Energy Ohio | Natural gas | 723 |
| Spire Missouri – East | Natural gas | 721 |
| Spire Missouri – West | Natural gas | 719 |
| Citizens Energy | Natural gas | 716 |
| Kansas Gas Service | Natural gas | 715 |
SOUTH REGION: Customer Engagement Benchmark Performance
| Utility brand name | Utility type | ECR score |
| Dominion Energy South Carolina | Combination | 720 |
| CPS Energy | Combination | 682 |
| Louisville Gas & Electric | Combination | 676 |
| MLGW | Combination | 673 |
| OUC | Electric | 762 |
| Georgia Power | Electric | 756 |
| Mississippi Power | Electric | 749 |
| TECO Tampa Electric | Electric | 745 |
| Florida Power & Light | Electric | 745 |
| Entergy Mississippi | Electric | 738 |
| Public Service Company of Oklahoma | Electric | 733 |
| Entergy Arkansas | Electric | 733 |
| Alabama Power | Electric | 729 |
| Nashville Electric Service | Electric | 728 |
| Kentucky Utilities | Electric | 724 |
| Duke Energy Progress | Electric | 721 |
| Duke Energy Carolinas | Electric | 720 |
| Dominion Energy Virginia | Electric | 712 |
| Southwestern Electric Power Company | Electric | 706 |
| Duke Energy Florida | Electric | 705 |
| Xcel Energy – South | Electric | 705 |
| OG&E | Electric | 700 |
| Entergy Texas | Electric | 699 |
| Austin Energy | Electric | 693 |
| El Paso Electric | Electric | 692 |
| JEA | Electric | 691 |
| Entergy Louisiana | Electric | 669 |
| Kentucky Power | Electric | 639 |
| FPL Northwest FL | Electric | 622 |
| Entergy New Orleans | Electric | 603 |
| TECO Peoples Gas | Natural gas | 782 |
| Columbia Gas – South | Natural gas | 780 |
| Piedmont Natural Gas | Natural gas | 771 |
| Florida City Gas Company | Natural gas | 768 |
| Chattanooga Gas Company | Natural gas | 767 |
| Atmos Energy – South | Natural gas | 761 |
| CenterPoint Energy – South | Natural gas | 753 |
| Texas Gas Service | Natural gas | 744 |
| Spire Alabama | Natural gas | 743 |
| Virginia Natural Gas | Natural gas | 739 |
| Oklahoma Natural Gas | Natural gas | 731 |
| Dominion Energy North Carolina | Natural gas | 730 |
| Spire Gulf Coast | Natural gas | 697 |
| Spire Mississippi | Natural gas | 684 |
WEST REGION: Customer Engagement Benchmark Performance
| Utility brand name | Utility type | ECR score |
| Puget Sound Energy | Combination | 748 |
| NorthWestern Energy | Combination | 715 |
| Xcel Energy Colorado | Combination | 713 |
| Avista | Combination | 708 |
| Colorado Springs Utilities | Combination | 687 |
| Black Hills Energy – West | Combination | 683 |
| SDG&E | Combination | 658 |
| PG&E | Combination | 658 |
| Idaho Power | Electric | 756 |
| Salt River Project | Electric | 754 |
| SMUD | Electric | 742 |
| NV Energy | Electric | 734 |
| Seattle City Light | Electric | 729 |
| Portland General Electric | Electric | 720 |
| Rocky Mountain Power | Electric | 717 |
| Tucson Electric Power | Electric | 708 |
| Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | Electric | 703 |
| Pacific Power | Electric | 701 |
| APS | Electric | 700 |
| Southern California Edison | Electric | 694 |
| PNM | Electric | 682 |
| Cascade Natural Gas | Natural gas | 774 |
| SoCalGas | Natural gas | 756 |
| NW Natural | Natural gas | 744 |
| Intermountain Gas Company | Natural gas | 739 |
| Dominion Energy – West | Natural gas | 734 |
| Southwest Gas | Natural gas | 714 |
| New Mexico Gas Company | Natural gas | 711 |
About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential
Escalent conducted surveys among 78,905 residential electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 141 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 to balance the influence of each utility’s customers on survey results. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
For more information on the full report, click below.
