July 13, 2023
Escalent Recognizes 42 Utilities as 2023 Most Trusted Brands
Utilities that have maintained or increased what they spent on communication throughout the pandemic and ongoing economic difficulties are seeing higher levels of Brand Trust, according to a new Cogent Syndicated report from Escalent. For the second consecutive year, the utility industry Brand Trust Index is down significantly, declining 11 points to 687 on a scale from 0 to 1,000. However, Brand Trust among utilities that have continued to highlight savings opportunities, environmental programs, and community support efforts across a variety of channels is 5% higher than the industry average. Today, we name these 42 top utilities as the 2023 Most Trusted Brands.
Those are some of the latest findings of the 2023 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, utility and brand experience.
As inflation and higher utility bills set in throughout 2022, many customers who found their economic situation worsening were unable to identify utility programs or services to help manage their energy use. Declining value and monthly bill manageability perceptions continue to outpace bill increases, indicating that general economic anxiety and pressures may continue to color residential Brand Trust as customers look to blunt the effects of inflation. The leading decline in Brand Trust is in the perception that utilities offer reasonable rates for the service provided, Cogent’s proxy for value. That attribute score has declined by 4% since mid-2022.
Customers enrolled in energy-management programs give their utility an 11% higher Brand Trust score. By developing and promoting a portfolio of products and services focused on energy management and savings—and successfully driving customers to those programs—utilities can serve as helpful consultative partners rather than simple service providers. This transformed relationship can help increase scores across indices and may help preclude dramatic Brand Trust declines during periods of rate instability.
While the Trusted Brands are not immune to the scoring declines that began in the first quarter of 2021, their declines have been less substantial. Their overall Brand Trust score is higher than it was pre-COVID-19, while the industry average has dropped below those levels. Additionally, the Brand Trust gap continues to widen, with Trusted Brands scoring 32 points higher than the industry average.
Trusted Brands are also delivering easy-to-understand bills and helpful on-bill communication: Trusted Brand bill understandability scores are 4% higher than the industry average, as are customer perceptions that the bill provides information on ways to lower consumption.
“Even though inflation and 2022’s substantial rate hikes have slowed, customers are still dealing with higher prices for everyday goods and services, and they’re turning to their bills and other utility communication for help in managing their energy spending,” said Suzanne Haggerty, director of syndicated research with the Energy team at Escalent. “While utilities have increased their communication spend after decreasing it in 2022, Trusted Brands are still reaching out to customers more frequently and across more channels.”
Escalent is pleased to name these 42 utilities as our 2023 Most Trusted Brands.
| Cogent Syndicated 2023 Most Trusted Utility Brands* | |
| AEP Ohio | Idaho Power |
| Ameren Illinois | Indiana Michigan Power |
| Atmos Energy – Midwest | Intermountain Gas Company |
| Atmos Energy – South | Montana-Dakota Utilities |
| BGE | New Jersey Natural Gas |
| Black Hills Energy – Midwest | NW Natural |
| Cascade Natural Gas | OPPD |
| CenterPoint Energy – Midwest | OUC |
| Chattanooga Gas Company | PECO |
| Citizens Energy | Peoples Gas |
| Columbia Gas – South | Pepco |
| Columbia Gas of Ohio | Philadelphia Gas Works |
| ComEd | Piedmont Natural Gas |
| Delmarva Power | Puget Sound Energy |
| Dominion Energy – West | Salt River Project |
| Dominion Energy South Carolina | SMUD |
| DTE Energy | SoCalGas |
| Elizabethtown Gas | Southwest Gas |
| Florida City Gas Company | TECO Peoples Gas |
| Georgia Power | Washington Gas |
| Green Mountain Power | Xcel Energy – Midwest |
*Utilities named as Most Trusted Brands were selected based on having Brand Trust Index scores in the top decile of the industry, the top score within their respective benchmark segment, or a Brand Trust Index score within 20 points of the top benchmark segment score and above the industry average.
The following tables reflect regional peer benchmark Brand Trust scores among the 141 utilities surveyed. These scores reflect the amount of trust customers have with their respective utility.
| East Region Utilities Brand Trust Performance | ||
| Utility brand name | Service provided | Brand Trust score |
| PECO | Combination | 731 |
| BGE | Combination | 730 |
| Delmarva Power | Combination | 721 |
| PSE&G | Combination | 710 |
| Con Edison | Combination | 708 |
| National Grid | Combination | 682 |
| NYSEG | Combination | 644 |
| Eversource | Combination | 630 |
| RG&E | Combination | 607 |
| Pepco | Electric | 699 |
| Green Mountain Power | Electric | 695 |
| Penelec | Electric | 685 |
| PPL Electric Utilities | Electric | 685 |
| Penn Power | Electric | 680 |
| Duquesne Light Company | Electric | 679 |
| Met-Ed | Electric | 671 |
| West Penn Power | Electric | 668 |
| Mon Power | Electric | 666 |
| Atlantic City Electric | Electric | 665 |
| Potomac Edison | Electric | 663 |
| Jersey Central Power & Light | Electric | 642 |
| Appalachian Power | Electric | 641 |
| PSEG Long Island | Electric | 638 |
| Central Maine Power | Electric | 550 |
| New Jersey Natural Gas | Natural gas | 728 |
| Washington Gas | Natural gas | 727 |
| Elizabethtown Gas | Natural gas | 721 |
| Philadelphia Gas Works | Natural gas | 710 |
| South Jersey Gas Company | Natural gas | 703 |
| Columbia Gas – East | Natural gas | 700 |
| Peoples | Natural gas | 687 |
| UGI Utilities | Natural gas | 680 |
| National Fuel Gas | Natural gas | 675 |
| Midwest Region Utilities Brand Trust Performance | ||
| Utility brand name | Service provided | Brand Trust score |
| Montana-Dakota Utilities | Combination | 738 |
| Black Hills Energy – Midwest | Combination | 724 |
| Xcel Energy – Midwest | Combination | 723 |
| DTE Energy | Combination | 723 |
| Ameren Illinois | Combination | 720 |
| Wisconsin Public Service | Combination | 716 |
| NIPSCO | Combination | 712 |
| Consumers Energy | Combination | 710 |
| Alliant Energy | Combination | 707 |
| MidAmerican Energy | Combination | 701 |
| Duke Energy Midwest | Combination | 689 |
| We Energies | Combination | 686 |
| CenterPoint Energy – Indiana | Combination | 514 |
| Indiana Michigan Power | Electric | 704 |
| OPPD | Electric | 696 |
| ComEd | Electric | 690 |
| AEP Ohio | Electric | 690 |
| Ameren Missouri | Electric | 683 |
| Ohio Edison | Electric | 675 |
| The Illuminating Company | Electric | 673 |
| Toledo Edison | Electric | 673 |
| Evergy | Electric | 660 |
| AES Indiana | Electric | 621 |
| AES Ohio | Electric | 621 |
| Columbia Gas of Ohio | Natural gas | 725 |
| Peoples Gas | Natural gas | 717 |
| Atmos Energy – Midwest | Natural gas | 715 |
| Citizens Energy | Natural gas | 713 |
| CenterPoint Energy – Midwest | Natural gas | 707 |
| Dominion Energy Ohio | Natural gas | 697 |
| Spire Missouri – West | Natural gas | 696 |
| Kansas Gas Service | Natural gas | 685 |
| Spire Missouri – East | Natural gas | 682 |
| Nicor Gas | Natural gas | 675 |
| South Region Utilities Brand Trust Performance | ||
| Utility brand name | Service provided | Brand Trust score |
| Dominion Energy South Carolina | Combination | 697 |
| Louisville Gas & Electric | Combination | 666 |
| CPS Energy | Combination | 659 |
| MLGW | Combination | 632 |
| OUC | Electric | 747 |
| Georgia Power | Electric | 740 |
| Mississippi Power | Electric | 725 |
| TECO Tampa Electric | Electric | 721 |
| Nashville Electric Service | Electric | 718 |
| Entergy Arkansas | Electric | 717 |
| Alabama Power | Electric | 716 |
| Florida Power & Light | Electric | 715 |
| Duke Energy Carolinas | Electric | 714 |
| Entergy Mississippi | Electric | 701 |
| Duke Energy Florida | Electric | 697 |
| Duke Energy Progress | Electric | 696 |
| Public Service Company of Oklahoma | Electric | 696 |
| Southwestern Electric Power Company | Electric | 684 |
| Dominion Energy Virginia | Electric | 683 |
| Entergy Texas | Electric | 682 |
| Xcel Energy – South | Electric | 673 |
| Kentucky Utilities | Electric | 669 |
| El Paso Electric | Electric | 667 |
| JEA | Electric | 656 |
| Austin Energy | Electric | 655 |
| OG&E | Electric | 653 |
| Entergy Louisiana | Electric | 632 |
| Kentucky Power | Electric | 620 |
| FPL Northwest FL | Electric | 561 |
| Entergy New Orleans | Electric | 513 |
| Florida City Gas Company | Natural gas | 763 |
| TECO Peoples Gas | Natural gas | 756 |
| Piedmont Natural Gas | Natural gas | 740 |
| Columbia Gas – South | Natural gas | 737 |
| Chattanooga Gas Company | Natural gas | 737 |
| Atmos Energy – South | Natural gas | 735 |
| CenterPoint Energy – South | Natural gas | 727 |
| Spire Alabama | Natural gas | 727 |
| Virginia Natural Gas | Natural gas | 709 |
| Texas Gas Service | Natural gas | 705 |
| Oklahoma Natural Gas | Natural gas | 704 |
| Spire Gulf Coast | Natural gas | 691 |
| Dominion Energy North Carolina | Natural gas | 689 |
| Spire Mississippi | Natural gas | 654 |
| West Region Utilities Brand Trust Performance | ||
| Utility brand name | Service provided | Brand Trust score |
| Puget Sound Energy | Combination | 737 |
| Avista | Combination | 699 |
| NorthWestern Energy | Combination | 680 |
| Black Hills Energy – West | Combination | 668 |
| Colorado Springs Utilities | Combination | 655 |
| Xcel Energy Colorado | Combination | 643 |
| PG&E | Combination | 605 |
| SDG&E | Combination | 556 |
| Salt River Project | Electric | 740 |
| Idaho Power | Electric | 735 |
| SMUD | Electric | 731 |
| Seattle City Light | Electric | 719 |
| NV Energy | Electric | 707 |
| Portland General Electric | Electric | 704 |
| Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | Electric | 684 |
| Tucson Electric Power | Electric | 683 |
| Pacific Power | Electric | 681 |
| APS | Electric | 676 |
| Southern California Edison | Electric | 671 |
| Rocky Mountain Power | Electric | 652 |
| PNM | Electric | 648 |
| NW Natural | Natural gas | 717 |
| Cascade Natural Gas | Natural gas | 716 |
| Intermountain Gas Company | Natural gas | 710 |
| SoCalGas | Natural gas | 709 |
| Southwest Gas | Natural gas | 708 |
| Dominion Energy – West | Natural gas | 706 |
| New Mexico Gas Company | Natural gas | 686 |
About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential
Escalent conducted surveys among 72,581 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. The Brand Trust Index score is a composite based upon consumer ratings across six factors. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
For more information on the full report, click the button below.
