Residential customers of electric utility providers indicate that their monthly electric bill amounts have declined and power reliability has improved from 2009, resulting in a notable increase in overall satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM released today.
The study measures customer satisfaction with electric utility companies by examining six key factors: power quality and reliability; price; billing and payment; corporate citizenship; communications; and customer service.
Residential customer satisfaction with utility companies averages 630 on a 1,000-point scale in 2010-increasing from 618 in 2009. In 2010, customer-reported bill amounts have decreased by 5 percent from 2009. Power reliability has also improved, with customer-reported service interruptions decreasing by 8 percent. Overall, 37 percent of customers indicate experiencing no power interruptions in 2010, compared with 33 percent in 2009.
When outages do occur, utility companies are doing a better job of communicating with their customers about power restoration, as well as meeting estimated restoration times in 2010, compared with 2009.
“Utility companies are continuing to improve when it comes to managing customer expectations around power outages and restoration of service,” said Jeff Conklin, senior director of the energy and utility practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Even though outages can have a negative impact on satisfaction, utility providers who manage these incidents properly-by providing sufficiently detailed information about the outage and restoring power when they say they will-may be able to mitigate declines, or even improve satisfaction.”
The study finds that 11 percent of customers have contacted their utility company regarding an overdue bill amount. While overall satisfaction is particularly low among these customers (611, on average), efforts taken by utility companies to assist customers with their bills may substantially raise satisfaction. In particular, among customers whose utility companies waived their late payment fees, satisfaction averages 704-well above the industry average, and also higher than satisfaction among customers who didn’t have an overdue balance (634, on average).
Fulfilling key performance indicators may have a substantial positive impact on customer satisfaction with electric utility companies. In particular, among customers who say that their utility delivered on five key performance indicators-such as making customers aware of community outreach activities and conservation programs-satisfaction averages nearly 275 points higher than satisfaction among customers whose utilities performed only one key indicator.
The study also finds that fewer than one in six residential customers say they are aware of actions taken by their utility to implement smart grid and smart meter technology. While overall awareness of utility actions to implement smart grid technology is relatively low, awareness has increased slightly during the past year, from 12 percent in July and August 2009 to 16 percent in April and May 2010.
However, when residential customers are aware of smart electricity technology and their utility’s actions around it, overall satisfaction with the utility company increases notably. This presents an important opportunity for utility companies seeking to increase customer satisfaction, which often has significant bearing on rate case decisions.
The study ranks large and midsize utility companies in four geographic regions: East, Mi