Utility Efforts To Improve Ease of Doing Business Thwarted by Higher Energy Prices

Escalent recognizes 46 utilities as Easiest To Do Business With

/EIN News/ -- LIVONIA, Mich., March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As energy prices have increased over the last year, utilities have struggled to make it easy for their customers to do business with them, with Cogent Syndicated’s Customer Effort Score declining by nine points to 723 (on a 1,000-point scale), the lowest score ever recorded in the study. Despite this, 46 utilities stand out as being “easiest to do business with” among 141 of the largest utility companies in the US. These and other findings are from the Cogent Syndicated 2023 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study by Escalent, a top data analytics and advisory firm.

While an increasing number of customers say their ideal utility should be easy to deal with, the study highlights the challenges utilities have had providing easy customer service. Customers struggled to understand why their bill is higher, leading to a decline in the ease of understanding their bill. Many of these customers contacted their utility by email and phone to get answers but were unsuccessful, contributing to a significant decrease in the ease of resolving issues through email and with a utility representative, both declining more than one-fifth of a point from 2022.

“While the decline in the Customer Effort Score is concerning, it presents an opportunity for utilities to take action and improve their customer experience,” said K.C. Boyce, vice president at Escalent. “By focusing on simplifying their bills, improving communication around their programs and providing better customer service, utilities can make it easier for their customers to do business with them.”

Although the drivers of the industry’s Customer Effort Score trend are related to billing and customer service, the lowest-scoring components of the Customer Effort Score continue to relate to programs. Many utilities still struggle to explain their offerings clearly and convey how their programs make it easier for customers to do business with them. This presents an opportunity for utilities to improve their communication and marketing efforts.

The 46 utilities Escalent recognizes today as Easiest To Do Business With show marked differences to the industry, with a three-point increase in their average Customer Effort Score from 2022. Despite facing the same macroeconomic environment as their peers, this group of utilities posted much higher scores on having an easy-to-understand bill and making it easy for customers to resolve their issues through the call center. Members of this group further distinguish themselves by scoring nearly one point higher than the industry on perceptions that their programs make it easier for customers to do business with them. Similarly, customers of these 46 utilities find their utility’s energy-efficiency programs and billing and payment options particularly easy to use.

“Simply put, the utilities recognized today as Easiest To Do Business With helped their customers navigate this period of higher energy prices across the board,” added Boyce. “These utilities made it easy for customers to understand their bills and get answers when they had questions. They also engaged their customers with valuable and easy-to-use programs and services.”

2023 Easiest Utilities To Do Business With
Utility	Customer Effort Score	Utility	Customer Effort Score
AEP Ohio	732	Florida City Gas Company	778
Alabama Power	748	Florida Power & Light	745
Ameren Illinois	744	Georgia Power	765
Ameren Missouri	739	Green Mountain Power	728
Atmos Energy – Midwest	752	Idaho Power	761
Atmos Energy – South	778	Indiana Michigan Power	724
BGE	748	Mississippi Power	759
Black Hills Energy – Midwest	756	Montana-Dakota Utilities	764
Cascade Natural Gas	769	New Jersey Natural Gas	762
CenterPoint Energy – Midwest	748	OUC	765
CenterPoint Energy – South	764	PECO	762
Chattanooga Gas Company	782	Pepco	727
Columbia Gas – South	773	Philadelphia Gas Works	743
Columbia Gas of Ohio	766	Piedmont Natural Gas	787
Consumers Energy	745	PPL Electric Utilities	736
Delmarva Power	745	Puget Sound Energy	774
Dominion Energy South Carolina	736	Salt River Project	777
DTE Energy	756	SoCalGas	766
Duke Energy Carolinas	749	TECO Peoples Gas	782
Duquesne Light Company	724	TECO Tampa Electric	757
Elizabethtown Gas	759	Washington Gas	754
Entergy Arkansas	745	Wisconsin Public Service	752
Entergy Mississippi	745	Xcel Energy – Midwest	744

About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential

Escalent conducted surveys among 76,100 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 Customer Effort Score is a composite based upon consumer ratings across 23 attributes. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request. All scores are based upon a 1,000-point maximum scale.

For more information on the full report, click here.

About Escalent

Escalent is an award-winning data analytics and advisory firm that helps clients understand human and market behaviors to navigate disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, our strategies guide the world’s leading brands. We accelerate growth by creating a seamless flow between primary, secondary, syndicated and internal business data, providing consulting and advisory services from insights through implementation. Based on a profound understanding of what drives human beings and markets, we identify actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences, inspire product innovation and boost business productivity. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.

Contact	Stephanie Salvadero, 734.838.5192
	stephanie.salvadero@escalent.co