Public Power Utilities Earn Strong Residential Customer Satisfaction Marks

Public power utilities earned a number of the top rankings in J.D. Power’s latest Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.

The 2021 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study was based on responses from 100,999 online interviews conducted from January 2021 through November 2021 among residential customers of the 145 largest electric utility brands across the United States, which represent more than 101 million households.

In the South region, the following public power utilities were represented in the J.D. Power rankings:

• CPS Energy (Texas)
• EPB (Tennessee)
• OUC (Florida)
• Santee Cooper (South Carolina)
• JEA (Florida)
• City of Tallahassee, Fla.
• Knoxville Utilities Board (Tennessee)
• Austin Energy (Texas)
• Memphis Light, Gas and Water (Tennessee)

In the West, among large public power utilities, Arizona’s Salt River Project earned the top spot in terms of rankings, with California’s SMUD ranked second. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also earned high marks from residential customers as ranked by J.D. Power.

Meanwhile, for the 14th consecutive year, J.D. Power recognized Washington State’s Clark Public Utilities for ranking highest in residential customer satisfaction among midsize electricity providers in the Western United States.

Other mid-sized public power utilities in the West ranked by J.D. Power were California’s Anaheim Public Utilities, Imperial Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District, and in Washington State, Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power and Snohomish County PUD. Colorado Springs Utilities also earned high marks from residential customers.

In the Midwest mid-sized segment, two Nebraska public power utilities – Lincoln Electric System and Omaha Public Power District – and City Utilities of Springfield, Mo., earned high marks from their residential customers.

Along with public power utilities, the study also covers investor-owned utilities and cooperatives.

J.D. Power said that overall electric utility residential customer satisfaction was 748 (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2021, a decrease from a record-high 751 in 2020.

Additional details on the study are available here.