Sacramento Municipal Utility District Earns First J.D. Power Sustainability Leader Designation

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 16, 2022

California public power utility Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is the first utility to receive J.D. Power’s new Certified Sustainability Leader designation.

J.D. Power on March 16 announced the launch of a new certification program to recognize electric utilities that provide superior customer engagement, awareness and advocacy associated with their climate sustainability goals and plans.

The J.D. Power sustainability certification program draws on its data and real-world experience analytics to evaluate electric utilities on two criteria: 1) ability to build customer awareness for and engagement regarding climate sustainability programs and goals; 2) an operational performance assessment focused on climate change mitigation, resilience and adaptability and leadership efforts.

“The J.D. Power Certified Sustainability Leader program recognizes SMUD for exceeding industry benchmarks of delivering high levels of customer engagement and leading sustainability plans to address climate change,” J.D. Power said.

To qualify for the J.D. Power Certified Sustainability Leader program, electric utilities must rank among the top performers in the Sustainability Index and in a proprietary voice of the customer survey sent to a utility’s customers.

In addition, qualifying brands must pass a comprehensive evaluation of performance relative to recommended operational best practices conducted by J.D. Power.

Once certified, a brand is permitted to promote its achievement with marketing tools such as a J.D. Power Certified Sustainability Leader program emblem and online marketing collateral. Certified brands also are listed on www.jdpower.com/business for consumers to review.

For more information about the J.D. Power Certified Sustainability Leader program, go to:
https://www.jdpower.com/business/sustainability-leader-certification-disclaimer.