Natural gas business customers’ satisfaction reaches an all-time high
Gas utility business customer satisfaction scores have reached their highest levels ever, as measured by the J.D. Power 2017 Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study.
With an overall satisfaction score of 792 on a 1,000-point scale, gas utility business customers are now the most satisfied among all utility customers surveyed by J.D. Power.
“Gas utilities have put huge efforts into customer safety preparedness during the past few years, and those efforts are starting to pay off in the form of record-high levels of satisfaction among business customers,” said Carl Lepper, director, utility practice at J.D. Power.
Geographic leaders were: East, New Jersey Natural Gas; Midwest, DTE Energy; South, Alagasco; and West, NW Natural, for the second consecutive year. Alagasco, which is now Spire, scored the highest in the nation with 837 points. Meanwhile, NW Natural also received the highest score for large utilities in the West in the 2017 J.D. Power Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, marking the fifth year in a row the utility has earned the honor.
New Jersey Natural Gas ranked highest in the East region in J.D. Power’s 2017 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. The utility has won top honors in either study a dozen times overall.
“To rank highest in the East region on both J.D. Powers’ 2017 Gas Utility Business and Residential Customer Satisfaction studies is an honor and a reflection of the dedication of our entire team. Our employees are a driving force behind all that we do and all that we achieve, and I could not be more proud of them,” New Jersey Natural Gas Chairman and CEO Laurence M. Downes told American Gas.
At DTE, business customers are treated to a concierge-like service from a dedicated DTE Energy business center, said Dan Brudzynski, vice president of DTE Gas Sales & Supply.
“We focus on strategies to keep prices stable, leveraging our storage capacity through injections in the summer, coupled with hedging programs that provide winter price-spike protection. We offer a variety of efficiency programs and rebates, valuable energy-saving tips and promote real customer experiences to provide fresh ideas for our business customers,” he said.
The J.D. Power study found that perceived helpfulness of the gas utility with safety preparation is the most influential element in overall satisfaction.