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J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Higher Prices and Storms Again Take a Toll on Customer Satisfaction With Electric Utilities

Posted on: Thursday, 26 July 2007, 09:20 CDT

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- As electricity prices increase for a fifth consecutive year, and many customers report experiencing an increase in the duration of power outages, overall customer satisfaction falls slightly among residential customers served by the nation's 76 largest electric utilities, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050527/LAF028LOGO-a )

The customer satisfaction industry average in the current study is 661 on a 1,000-point scale-down seven points from an average of 668 in 2006. Overall customer satisfaction is based on performance in six factors: power quality and reliability; company image; price and value; communications; billing and payment; and customer service. Utilities are ranked in four geographical regions as well as in a segment for medium-size utilities.

The study finds that customers report spending 7 percent more on electricity in 2007, marking a fifth consecutive year that reported average monthly bills have increased. Nationally, the average stated monthly electric bill is $135.

With the absence of any major hurricanes off the Atlantic coast of the United States between April 2006 and March 2007, customers in the Southern region report a decrease in the duration of power outages, compared with the 2006 study. However, storm events did affect several other parts of the United States, and customers in all other regions report experiencing longer outages than in the previous year. The Midwestern region experienced the longest outage durations in 2007, averaging 13 hours.

The study also finds that customers are increasingly turning to utility Web sites for customer service inquiries. While only 10 percent of residential customers in 2003 reported visiting their utility's Web site at least once in the previous 12 months, that number has more than doubled (22%) in 2007.

"The growth in the number of households that say they have visited their utility's Web site is remarkable," said Alan Destribats, senior vice president of the energy utility practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "The leading utilities now experience more customer contacts via their Web site than by telephone."

Eastern Region

PPL Electric Utilities ranks highest in the Eastern Region. Also performing well in the region are Allegheny Power and Duquesne Light Company.

Midwestern Region

E.ON U.S. ranks highest in the Midwestern Region. Also performing well in the region are MidAmerican, Xcel Energy-Midwest, Alliant Energy and Kansas City Power & Light. Westar Energy is the most improved utility in the study this year.

Southern Region

Oklahoma Gas and Electric ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction in the Southern Region. Also performing well are CPS Energy, Duke Energy- South, Southern Company and Progress Energy.

Western Region

Salt River Project ranks highest in the Western Region. Also performing well in the region are Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Portland General Electric, and Arizona Public Service.

Medium-Size Utilities (serving between 160,000 and 400,000 customers each)

Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) ranks highest in the Medium-Size Utilities segment, and receives the highest score in the study. Also performing well in this segment are Pedernales Electric Cooperative and Colorado Springs Utilities.

The study results are based on customer responses from 29,042 telephone interviews conducted from March through June 2007 among residential customers of the 76 largest electric utilities across the continental United States.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts: John Tews Jeff Perlman J.D. Power and Associates Brandware Public Relations Troy, Mich. Westlake Village, Calif. (248) 312-4119 (805) 494-5113 john.tews@jdpa.com jperlman@brandwaregroup.com

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/

Eastern Region (Based on a 1,000-point scale) PPL Electric Utilities 710 Allegheny Power 688 Duquesne Light 677 Public Service Electric and Gas 665 Energy East 664 First Energy-East 664 Exelon-PECO 658 East Region Average 641 Pepco Holdings 634 National Grid 631 Northeast Utilities 622 NSTAR Electric 614 Baltimore Gas & Electric 610 Con Edison 603 Long Island Power Authority 567 Midwestern Region (Based on a 1,000-point scale) E.ON U.S. 747 MidAmerican Energy 716 Xcel Energy-Midwest 700 Alliant Energy 697 Kansas City Power & Light 697 Indianapolis Power & Light 691 AEP-Midwest 688 Westar Energy 686 We Energies 671 Duke Energy-Midwest 663 FirstEnergy-Midwest 656 Dayton Power and Light 655 Midwest Region Average 651 Detroit Edison 643 Consumers Energy 640 Exelon-ComEd 597 Ameren-Missouri 564 Ameren-Illinois 523 Southern Region (Based on a 1,000-point scale) Oklahoma Gas and Electric 726 CPS Energy 719 Duke Energy-South 719 Southern Company 718 Progress Energy 705 South Carolina Electric & Gas 695 Florida Power & Light 683 Tampa Electric 678 South Region Average 675 Dominion Virginia Power 674 AEP-South 661 Entergy 635 TXU Energy 607 Reliant Energy 604 Western Region (Based on a 1,000-point scale) Salt River Project 772 Sacramento Municipal Utility District 752 Portland General Electric 716 Arizona Public Service 691 PacifiCorp 679 L.A. Dept. of Water and Power 678 West Region Average 673 Southern California Edison 669 Pacific Gas and Electric 668 Xcel Energy-West 656 San Diego Gas & Electric 655 PNM Resources 651 Puget Sound Energy 651 Sierra Pacific Resources 605 Medium-Size Utilities (Between 160,000 and 400,000 Customers) (Based on a 1,000-point scale) Omaha Public Power District 781 Pedernales Electric Cooperative 744 Colorado Springs Utilities 738 Seattle City Light 728 Jacksonville Electric Authority 713 CLECo 712 Snohomish 706 Austin Energy 701 Idaho Power 700 Avista Utilities 699 Wisconsin Public Service 696 Nashville Electric Service 695 Tucson Electric Power 680 El Paso Electric 678 Medium-Size Utilities Average 675 Central Hudson Gas & Electric 661 Aquila 643 NorthWestern Energy 643 Northern Indiana Public Service Co. 585 United Illuminating 566 Memphis Light, Gas & Water 534

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Al Destribats http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=58117

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050527/LAF028LOGO-aAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

J.D. Power and Associates

CONTACT: John Tews of J.D. Power and Associates, +1-248-312-4119,john.tews@jdpa.com; or Jeff Perlman, Brandware Public Relations,+1-805-494-5113 jperlman@brandwaregroup.com, for J.D. Power and Associates

Web site: http://www.jdpower.com/http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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