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National Grid/Keyspan Units Lead in J.D. Power and Associates East Region Business Customer Satisfaction Study

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 March 2008, 15:00 CDT

National Grid's gas operations in New York City and Long Island, known as Keyspan at the time the study was conducted, ranked highest in the East U.S. region the 2008 J.D. Power and Associates Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction StudySM for the second consecutive year.

Also in the East Region, National Grid gas operations in upstate New York and Rhode Island ranked second highest.

"We are pleased to have gone up in satisfaction in a difficult year where the industry average has gone down. This achievement reflects our commitment to delivering the best possible customer experience in everything we do every day," Nick Stavropoulos, National Grid executive vice president for U.S. gas distribution, said. "I am extremely proud of the thousands of National Grid employees who work tirelessly to deliver excellent customer service."

The companies' scores of 745 for Keyspan in New York and Long Island, and 737 for National Grid in upstate New York and Rhode Island, both far exceeded the national average of 715 points on a 1,000 point scale. National Grid completed a merger with Keyspan, this past August. Over the past five years, National Grid has grown its U.S. gas business through mergers in upstate New York and New England.

The 2008 J.D. Power and Associates Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction StudySM measures how well gas utilities are satisfying their business customers. The study ranked the nation's 40 largest gas utilities on several performance factors: billing and payment; communications; company image; customer service; field service; and price.

The study is based on more than 5,800 online interviews with U.S. businesses that are gas utility customers. Responses were compiled between October 2007 and January 2008. The J.D. Power and Associates news release regarding the study is available at www.jdpower.com.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority. National Grid is the largest power producer in New York State, owning 6,650 megawatts of electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers and supplies roughly a quarter of New York City's electricity needs. It is also the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a 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.

Source: Business Wire

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