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J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Satisfaction of Business Customers With Electric Utilities Reaches All-Time High

Posted on: Thursday, 22 March 2007, 09:00 CDT

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Improving for a third consecutive year, business customer satisfaction with electric utility provider has reached historically high levels, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) released today. The study's nationwide customer satisfaction index has increased considerably -- from 667 points on a 1,000-point scale in 2006 to 690 in 2007.

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

"Utilities are doing a great job in offering price and customer service options, both of which improve customer satisfaction," said Alan Destribats, vice president of the energy utility practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "In addition, utilities are now focused on talking directly to their business customers via proactive telephone contacts and on-site visits. Business customers have responded positively to this attention."

The study is based on interviews with representatives of more than 12,900 U.S. businesses that spend between $500 and $50,000 monthly on electricity. Overall customer satisfaction is measured through six factors: power quality and reliability, customer service, company image, billing and payment, price, and communications.

Businesses served by the largest 55 electric utilities in the United States rate their experiences better across all components in 2007, with price and communications attributes registering the largest increases.

East Region

PPL Electric Utilities is the highest-ranking electric utility in the East Region with an overall CSI of 728 points -- up 37 points from the 2006 study. PPL has ranked highest in the region in six of the past eight years. Other strong performers are Allegheny Power, Energy East, First Energy and Northeast Utilities.

Customer Satisfaction Index Scores(i) (Based on a 1,000-point scale) East Region PPL Electric Utilities 728 Allegheny Power 706 Energy East 704 FirstEnergy-East 704 Northeast Utilities 703 Public Service Electric and Gas 700 Pepco Holdings 697 Duquesne Light 695 National Grid 689 East Region Average 689 Exelon-PECO 685 Baltimore Gas and Electric 671 NSTAR Electric 664 Con Edison 663 Long Island Power Authority 657 Midwest Region

E.ON U.S. and MidAmerican Energy rank highest in a tie in the Midwest Region, each with an overall CSI of 727 points. E.ON U.S. (formerly LG&E Energy) ranks highest in the study for a fourth year, having previously ranked highest in the region in the 2000-2003 studies. MidAmerican Energy ranks highest for a third year, following regional awards in 2004 and 2005. Other utilities in the Midwest Region with strong performances include Kansas City Power & Light and FirstEnergy.

E.ON U.S. 727 MidAmerican Energy 727 Kansas City Power & Light 725 FirstEnergy-Midwest 713 Xcel Energy-Midwest 696 NiSource 695 Westar Energy 695 Aquila 694 We Energies 694 AEP-Midwest 691 Alliant Energy 685 Duke Energy - Midwest 685 Midwest Region Average 670 Exelon-ComEd 652 Ameren - Missouri 639 Ameren - Illinois 638 Consumers Energy 586 Detroit Edison 567 South Region

South Carolina Electric & Gas improves 43 points in the South Region to rank highest at 729 points. Other utilities with strong performances include Duke Energy, Progress Energy and Southern Company.

South Carolina Electric & Gas 729 Duke Energy - South 723 Progress Energy 713 Southern Company 712 CPS Energy 708 Oklahoma Gas and Electric 706 Tampa Electric 698 AEP-South 694 South Region Average 693 Entergy 692 Dominion Virginia Power 681 Florida Power & Light 675 Reliant Energy 650 TXU Energy 647 West Region

Sacramento Municipal Utility District ranks highest in the West Region with an overall CSI of 762 -- the highest score in the 2007 study. Other utilities performing particularly well include Pacific Gas & Electric -- which is the most-improved utility in the 2007 study -- Arizona Public Service and Salt River Project.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 762 Pacific Gas and Electric 750 Arizona Public Service 715 Salt River Project 713 West Region Average 707 Portland General Electric 702 L.A. Dept. of Water and Power 695 Southern California Edison 694 San Diego Gas & Electric 693 PacifiCorp 688 Sierra Pacific Resources 673 Puget Sound Energy 669 Xcel Energy-West 661 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. 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 Troy, Mich. Westlake Village, Calif. (248) 312-4119 (805) 418-8976 john.tews@jdpa.com jeff.perlman@jdpa.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/

(i) Charts and graphs extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying J.D. Power and Associates as the publisher and the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores, and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.

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-aPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

J.D. Power and Associates

CONTACT: John Tews, Troy, Mich., +1-248-312-4119, john.tews@jdpa.com, orJeff Perlman, Westlake Village, Calif., +1-805-418-8976,jeff.perlman@jdpa.com, both of J.D. Power and Associates

Web site: http://www.jdpower.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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