At a time when electricity rates are rising across the country, sparking a significant decline in overall customer satisfaction, Georgia Power has seen a year-over-year improvement for business customer satisfaction. That increase resulted in Georgia Power being ranked number one by J.D. Power in its segment in this year’s 2022 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study.
The study is now in its 24th year and is significant in scope, developed through more than 18,500 online interviews of business customers. The study was conducted from February through October of this year.
“We appreciate the trust our customers have placed in us for more than a century. Since the beginning, our constant focus has been on keeping customers at the center of our business, actively looking for opportunities to improve and evolve our service and offerings,” said Bentina Terry, Senior Vice President, Customer Strategy & Solutions for Georgia Power. “This recognition by J.D. Power is a testament not only to this heritage, but to the work of thousands of Georgia Power employees who make it their mission to be a champion for the customer every day by delivering superior customer service, reliability, responsiveness and affordability, as well as innovative solutions for our customers based on data.”
Overall satisfaction across the country is down 12 points, but Georgia Power not only improved but also missed the highest score in the country by just one point, behind Salt River Project (SRP) in Arizona. Key findings from the study show that satisfaction with price and utility corporate citizenship both saw sharp declines, as well as dissatisfaction with utility communication. Businesses that have an assigned account representative show much higher satisfaction across the board, but only 34 percent of business customers currently report having their own account rep.
Perhaps surprisingly, though it shows consistent and good communications, satisfaction rises sharply when customers are offered participation in “special product and service offers,” awareness of energy efficiency programs and frequent communication on energy conservation tips. There is a 74 point increase in satisfaction with price when business customers participate in three or more product or service offerings from their utility.
“Businesses are facing a tough economic environment right now as they confront the effects of inflation, talent scarcity and continued supply chain challenges,” said Adrian Chung, director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power. “Blanket increases in their electric utility bills—without clear corresponding communications and adequate support from their utility on how to manage these costs—are simply adding to an already difficult situation for many businesses. But rising rates do not necessarily have to result in lower customer satisfaction. In fact, the handful of electric utilities that are getting the business customer engagement formula right are able to maintain or even drive higher levels of satisfaction and affordability perceptions.”
For Georgia Power, the future looks pretty bright. They are ranked tops this year and the Plant Vogtle expansion is set to finish over the next couple years, taking news of delays and cost overruns off the table and keeping the focus on cheap, clean power.
