Secret to a Well-Managed Utility: Strong Brand Appeal, J.D. Power Finds

Electric and Gas Utilities with Strongest Brands Earn Higher Overall Customer Satisfaction, Higher Levels of Trust and Advocacy, and More Support for Rate Increases

Do customers like doing business with their local gas and electric utilities, or merely tolerate them? Increasingly, the answer to that question determines how well utilities perform on virtually every customer management success metric—from satisfaction and engagement, to trust and advocacy and support for rate increases. That’s the major takeaway from two studies that evaluate the overall brand appeal of 234 electric and gas utilities in the United States: the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Electric Utility Brand Appeal Index Study ^SM and the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Gas Utility Brand Appeal Index Study, ^SM both released today.

“Brand appeal has become a critical marker of a well-managed utility because it shows that the utility is going above and beyond to engage and connect with customers and, importantly, that their communications are aligning with the brand traits customers most value,” said Chris Oberle, managing director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power. “The best utilities recognize that there is far more to building a strong reputation in their communities than simply providing reliable service. From leading on industry innovation, service quality and proactive customer interactions to being engaged in the communities they serve, utilities that cultivate a strong brand presence in their customers’ lives are rewarded in several important ways.”

Following are some of the key findings of the 2024 studies:

• High brand appeal has benefits: Customers with strong brand appeal for their utility have an average overall satisfaction score that is more than 200 points higher (on a 1,000-point scale) than those with weak brand appeal. Utilities with appealing brands also enjoy higher customer loyalty; an increase in support for rate increases; and a significantly higher percentage of customers who believe the utility manages its financials well and are willing to advocate for the utility.
• Trust is high, but reputation still needs work: The customer trust score for electric utilities is 723 and for gas utilities is 751—both of which are up from a year ago. Despite these high scores for trust, however, company reputation scores for electric (655) and gas (674) utilities are the lowest of all factors evaluated in the study, suggesting that many utilities still have work to do building meaningful brands.
• Gas utility brand appeal is stronger than electric utility brand appeal: Gas utilities score an average of 717 on the overall Brand Appeal Index, an increase of 5 points from 2023. The average Brand Appeal Index score for electric utilities is 22 points lower at 695, a 2-point decline from a year ago.

Study Rankings

Highest-ranking electric utilities in brand appeal by region and category are as follows:

East: PSE&G (733)

Midwest: WPS (728)

South: EPB (773)

West: Clark Public Utilities (761)

Cooperatives: Walton EMC (769)

Highest-ranking gas utilities in brand appeal by region are as follows:

East: PSE&G (750)

Midwest: MidAmerican Energy (754)

South: Columbia Gas of Virginia (751) and TECO Peoples Gas (751) in a tie

West: Intermountain Gas Company (742)

See the rank chart for each region and category at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2024070.

The Electric Utility Brand Appeal Index Study and Gas Utility Brand Appeal Index Study are each in their second year but are in their first year of being award eligible. The studies analyze how well U.S. utilities relate to their customers, evaluating the specific actions that influence overall brand experience, including company reputation, marketing execution and customer trust, among 149 electric utilities and 85 gas utilities. The index applies to all U.S. electric and natural gas utilities profiled in the J.D. Power Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study^SM and the J.D. Power Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.^SM This year’s studies captured the responses of 116,914 utility customers and were fielded from July 2023 through May 2024.

For more information about the Utility Brand Appeal Index studies, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/utility-brand-appeal-index.

About J.D. Power

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 55 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto-shopping tool can be found at JDPower.com.

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

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