Informing Gas Utility Business Customers of Renewable Natural Gas Increases Satisfaction, J.D. Power Finds

New Jersey Natural Gas, Columbia Gas of Ohio, DTE Energy, TECO Peoples Gas and Southwest Gas Rank Highest in Respective Regions

Renewable natural gas has become a hot topic and gas utility business customers like to hear about it, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study,^SM released today. This year, the study is redesigned to include questions on renewable energy and is a topic that clearly drives satisfaction. Specifically, when customers receive a communication from their gas utility, they have an overall satisfaction score of 877 (on a 1,000-point scale), while those who do not receive any communication have a score of 794.

“We found that only 9% of gas business customers are aware of communications from their utility around renewable natural gas,” said Mark Spalinger, director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power. “With such a low recall of this communication topic and its higher satisfaction if recalled, it is clear that this is an area that utilities must focus on to increase satisfaction.”

Study Rankings

The industry results for the 2021 study are reported across four U.S. geographic regions: East, Midwest, South and West. The following utilities rank highest in customer satisfaction in their respective region:

• East: New Jersey Natural Gas
• Midwest: Columbia Gas of Ohio & DTE Energy (in a tie)
• South: TECO Peoples Gas (for a third consecutive year)
• West: Southwest Gas (for a second consecutive year)

See the rank charts for each region at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2021137.

Now in its 17th year, the Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study measures business customer satisfaction with gas utility companies in four regions: East, Midwest, South and West. Each of the 59 brands included in the study serve more than 25,000 business customers, representing more than 4.4 million business customers in total. Overall satisfaction is measured by examining six factors (listed in order of importance): safety and reliability (22%); billing and payment (17%); corporate citizenship (17%); price (16%); communications (14%); and customer contact (14%).

The study is based on responses from more than 8,980 online interviews of business customers in decision-making roles related to their utility company. The study was fielded in two waves: January through April 2021 and May through September 2021.

For more information about the Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/utilities/gas-utility-business-customer-satisfaction-study

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 50 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

J.D. Power is headquartered in Troy, Mich., and 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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