For the second year in a row, Seattle City Light has received the highest customer satisfaction index score of any midsize electrical utility (50,000-89,999 business customers) in the western United States, according to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction StudyTM.
Overall satisfaction is examined across six factors, listed in order of importance: power quality and reliability, price, billing and payment, corporate citizenship, customer contact, and communications. City Light ranked the highest in power quality and reliability, billing and payment, and customer contact.
“We know the challenges that our business community has faced these past few years and are honored to have been recognized for this award,” said Mike Haynes, Interim General Manager and CEO. “This award is a great example of how dedicated our City Light employees are to our customers. We celebrate the care, hard work, and professionalism they bring to the job every day.”
Our Business Customer Services team delivers comprehensive services to business and industrial customers throughout our service area to help customers achieve their sustainability goals, lower operating costs, and improve their bottom line. The team’s highly engaged, proactive approach allows them to provide quality customer service with the goal of responding to customers’ needs and meeting the demands of our changing economic climate.
“Customer service requires continuously improving our processes. We also need to be nimble enough to recognize and react when change is necessary,” said Craig Smith, City Light Chief Customer Officer. “Once again, our Business Customer Services team has exceeded expectations by providing the outstanding level of service our utility strives for.”
Our Business Customer Services team remains dedicated to helping our customers navigate the utility and get the information they need. We help customers with complex billing situations, unplanned outage communication, high level planning for future growth, and new initiatives like electric vehicle charging or building electrification,” said Business Customer Services Manager Sandra Ball. “We are proud of the comprehensive services we offer, helping customers stay informed and meeting their energy needs. Our team is motivated to continue to improve and serve our customers as our community faces new and complex challenges.”
In addition to the fantastic efforts of the Business Customer Services team, we are proud of our staff across the utility, who work hard to keep rates affordable, ensure reliable service, and when the unexpected power outage occurs, work diligently until power is restored.
The Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, now in its 25th year, measures satisfaction among business customers of 79 targeted U.S. electric utilities, each of which serves more than 50,000 business customers. In aggregate, these utilities provide electricity to more than 12 million customers. The 2023 study is based on responses from 17,683 online interviews of business customers in decision-making roles related to their utility company. The study was fielded from February through October 2023.
For more information about the J.D. Power Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-electric-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 Seattle City Light
Seattle City Light, one of the nation’s largest publicly owned utilities, generates and delivers affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible power to the homes, businesses, and communities we serve. We provide carbon-neutral electricity, generated primarily from carbon-free hydropower, to over 900,000 residents in Seattle and the surrounding areas.