Avista Utilities; CPS Energy; Intermountain Gas Company; Metropolitan Utilities District of Omaha; MidAmerican Energy; New Jersey Natural Gas; NW Natural; PSNC Energy; and South Jersey Gas Company Each Rank Highest in Residential Natural Gas Utility Customer Satisfaction

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Residential customers of gas utility companies are notably more satisfied with their utility providers, compared with 2009, as a result of lower bill amounts, more frequent communication and improved perceptions of corporate citizenship, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.

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The study, now in its ninth year, measures residential customer satisfaction with gas utility companies across six factors (listed in order of importance): billing and payment; price; corporate citizenship; communications; customer service; and field service.

Overall satisfaction averages 629 on a 1,000-point scale in 2010, up 13 points from 616 in 2009. In addition, among the 75 brands ranked in the study, 70 have improved from 2009.

Driving the increase in satisfaction are improvements in the areas of communications, price and corporate citizenship:

• Customer-reported bill amounts have decreased to $90 in 2010 from $98 in 2009. In addition, the percentage of customers who indicate they have heard about an impending rate increase has declined slightly to 29 percent in 2010 from 31 percent in 2009.
• Increased satisfaction with communications stems from improved customer recall of messages from their gas utility and a greater emphasis on communications regarding cost-saving methods and energy conservation.
• Satisfaction with the corporate citizenship factor increases by 11 points from 2009, due to improved customer perceptions of their gas utility's energy savings programs and concern for the environment. Customer familiarity with their utility's energy savings programs has increased to 28 percent in 2010 from 21 percent in 2009.

"Gas utility companies have made important strides in emphasizing the value of the service they provide in their communications efforts, which has helped lift overall satisfaction," said Chris Oberle, senior director of the energy practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "Not only are customers responding positively to messages about how to conserve energy and reduce their bill amounts, but they are indicating that they want utilities to provide even more of these messages. Nearly two-thirds of residential gas utility customers indicate that they believe their utility should spend more money on communications."

The study ranks large and midsize utility companies in four geographic regions: East, Midwest, South and West. Companies in the midsize utility segments serve between 165,000 and 399,999 residential customers, while companies in the large utility segment serve 400,000 or more residential customers.

East Region

Among large utilities in the East region, New Jersey Natural Gas ranks highest and receives an award for a second consecutive year. Following in the segment rankings are UGI Utilities and Washington Gas.

In the East region midsize utility segment, South Jersey Gas Company ranks highest, followed by NSTAR Gas and Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, respectively.

Midwest Region

MidAmerican Energy ranks highest among large utilities in the Midwest region, followed by CenterPoint Energy—Midwest and Xcel Energy—Midwest, respectively.

Among midsize utilities in the Midwest region, Metropolitan Utilities District of Omaha ranks highest. Following in the segment rankings are Louisville Gas & Electric and Alliant Energy (in a tie).

South Region

PSNC Energy ranks highest among large gas utility providers in the South region, followed by Texas Gas Service and Oklahoma Natural Gas.

Among midsize providers in the South region, CPS Energy ranks highest. Following in the segment rankings are TECO Peoples Gas and South Carolina Electric & Gas.

West Region

NW Natural ranks highest among large utilities in the West region. Following in the segment rankings are Southern California Gas Company and Puget Sound Energy.

Among midsize providers in the West region, Avista Utilities and Intermountain Gas Company rank highest, in a tie. Following in the segment ranking is Colorado Springs Utilities.

The 2010 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study is based on more than 61,000 responses from residential customers of the 75 largest gas utilities across the continental United States.  These utilities serve more than 54 million households. The study was fielded between September 2009 and July 2010.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction.  The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.  For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. 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 (NYSE: MHP) is a global information and education company providing knowledge, insights and analysis in the financial, education and business information sectors through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2009 were $5.95 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.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. www.jdpower.com

SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates

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