Seattle City Light recognized as No. 1 West Midsize Utility in J.D. Power 2020 Customer Satisfaction Study

Seattle City Light received the highest customer satisfaction index score of any midsize electrical utility in the western United States, according to the J.D. Power 2020 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study.

The overall satisfaction index examines six factors: power quality and reliability; corporate citizenship; price; billing and payment; communications; and customer contact. Seattle City Light received the highest score (5 of 6) in the following: power quality and reliability; corporate citizenship; price; billing and payment; and customer contact.

“This award is a great example of the commitment of our City Light employees to our customers, especially during a year that has brought so many unexpected challenges for our business community,” said City Light General Manager and CEO Debra Smith. 

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award, especially when so much has been asked of our employees. We cannot thank them enough for their dedication to their work.”

The study, fielded from February through October 2020, was based on responses from 18,457 online interviews of business customers in decision-making roles related to their utility company.

As the number of COVID-19 cases began to rise within the region, City Light’s Business Customer Services took significant strides to support its customers, including small and medium business customers, to help ease the financial challenges of the pandemic.

The team, including Key Customer Managers, provided a holistic approach to supporting its customers, including proactively offering payment plans or arrangements, providing virtual energy audits to identify methods to reduce electricity usage within their business, working with customers one-on-one through a concierge-style service and contacting known closed businesses such as restaurants to assist in closing their City Light accounts.

We believe these efforts contributed to the utility’s increase in its overall customer satisfaction index score by 32 points from 2019.

“Customer service demands continuous improvement while remaining nimble enough to anticipate change,” said Craig Smith, City Light Chief Customer Officer. 

“This year, our Business Customer Services team went above and beyond to provide the outstanding level of service our utility strives for. City Light will remain steadfast in its commitment to its customers as our region recovers financially from this pandemic and beyond.”

The 2020 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, now in its 22nd year, measures satisfaction among business customers of 86 targeted U.S. electric utilities, each of which serves more than 40,000 business customers. In aggregate, these utilities provide electricity to more than 12 million customers.

For more information about the J.D. Power Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/utilities/electric-utility-business-customer-satisfaction-study.

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.

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.