Hot under the collar

Following electric rate price hikes and hot weather last summer that knocked out power, customers have taken their wrath out on two local electric utilities via one of the few means available ”“ J.D. Power and Associates”™ annual customer-satisfaction survey.

Of 77 large- and mid-sized electric utilities included in the J.D. Power survey, Northeast Utilities ranked among the bottom fifth. Northeast Utilities owns Connecticut Light & Power Co., which provides power in most parts of Fairfield County.

United Illuminating Co. (UI), whose service territory includes the Bridgeport area, saw its rating plummet by the second-worst margin in the country, and managed to beat out just two electricity companies in the overall rankings.

Northeast Utilities fared far better on a March J.D. Power survey assessing business-customer satisfaction, ranking among the top third nationally on that front. United Illuminating did not appear on the business-customer satisfaction index.

In the new survey, UI consumers largely complained of price increases, said Chris Oberle, senior director of utilities research at JD Power. Besides price and value, J.D. Power polls customers for satisfaction on:

 

Ӣ power quality and reliability;

Ӣ company image;

Ӣ communications;

Ӣ billing and payment; and

Ӣ customer service.

 

United Illuminating has a number of programs under way to improve its customers”™ experience, said spokeswoman Anita Steeves. A new Web site allows customers to enter their appliances and other energy drains like swimming pools to obtain a profile of their electricity usage. Customers can also access two years”™ worth of bills online.

Steeves said the company is investing in its power infrastructure, but hot days can still blow out transformers as households add air conditioners. That can lead to customers blowing their tops.

“Any time there is any extreme weather, the impact of losing power is that people feel it more,” Steeves said. “There is an emotional element when the weather gets extreme.”

The Omaha Public Power District in Nebraska received the highest score in the nation; among Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, northeast Pennsylvania”™s PPL Electric Utilities kept its grip on the top position, which it has held eight of the past nine years.

J.D. Power is based in Westlake Village, Calif.