The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has again tied for the top score nationwide for customer awareness of its sustainability efforts, according to a survey by consumer research firm J.D. Power.
Sacramento-based SMUD and Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE), each got 34 points for their efforts to engage and make customers aware of sustainability programs.
“If the aggressive carbon reduction goals most utilities have in place are ever going to be achieved, customers are going to need to play a key role,” said Andrew Heath, senior director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power, in a news release.
J.D. Power compiles the survey annually, said spokesman Brian Jaklitsch in an interview.
He said the same two firms ranked the highest last year, both tied at 33 points on the 100-point scale.
PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) subsidiary Pacific Gas & Electric Co. got 30 points this year, up from 28 points in last year’s survey.
The customer survey looks at the 35 largest utilities and cities that serve populations of 500,000 or more residential customers.
The overall score nationwide is 28, compared to 27 last year.
“While lots of utilities have plans in place to deal with carbon reduction efforts, many consumers aren’t aware of them, despite their concern about climate change,” said a news release from J.D. Power.
“Right now, even the best-performing utilities are not where they need to be in terms of customer engagement, awareness and support for sustainability initiatives,” Heath said.
