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Champion Energy Again Tops J.D. Power Rankings for Texas Residential Customers
August 17, 2011
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Champion Energy Services has repeated as the highest-ranked retail electric provider for Texas residential service under J.D. Power and Associates' annual customer satisfaction survey.
Champion Energy recorded a score of 745 on a 1,000 point scale. J.D. Power said that Champion performed particularly well in the price and billing and payment categories.
Following in the rankings are Spark Energy (740) and StarTex Power (739). J.D. Power said that StarTex Power performed particularly well in the billing and payment and customer service factors.
The survey was based on responses from more than 8,100 residential customers of electric retailers in Texas, conducted between September 2010 and June 2011.
Full rankings are below, providing, from left to right, the REP, Overall Customer Satisfaction (based on 1,000 points), and the J.D. Power.com Power Circle Ratings (5=highest).
Champion Energy Services 745 (5)
Spark Energy 740 (5)
StarTex Power 739 (5)
Ambit Energy 721 (4)
Amigo Energy 716 (4)
Gexa Energy 708 (4)
Stream Energy 701(4)
Cirro Energy 697 (4)
Green Mountain Energy 689 (4)
Bounce Energy 681 (4)
Direct Energy 675 (4)
Dynowatt 671 (4)
Texas Power 665 (3)
Industry Average 659 (3)
Reliant Energy 654 (3)
First Choice Power 647 (3)
Southwest Power & Light 646 (3)
Just Energy Texas 643 (3)
CPL Retail Energy 635 (2)
TXU Energy 629 (2)
Source: 2011 J.D. Power and Associates Texas Residential Retail Electric Provider Customer Satisfaction Study
Power circle rankings for how each REP fared in each of four satisfaction categories are available on J.D. Power's website.
Included in the study, but not ranked due to small sample size were: Abacus Energy (since defunct), Affordable Energy, Andeler Power, Brilliant Energy, Commerce Energy, dPi Energy, Frontier Utilities, Gateway Energy Services, Hudson Energy Services, Kinetic Energy, Liberty Power Corporation, Mega Energy, MidAmerican Energy, MX Energy, Nueces Electric Cooperative, Our Energy, Penstar Power, Potentia Energy, Reach Energy, Simple Power, Tara Energy, Texpo Energy, True Electric, USAVE Energy, WTU Retail Energy, YEP Energy, and Young Energy.
Readers will note USAVE Energy listed as a provider by some respondents, which J.D. Power said was a very small number. USAVE Energy was a REP which experienced a POLR drop in 2005, and Matters, nor J.D. Power, is not aware of this trade name being assumed by any other provider in the market (nor does it appear on the PUCT residential complaint metrics which list all trade names for current residential providers).
Overall satisfaction among residential customers of electric retailers in Texas has increased to 659 on a 1,000-point scale in 2011, up by 25 points from 2010 and 30 points from 2009. While J.D. Power said that satisfaction has improved in 2011 in all four factors examined in the study, satisfaction with price improved most notably to an average of 644, increasing by 34 points from 2010.
During the past several years, customer-reported bill amounts have declined steadily from a median of $167 in 2009 to $156 in 2010 and $150 in 2011. These price decreases are primarily due to declining natural gas prices, J.D. Power said.
J.D. Power also reported that satisfaction with the billing and payment category has improved considerably, up 31 points from 2010. Contributing to this increase is a shift in payment methods, with a higher proportion of customers choosing to pay their utility bill electronically rather than by mail, J.D. Power said.
Approximately 46 percent of customers indicate paying their bill either through a financial institution or utility website, while 23 percent of customers mail their payments. Satisfaction among customers who use online and electronic payment methods (recurring bank or credit card debits) is considerably higher than among customers using traditional methods (mail, phone or in-person payment), J.D. Power said.
The study also found that, among customers who are aware of their retailer's corporate citizenship efforts (such as supporting local organizations or volunteering in the community), satisfaction averages 80 points higher than among customers who are not aware of these efforts. However, J.D. Power said that only one in six customers are aware of their retailer's local citizenship efforts.
"There is ample opportunity for retailers to show how dedicated they are to the communities in which they do business, which can positively affect satisfaction levels," said Chris Oberle, senior director of the energy and utility practice at J.D. Power and Associates.
Nearly one-fourth of respondents reported having a smart meter installed at their home. Satisfaction among customers with a smart meter is higher (685, on average) than among those without a smart meter (662).
However, among customers with a smart meter, only 16 percent have registered it at the web portal SmartMeterTexas.com, which allows customers to access detailed views of their electricity usage. Satisfaction is substantially higher among customers who register their smart meter at this web portal (756) than among smart meter customers not registered with the portal (671).
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