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JD Power ranks ComEd worst big electric company in the Midwest, third worst in the nation

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Illinois

* This is probably no surprise to ComEd customers…

Commonwealth Edison Co. had the worst household customer satisfaction of any large electric utility in the Midwest in the annual survey released today by J.D. Power and Associates.

On a scale of 1,000 points, ComEd’s score was 579, well down from last year’s tally of 590 in the same survey and far below the next-worst utility, Ameren Illinois. Ameren had a score of 606. Last year, ComEd had the second-lowest ranking among large Midwest utilities. […]

In its release Wednesday, J.D. Power said that customer satisfaction for the utility industry as a whole fell about 20 points in 2012, and it attributed much of that decline to increased power outages due to violent weather. It said that utilities could help mitigate consumer unhappiness by setting up better communications systems during storms.

* The study is here. ComEd’s score of 579 ranked below only large utilities Connecticut Light and Power and the Long Island Power Authority. Midsized power companies Orange and Rockland and Kentucky Power ranked lower than ComEd as well.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 10:19 am

Comments

Eh, I’ve never really had any problems with ComEd.

Comment by Just Observing Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 11:00 am
It rained for about 20 minutes the weekend before the fourth and 200,000 were out power for a couple of days. Same as it ever was.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 11:08 am
After the debacle in 1995, ComEd spent a boatload upgarding its power distribution in the city of Chicago under threat from Mayor Daley. I’ve noticed from my little neck of the city that power outages have since been rare events, and on the few occasions where power was lost, it was quickly restored.

Not so in the suburbs it seems. The loudest squeak gets all the oil. Maybe the suburban mayors ought to turn up the volume. Tree trimming isn’t cheap, but it is essential, as is installing routing technology to quickly restore power around isolated problems.

I’d give ComEd a slightly higher grade given their work in Chicago, but I’m not surprised that plenty of others don’t think too highly of the company.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 11:34 am
Back in my Illinois Public Action days I remember calling the company Uncommonly Wealthy Edison.

Do I remember correctly that Chicago threatened to change to municipal utilities as a part of the bargaining that led to that city’s utility infrastructure improvement?

Comment by Mike Huntoon Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 12:17 pm
It was just a year ago we lost power due to a powerful windstorm. It took Com Ed only a week to restore it. They more than earned the above rating.

Comment by Wensicia Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 12:48 pm
I’m still furious over their turtle response to last year’s storms which left me without power for five days and a tree dangling over a power line only three feet over my garage which burned through the tree trunk in spite of over 20 calls for help. The fire department couldn’t help unless the power was turned off. They told me to call if the garage roof caught fire. And ComEd was rewarded by the General Assembly with a new bill shortly thereafter? I still have the burnt trunk in my garage.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 1:03 pm
ComEd’s problem is that once a power outage occurs, they’re way to slow to respond and fix the problem. And the fact that when they are trying to fix it, they tend to cause outages to people who weren’t affected before. It’s almost like they, themselves, don’t understand their own grid.

Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 1:54 pm
Wow… great timing forthis survey after the House Public Utilities Committee meet yesterday in Chicago to pass HR1157 - which urges the ICC to reverse their decision on ComEd refund $169 Million to their customers. What a great company to be defending profits for.

Comment by SportShoz Wednesday, Jul 11, 12 @ 4:39 pm