Peoples Gas named among most trusted utility brands in national customer survey

CHICAGO, June 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Peoples Gas ranks as one of the most trusted utility brands in the nation in a new survey of customers published by Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics firm.

Escalent's 2019 Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement study surveyed more than 50,000 residential customers of the 140 largest electric, natural gas and combination electric/natural gas utilities.

Peoples Gas took the top spot in brand trust performance among natural gas utilities in the Midwest, scoring 725 points on a scale of 1,000. The company ranked eighth nationally among natural gas utilities.

"Over the past few years, we've worked hard to improve customer service, increase customer engagement and expand our community partnerships and corporate giving programs," said Charles Matthews, president and CEO of Peoples Gas. "These results show our customers have noticed and appreciate the direction we're headed."

The survey was released June 25 and found utilities are earning trust with customers by encouraging employee volunteering, listening to community feedback and making customers more aware of local support and charitable giving. It also found customers were generally happier with the information utilities communicated and the mediums used to deliver those communications.

"It's nice to have a number 1 ranking, but it's much nicer to know we're doing a good job of communicating with and listening to our customers," said Larry Szumski, vice president – customer relations for Peoples Gas. "In today's ever-changing world, you have to get better every day because there are so many new ways to reach your customers."

The Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement: Residential survey began in 2014. In the current survey, Peoples Gas increased its scores for: communications effectiveness; communicating information that matters; communicating in ways customers prefer; providing accurate information; communicating in a format that's clear and easy to understand; being a credible source of information; and communicating in a manner consistent with the utility's image.

Peoples Gas, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group WEC, is a regulated natural gas delivery company that serves more than 873,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the city of Chicago. You can find more information about natural gas safety, energy efficiency and other energy-related topics at peoplesgasdelivery.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @peoplegaschi.

About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential
Escalent conducted surveys among 62,122 residential electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 140 largest US utility companies (based on residential customer counts). The sample design uses a combination of quotas and weighting based on US census data to ensure a demographically balanced sample of each evaluated utility's customers based on age, gender, income, race and ethnicity. Utilities within the same region and of the same type (e.g., electric-only providers) are given equal weight in order to balance the influence of each utility's customers on survey results. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.

About Escalent
Escalent is a top human behavior and analytics firm specializing in industries facing disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, we tell stories that transform data and insight into a profound understanding of what drives human beings. And we help businesses turn those drivers into actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences and inspire product innovation. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.

SOURCE Peoples Gas