Residential customers appreciate pandemic response and energy solutions
TECO Peoples Gas again was designated a Customer Champion by Escalent, a behavior and analytics firm that conducts the annual Cogent Syndicated Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement studies.
The honor is given each year to utilities with exceptional performance in brand trust, service satisfaction and product experience – three categories that compose the Engaged Customer Relationship (ECR) index. Peoples Gas had one of the highest ECR scores in the nation out of the 140 electric, natural gas and combination utilities in the survey.
“We thank our customers across Florida for their trust and for recognizing our efforts,” said Karen Sparkman, vice president of Customer Experience for Peoples Gas. “In this year that has been difficult for so many, we are so proud to be a bright spot for our customers.”
The Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study provides a comprehensive view into utilities’ relationships with their residential customers. This year’s study showed that customers put more trust in utilities that showed an effective response to the pandemic. At the onset of the pandemic, Peoples Gas launched a webpage at peoplesgas.com/updates and communicated extensively to share relevant information about pandemic relief resources and other helpful information with our customers. To further assist its customers facing financial hardship due to the pandemic, the company voluntarily suspended disconnections for nonpayment and offered flexible interest-free payment extensions. In partnership with Tampa Electric, Peoples Gas also contributed $1 million to local charities to benefit people financially affected by the pandemic.
The study also showed that customers value utilities’ offerings beyond energy service. “We are proud to be an energy partner by bringing Floridians the innovative energy solutions they want and need,” said Joann Wehle, vice president, Marketing and Sales for Peoples Gas. “We launched our free online residential energy audit this spring and I’m so pleased to share that more than 4,000 of our customers have logged on to see how they can save energy and money.”
In addition to the audit, Peoples Gas offers cash-back rebates and payment programs that help make the purchase and installation of energy-efficient natural gas appliances more affordable for our customers. Learn more about the energy audit at peoplesgas.com/onlineaudit, and rebates at peoplesgas.com/rebates or peoplesgas.com/bizrebates.
Peoples Gas System, Florida’s largest natural gas distribution utility, serves more than 400,000 customers across the state. Peoples Gas is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
