Utilities’ pandemic response and community support contribute to customer trust
Residential and business natural gas customers across Florida shared their high confidence in Peoples Gas in Escalent’s 2021 Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™ residential and business studies.
For the eighth consecutive year, Peoples Gas was recognized as one of the nation’s Most Trusted Brands according to the residential study. The utility tied for the second-highest Brand Trust Index score in the U.S. out of the 140 electric, natural gas and combination utilities that are included in the study. More than 76,000 residential utility customers responded to the survey and the top 38 utilities with the highest Brand Trust Index scores were named Most Trusted Brands.
“It is such an honor to receive this recognition again from our customers across Florida,” said Karen Sparkman, vice president of Customer Experience for Peoples Gas. “We work hard to provide affordable natural gas solutions they want – and need, and to support their communities.”
For the first time, the company was named a Trusted Business Partner according to results from the business study. Peoples Gas’ Brand Trust Index and Engaged Customer Relationship scores ranked first in the natural gas segment and fourth in the nation out of 79 utilities in the study. About 16,000 of the nation’s business customers responded to the survey and the top 24 utilities were named Trusted Business Partners.
“We are so proud of the relationships we have built with our business customers across the state,” said Joann Wehle, vice president of Marketing and Sales for Peoples Gas. “From our large commercial and industrial customers to locally owned restaurants and small businesses, their success is vital to our communities and to Florida’s economy.”
Peoples Gas worked extensively throughout the coronavirus pandemic to offer support to residential and commercial customers and, along with affiliate Tampa Electric, donated $2 million to community partners to help those in need.
Peoples Gas System, Florida’s largest natural gas distribution utility, serves about 425,000 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.
