Washington (Platts)--26Jul2007

With power prices climbing for a fifth straight year and many customers
experiencing longer outages, satisfaction with electric utilities among
residential customers is dropping, JD Power and Associates said Thursday.

     The customer satisfaction rankings are based on a survey of the 76
largest utilities in the US, broken down into four geographic regions and a
separate segment for medium-sized utilities. On a 1,000-point scale, the
average score among residential customers in 2007 was 661, down from a 668
score in 2006. In 2005, the average score was 704.

     Overall customer satisfaction is based on six factors: power quality and
reliability; company image; price and value; communications; billing and
payment; and customer service.  

     The survey found that customers were spending 7% more on electricity in
2007, marking a fifth-consecutive year that average monthly bills have
increased. Nationally, the average monthly electric bill is $135, JD Power
said. 

     With the absence of any major hurricanes off the Atlantic coast between
April 2006 and March 2007, customers in the Southern region report a decrease
in the duration of power outages, compared with the 2006 study, but the other
three regions reported longer outages. The Midwestern region experienced the
longest outage duration in 2007, averaging 13 hours.

     PPL Electric Utilities ranked highest in residential satisfaction in the
East, while E.ON US ranked highest in the Midwest. Oklahoma Gas and Electric
ranked highest in the South and Salt River Project ranked highest in the West.
Omaha Public Power District received the highest marks among medium-size
utilities, and received the highest score in the study. 

     JD Power, like Platts, is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies.