This is a special Executive Insight Report based on the JD Power 2019 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, and the Volume 2 2019 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. These studies focus on understanding the key areas that drive customer satisfaction within the electric utility industry. For this report, JD Power analyzed the feedback from more than 150,000 electric residential customers who are serviced by electric utilities across the nation; and more specifically over 11,000 residential customers in California. The feedback was captured during the 18 months up to, and including, the Public Safety Power Shutoffs in October and November 2019.
The objectives of this special report are to:
- Review the 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoff season designed to turn off power in areas subject to high fire risk primarily due to low moisture and high winds. These are weather conditions that have, in recent years, led to downed power lines, sparking uncontrolled and, in some cases, fatal wildfires.
- Understand the experiences reported by residential customers, and the impact on customer satisfaction.
- Identify lessons learned to help all electric utilities, not just Californian utilities, manage extreme weather related events.