Industry study lauds CMP, parent company on customer service quality

Avangrid, parent company of Central Maine Power, was named "Utility Customer Champions" by Market Strategies International in the 2016 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™ study of residential customers by Cogent Reports™.

The annual study benchmarks and trends 130 utilities using an Engaged Customer Relationship (ECR) tracking index, comprising Brand Trust, Product Experience, and Operational Satisfaction measures. Market Strategies International notes that consumers increasingly value brand and product experiences while operational satisfaction is declining in importance.

"Industry innovation is bringing new opportunities for our companies to improve services and offer greater value to our customers, while preserving our close relationship, which will be key to continued success," said Bob Kump, CEO of Avangrid Networks. "We approach every interaction as a chance to build our relationship with customers, because we want to be their most trusted resource for information, referrals, and quality service."

Central Maine Power placed first among electric utilities in the East and in the top quartile of electric utilities overall in the 2016 study. This is the third consecutive year CMP has been recognized for customer trust and customer engagement in Cogent's annual study.

"Customers will always value safe, reliable, affordable service, but it takes more to move them from satisfied to engaged," said Sara Burns, president and CEO of Central Maine Power. "We continually work to improve their experience with services powered by smart meters, such as Bill Alerts, Outage Alerts, and our on-line Energy Manager, and convenience services such as multiple bill payment options."