For the third year running, Central Maine Power Co. has received worst-in-the-nation consumer satisfaction marks in a J.D. Power survey of electric utility business customers. On a 1,000 point scale, CMP received 692 points — the only mid-sized or large utility to rate less than 700 points.
CMP CEO David Flanagan says that is likely a hangover from 2017, when CMP botched the rollout of a new billing system just as it was contending with lengthy restoration times after a major windstorm.
“You can very quickly lose your reputation, and if you lose public trust it can take years to get it back. And we acknowledge that and we are in the process of rebuilding and trying to regain public trust,” he says.
Flanagan notes that CMP did gain 50 points over last year’s rating in the JD Power survey, and he says the company is now meeting or exceeding all its service and reliability standards.
State regulators who in January penalized CMP roughly $10 million for poor service say that since then it has been meeting those benchmarks.
JD Power releases a new survey of residential utility customers next month.