Chattanooga, TN (July 29, 2016) – J.D. Power, a leading global consumer and marketing research organization, announced that EPB received the highest overall scores from customers for midsized utilities in the southern U.S region. 

EPB’s overall customer satisfaction index of 737 exceeded the south region’s midsize utility segment average of 687.

The J.D. Power annual study of electric utilities measures customer satisfaction with power quality & reliability, price, billing & payment, corporate citizenship and communications and customer service. In its 18th year, the 2016 study included 137 utility brands in the four major regions of the country and found that customers gave EPB very high marks for the professionalism of its employees. Additionally, the consumer study revealed that EPB is among the top seven brands for large and midsized utilities nationally.

“After a leading consumer magazine’s customer study showed EPB Fiber Optics scoring the highest in the nation for internet and TV services, we were pleasantly surprised to see the J.D. Power study that identified EPB as a top-scoring electric utility,” said EPB president David Wade. “Customer satisfaction is EPB’s overriding priority and we strive to meet and exceed customer expectations every day.”

Chattanooga’s smart grid, which has reduced power outages by an average of 60%, earns high marks for customer satisfaction as a result of the quality and reliability of the service. EPB’s 24/7 neighbor-to-neighbor customer service receives high ratings for communication and customer service.

About EPB

Established as an independent board of the City of Chattanooga in 1935, EPB is a municipally-owned utility that provides electric power and fiber optic communications services as a means of promoting economic development and enhancing quality of life across the local area. 

EPB serves nearly 180,000 homes and businesses in a 600 square-mile area that includes greater Chattanooga, as well as parts of surrounding counties and areas of North Georgia. 

In 2010, EPB became the first provider in the United States to deliver up to 1 Gig (1,000 mbps) internet speeds utilizing a community-wide fiber optic network that provides access to every home and business in its service area. In 2015, EPB became the first (and to date) only American ISP to make up to 10 Gig (10,000 mbps) internet speeds accessible to all of its residential and commercial customers as a standard offer. 

EPB has also utilized its community-wide fiber optic network to deploy the most advanced and highly automated smart grid power management system in the nation. In recognition of EPB’s groundbreaking infrastructure, the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are utilizing EPB’s smart grid as a national model for researching and developing best practices. EPB is also the first major power distribution utility to earn the USGBC’s PEER certification for having a highly automated, modernized electric power grid.