Business customer satisfaction with electric utilities increased slightly in 2026, supported by improvements in service reliability and higher levels of trust, according to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study released Nov. 11.

Overall satisfaction rose 1 point on a 1,000-point scale to 614, despite increasing electricity demand and continued economic pressures on businesses. Trust satisfaction increased 14 points compared with 2025.

“Even as electricity demand grows, business customers are seeing fewer and shorter outages. That’s an encouraging sign of progress as utilities prepare for continued growth,” said Ramah Vaughn, director of utilities intelligence at JD Power. “The improvement in outage frequency, duration and financial impact is a positive sign that reliability is moving in the right direction for business customers.”

“Additionally, business customers report significantly higher trust when they believe their utility communicates transparently and acts in their best interest,” added Vaughn. “As energy needs become more complex, businesses are looking for more than reliable service. They want a utility that communicates openly, understands their needs and acts as a trusted partner.”

Key Findings of the 2026 Study

• Fewer outages and reduced business impacts: The number of reported outages declined, as did the percentage of businesses affected by storms or experiencing financial losses related to outages. In 2026, 37% of business customers said a storm event affected their business, compared with 39% in 2025. The percentage reporting financial impacts from outages or power quality issues declined to 24%, from 25% in 2025.

• Higher trust satisfaction: Overall trust satisfaction increased 14 points from 2025 to 624. Accurate restoration time estimates were a key factor. Businesses whose power was restored at the promised time reported a trust satisfaction score of 655, compared with 465 among those whose service was restored later than projected. Customers who believed their utility acted in their best interest reported a trust score of 704, compared with 350 among those who did not.

• More proactive communication: Eighty percent of business customers said their utility contacted them after power was restored, while 83% said they received advance notification of scheduled work.

Study Rankings

The study evaluates utilities across four U.S. geographic regions, with providers classified as either large utilities serving 100,000 or more business customers or midsize utilities serving 50,000 to 99,999 business customers.

The highest-ranked utilities in each category were:

• East Large: PSE&G

• East Midsize: Penelec

• Midwest Large: Xcel Energy

• Midwest Midsize: AES Ohio

• South Large: Georgia Power (third consecutive year)

• South Midsize: Entergy Texas (third consecutive year)

• West Large: Puget Sound Energy

• West Midsize: Seattle City Light (fifth consecutive year)

Now in its 28th year, the Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study measures satisfaction among business customers of 80 U.S. electric utilities, each serving more than 50,000 business customers. Collectively, the utilities provide electricity to more than 12 million customers.

The study evaluates satisfaction across eight dimensions, listed in order of importance: total monthly cost; trust; safety and reliability; ease of doing business; people; information provided; problem resolution; and digital channels.

The 2026 study is based on 19,358 online interviews with business customers in decision-making roles related to their utility provider. Responses were collected from February through October 2026.