Energy reliability remains top priority for utility business customer satisfaction, E Source study finds.

Dallas, Oct. 8, 2026—E Source, a customer, grid, and technology solutions company focused on the utility sector, released the findings of its Business Customer Satisfaction Study, an annual study conducted since 2009.

In the 2026 study, more than 2,600 utility business customers—from managed accounts (customers with a designated account representative) and unmanaged accounts (customers served by general business account representatives)—participated in surveys between April 2026 and August 2026. These customers came from a variety of utility types and sizes, including large and small investor-owned, public and cooperative utilities.

Participants were asked about their most important needs and perceptions of how well their energy providers meet them. The study evaluated nine utility attributes: trust, resources to manage energy costs, communication, rate options, pricing, reliability, ease of doing business, community involvement, and commitment to renewable energy and sustainability. Businesses also rated their interactions with utility representatives on trust, issue resolution, communication, and responsiveness.

For the twelfth consecutive year, both customer segments ranked energy reliability as the top utility attribute.

For managed business customers, the second most important attribute was effective communication during energy emergencies, followed closely by trustworthiness. For unmanaged business accounts, trustworthiness and working to keep energy costs down followed reliability as the top priorities.

The managed business customer overall satisfaction/perceived value score (8.9 out of 10) continues to outpace the unmanaged overall satisfaction/perceived value score (7.1 out of 10) by nearly 2 points, with both scores slightly lower than last year’s. 

The study also identified a top performer from each customer segment:

Managed Business Customer #1 Top Performer

WEC Energy Group ranked the highest in the managed business customer survey, scoring 9.5 out of 10 for overall customer satisfaction and perceived value. The utility scored highest in seven of the study’s eight account representative attributes and also earned the highest scores for the utility attributes of communicating effectively during energy emergencies and offering a variety of rate options, programs, and services.

Unmanaged Business Customer #1 Top Performer

Lincoln Electric System ranked the highest in the unmanaged business customer survey, scoring 8.2 out of 10 for overall customer satisfaction and perceived value. The utility also earned the highest scores for seven out of the nine utility attributes and all eight business customer representative attributes. 

“This year’s research reinforces, above all, that business customers value reliability and trust when interacting with their utilities. At the same time, we see a meaningful opportunity to close the satisfaction gap between the managed business customer and unmanaged customer as that latter segment continues to trail in satisfaction overall,” said Filomena Gogel, Head of Research and Analytics at E Source. “Our research identifies where the key gaps are between customer expectations and actual experience, and our industry experts help utilities translate those insights into actionable recommendations that strengthen customer relationships, satisfaction, and trust.” 

Each year, study participants receive in-depth respondent-level data, an online dashboard, and an advisory call to better understand opportunities to improve business customer satisfaction.

Members of E Source’s Account Management Service will receive the full industry report and the option to participate in facilitated information-sharing sessions with E Source experts and industry peers.

To learn more about E Source’s Business Customer Satisfaction Study and Account Management Service, you can reach out to Lisa Schulte: lisa_schulte@esource.com.

Media contact
Sarah Gibson, Marketing Lead, E Source, Sarah_Gibson@esource.com