Back to News
LCEC, PECO take top honors in Chartwell’s 2007 marketing and customer service awards
LCEC, PECO take top honors in Chartwell’s 2007 marketing and customer service awards
IRVINE, CALIF. – Oct. 15, 2007 – Two utilities were crowned today as the 2007 winners of Chartwell’s annual Best Practices Awards in Customer Service and Marketing during the industry research firm’s annual Energy Marketing and Customer Service (EMACS) Conference & Exposition, held this year at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.
PECO, Philadelphia, Pa., won in the marketing category, while Ft. Myers, Fla.-based Lee County Electric Cooperative was named the winner in customer service by a panel of Chartwell research analysts who cover customer relations in the utility industry.
PECO was presented with the Best Practices Award for Utility Marketing for its innovative “PECO Wind” media campaign. The campaign, which promotes the fifth largest utility green power program in the United States, has exceeded all business and financial goals with no upfront marketing budget; more than 37,000 customers signed up for the utility’s alternative energy purchase program.
LCEC was honored with the Best Practices Award for Customer Service for its “Builder Segment Initiative,” an effort in which members of the utility’s marketing and customer service staffs developed a process improvement team to focus on improving both processes and communications around serving the home building community. The effort improved builder satisfaction with the utility from 57 percent to 86 percent “very satisfied” and realized savings in excess of $227,000 during the first 12 months.
“These utilities were able to quantify positive results with these award-winning programs,” said Chartwell vice president Dennis Smith, who presented the awards during the EMACS 2007 awards ceremony. “By showing personal attention to the builder segment and immensely improving processes at the utility, LCEC was able to satisfy its customers and improve productivity. PECO, through an innovative and eye-catching mixed-media promotional campaign, saw increases in the number of customers enrolling in its renewable energy program and also improved its corporate image.”
“Chartwell commends these utilities for their successful efforts in addressing the issues that all energy delivery utilities face today – achieving customer satisfaction and promoting responsible energy usage,” Smith said.
The Chartwell Best Practices Awards are presented by Chartwell in several categories throughout the year. Utilities that enter projects or programs for consideration must submit an entry form and supporting materials. The entries are judged by Chartwell researchers who report on the area under consideration. The Chartwell Best Practices Awards for Marketing and Customer Service are awarded in the fall each year at the Energy Marketing and Customer Service Conference and Expo (EMACS). There were 48 entries from North American utilities for consideration in 2007 – 25 in marketing and 23 in customer service. Past winners include We Energies, KCP&L, Duke Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Otter Tail Power and BC Hydro.
About LCEC
Ft. Myers, Fla.-based Lee County Electric Cooperative (www.lcec.net) is a nonprofit member-owned electric distribution utility serving more than 196,000 customers in a five-county area in Southwest Florida. It is one of the largest electric cooperatives in the United States, with more than 6,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines. The cooperative has more than 350 employees.
About PECO
Exelon subsidiary PECO (www.exelon.com), Philadelphia, Pa., is an energy delivery and service company that delivers electricity to 1.6 million customers and natural gas to 480,000 customers in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
About Chartwell
Based in Atlanta, Chartwell Inc. is a specialized information provider that facilitates knowledge exchange among utility professionals responsible for management practices and technology solutions. Chartwell publishes best practices case studies, quantitative research and electronic newsletters, and hosts conferences and other events for utility professionals. For more information, visit www.chartwellinc.com.
Press Contact:
Contact: Jennifer Quay Allen
Sr. Research Analyst
Chartwell Inc.
(404) 237-9099
