Escalent Recognizes Nine Utilities as 2025 Trusted Business Partners
Suzanne Haggerty
Director, Syndicated Research
Escalent names nine utilities as our 2025 Utility Trusted Business Partners
Congratulations to Escalent’s 2025 Trusted Business Partners
LIVONIA, Mich., July 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Strong gains in business customer engagement point to a turning tide in utility-customer relationships, with brand trust on the rise thanks to improved communication, targeted outreach and tangible reliability investments. That’s according to a new Cogent Syndicated study from Escalent, which finds that Brand Trust is steadily improving as utilities sharpen their focus on meeting the evolving needs of their business customers.
“These efforts, along with visible investments to enhance system reliability, are helping utilities build trust in meaningful ways,” said Suzanne Haggerty, director of syndicated research with Escalent’s Energy industry team.
Those are some of the latest findings of the 2025 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Business study, which tracks the performance of 85 gas, electric and combination utilities to identify brand and customer experience opportunities and trends in the industry. The report is published semiannually by Escalent, a top data analytics and advisory firm with extensive energy, utility and brand experience.
These actions by utilities have helped lift the industry’s Brand Trust Index by 21 points to 716 out of a maximum score of 1,000.
Leading this improvement are nine utilities recognized as Escalent’s 2025 Trusted Business Partners-companies that performed well above the industry average. These top-performing utilities surpass the average Company Reputation score by an impressive 10%, setting the standard for strong public perception by consistently delivering on their promises, maintaining transparency and fostering stronger relationships with business customers.
The most significant difference appears in word-of-mouth perceptions: customers of Trusted Business Partners are notably more likely to report hearing positive comments about their utility.
“Trusted Business Partners continue to prove the value of having a visible, positive presence in the local business community,” continued Haggerty. “This presence gives business customers something good to say about their utility, which goes a long way toward building a stronger reputation.”
Escalent is pleased to name these nine utilities as our 2025 Trusted Business Partners.
Cogent Syndicated 2025 Utility Trusted Business Partners*Chattanooga Gas CompanyOPPDCon EdisonSalt River ProjectDominion Energy South CarolinaSeattle City LightDuke Energy FloridaSouthwestern Electric Power CompanyMidAmerican Energy * Utilities named as Trusted Business Partners were selected based on having Brand Trust Index scores in the top decile of the industry, the top score within their respective benchmark segment, or a Brand Trust Index score within 20 points of the top benchmark segment score and above the industry average.
The following tables reflect regional peer benchmark Brand Trust scores among the 85 utilities surveyed. These scores reflect the amount of trust business customers have with each utility.
East Region Utilities Brand Trust Business PerformanceUtility brand nameBrand Trust scoreCon Edison766PPL Electric Utilities737National Grid732PSE&G727Jersey Central Power & Light714Eversource Energy700PSEG Long Island690Penelec688PECO Energy687West Penn Power683Duquesne Light682BGE664NYSEG661Appalachian Power625
Midwest Region Utilities Brand Trust Business PerformanceUtility brand nameBrand Trust scoreMidAmerican Energy767OPPD756The Illuminating Company739Wisconsin Public Service733Ameren Missouri731Indiana Michigan Power728AEP Ohio720Evergy719Xcel Energy – Midwest717Ohio Edison702Alliant Energy701Consumers Energy691DTE Energy690ComEd689AES Ohio685AES Indiana679Ameren Illinois676We Energies662NIPSCO656Duke Energy Midwest638
South Region Utilities Brand Trust Business PerformanceUtility brand nameBrand Trust scoreDuke Energy Florida800Dominion Energy South Carolina799Southwestern Electric Power Company778Florida Power & Light767TECO Tampa Electric767Georgia Power758CPS Energy744OG&E737Public Service Company of Oklahoma737El Paso Electric736Duke Energy Carolinas728Alabama Power726Louisville Gas & Electric724JEA722Kentucky Utilities717Mississippi Power716Dominion Energy Virginia704FPL Northwest FL693Duke Energy Progress691Entergy690
West Region Utilities Brand Trust Business PerformanceUtility brand nameBrand Trust scoreSeattle City Light789Salt River Project783APS756Los Angeles Department of Water & Power745NorthWestern Energy742Puget Sound Energy730Idaho Power713Colorado Springs Utilities712Pacific Power707Xcel Energy Colorado695Rocky Mountain Power694PNM691NV Energy688SMUD685Portland General Electric674PG&E642Southern California Edison625SDG&E575
Natural Gas Utilities Brand Trust Business PerformanceUtility brand nameBrand Trust scoreChattanooga Gas Company802Nicor Gas739CenterPoint Energy – Midwest738Virginia Natural Gas732CenterPoint Energy – South726 About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Business
Escalent conducted surveys among 12,585 business electric and natural gas utility customers of the 85 largest US utility companies (based on customer counts). Starting in 2025, business respondents are weighted based on the number of establishments (based on employee count) present in each utility’s territory. As a result, official 2025 scoring should not be directly compared with previous years’ scoring. The Brand Trust Index score is a composite based on consumer ratings across six factors. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
For more information on the full report, click here.
About Escalent
Escalent is an award-winning data analytics and advisory firm that helps clients understand human and market behaviors to navigate disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, our strategies guide the world’s leading brands. We accelerate growth by creating a seamless flow between primary, secondary, syndicated, and internal business data, providing consulting and advisory services from insights through implementation. Based on a profound understanding of what drives human beings and markets, we identify actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences, inspire product innovation and boost business productivity. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.
ContactStephanie Salvadero, 734.838.5192 [email protected] Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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