SANTA CLARA, Calif. – March 31, 2005 – Residential customers of Silicon Valley Power (SVP), the City of Santa Clara’s municipal electric utility, are very satisfied with the service they receive from their utility. SVP has outdone itself as demonstrated by high marks in many areas, including customer service, reliability, image and communication, according to an independent study conducted by RKS Research and Consulting. As many as 83 percent of SVP customers are “very satisfied” with their service compared to 52 percent for investor-owned utilities (IOUs).

The SVP Year-end 2004 Residential Customer Survey interviewed 150 randomly selected residential customers about their level of trust in SVP, perceptions about the utility, customer service, communication with SVP, readability of bills and the utility’s reliable service and power.

The most telling results are indicated in a residential value model developed by RKS: SVP scored 8.2 in 2004 (based on a satisfaction score of 0 to 10, low to high) for overall value, compared to 6.8 for IOUs.

The survey also finds that Silicon Valley Power continues to cultivate excellence in its relationship with its customers, showing improvement over a similar survey conducted in 2002 of 100 respondents. The utility particularly stands out in the areas of Bill Qualities and Customer Focus.
SVP’s customers believe that the utility excels as an electricity provider and exceeds customer expectations by providing consistent, reliable power and services. They trust and believe in SVP as a utility.
In addition, SVP and the City’s Finance Department take pride in the performance of all the customer service representatives, who were rated as highly skilled with a strong combination of good listening skills, a solid knowledge of the business and a genuine interest in taking care of customers.

“Listening to our customers’ desires, needs and even complaints has shaped the way we do business at SVP,” says Junona Jonas, Director of the City’s Electric Utility. “I am ecstatic that our customers have recognized our efforts and rate us very high in so many areas. Our staff has done a great job and will continue to work to enhance customer service.”

As a final approval of SVP’s performance, when SVP customers were asked if they would choose a municipal utility or an IOU, as many as 84 percent selected a muni, while only five percent chose an IOU.

For more information about the SVP Residential Customer Survey, go to http://www.siliconvalleypower.com/res/news/?sub=050401.