Escalent Recognizes 40 Utilities as 2025 Most Trusted Brands
Suzanne Haggerty
Director, Syndicated Research
Escalent 2025 Most Trusted Brand – Residential
Congratulations to the 40 utilities that stand out as 2025 Most Trusted Brands
LIVONIA, Mich., July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A new Cogent Syndicated report from Escalent finds that, for the first time since 2021, midyear utility Brand Trust has improved. As utilities work to strengthen their reputations and sharpen their communication efforts, the industry’s Brand Trust Index has risen 17 points, reaching 697 on a 1,000-point scale.
Those are some of the latest findings of the 2025 Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential study, which tracks the performance of 148 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.
Electric and combination utilities, which saw the sharpest post-COVID-19 Brand Trust declines, led the comeback, with natural gas utilities also showing strong improvement. “It’s encouraging to see the positive momentum in Brand Trust that began in late 2024 continuing into this year,” said Suzanne Haggerty, director of syndicated research with the Energy team at Escalent. “This upward trend puts utilities in a stronger position to maintain customer confidence as seasonal summer bills and midyear rate increases take effect.”
Driving the Brand Trust rebound are 40 top-performing utilities that significantly outperform the industry average, earning recognition as Escalent’s 2025 Most Trusted Brands.
Although the industry as a whole has increased its investment in communication this year, the 2025 Most Trusted Brands have gone even further. Their Communications Intensity Index-a metric reflecting per-customer communication spending-is 17% higher than the industry average, fueled by greater customer recall of distinct utility messages delivered across multiple channels.
Notably, the 2025 Most Trusted Brands are successfully reinforcing their value proposition, with customers rating them 7% above average for offering reasonable rates for the services they provide-an aspect of Brand Trust that declined sharply in 2022 and 2023 and has proven challenging to recover.
“The utility value proposition continues to evolve,” said Haggerty. “It’s not just about the bill amount. Value encompasses improved reliability, opportunities for savings, better customer service, ease of doing business, and the utility’s active role in supporting the community-delivering a broader sense of fairness and value that customers recognize and appreciate.”
Escalent is pleased to name these 40 utilities as our 2025 Most Trusted Brands.
Cogent Syndicated 2025 Most Trusted Utility Brands*Atmos Energy – SouthMississippi PowerAvistaNew Jersey Natural GasBlack Hills Energy – MidwestOPPDCascade Natural GasOUCCenterPoint Energy – MidwestPECOChattanooga Gas CompanyPeoplesCitizens EnergyPepcoColumbia Gas – EastPhiladelphia Gas WorksColumbia Gas – SouthPPL Electric UtilitiesCon EdisonPSE&GConsumers EnergyPuget Sound EnergyDominion Energy South CarolinaSalt River ProjectElizabethtown GasSouth Jersey Gas CompanyEntergy ArkansasSpire Missouri – EastEntergy MississippiTECO Peoples GasFlorida City Gas CompanyUGI UtilitiesGeorgia PowerVirginia Natural GasIntermountain Gas CompanyWashington GasLouisville Gas & ElectricWisconsin Public ServiceMidAmerican EnergyXcel Energy – Midwest * Utilities named as Most Trusted Brands have 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 148 utilities surveyed. These scores reflect the level of trust customers have with each utility.
East Region Utilities Brand Trust PerformanceUtility brand nameService providedBrand Trust scorePECOCombination724PSE&GCombination712Con EdisonCombination710National GridCombination701Delmarva PowerCombination680BGECombination667EversourceCombination650RG&ECombination619NYSEGCombination613PepcoElectric704PPL Electric UtilitiesElectric701Green Mountain PowerElectric689Duquesne Light CompanyElectric688West Penn PowerElectric685Met-EdElectric675Penn PowerElectric674PenelecElectric674PSEG Long IslandElectric663Mon PowerElectric653Jersey Central Power & LightElectric650Potomac EdisonElectric648Appalachian PowerElectric623Atlantic City ElectricElectric618Central Maine PowerElectric581Elizabethtown GasNatural gas725Washington GasNatural gas723PeoplesNatural gas723New Jersey Natural GasNatural gas722Columbia Gas – EastNatural gas719Philadelphia Gas WorksNatural gas712UGI UtilitiesNatural gas708South Jersey Gas CompanyNatural gas708National Fuel GasNatural gas701
Midwest Region Utilities Brand Trust PerformanceUtility brand nameService providedBrand Trust scoreXcel Energy – MidwestCombination734Wisconsin Public ServiceCombination730Black Hills Energy – MidwestCombination728MidAmerican EnergyCombination728Consumers EnergyCombination718NIPSCOCombination709Ameren IllinoisCombination702Duke Energy MidwestCombination694We EnergiesCombination694Montana-Dakota UtilitiesCombination694DTE EnergyCombination687Alliant EnergyCombination677CenterPoint Energy – IndianaCombination496OPPDElectric771ComEdElectric705AEP OhioElectric699Ameren MissouriElectric694Indiana Michigan PowerElectric690EvergyElectric688Ohio EdisonElectric682The Illuminating CompanyElectric673AES IndianaElectric669AES OhioElectric666Toledo EdisonElectric660Citizens EnergyNatural gas728Spire Missouri – EastNatural gas725CenterPoint Energy – MidwestNatural gas723Columbia Gas of OhioNatural gas703Peoples GasNatural gas702Nicor GasNatural gas700Atmos Energy – MidwestNatural gas696Spire Missouri – WestNatural gas693Kansas Gas ServiceNatural gas687Enbridge Gas OhioNatural gas675
South Region Utilities Brand Trust PerformanceUtility brand nameService providedBrand Trust scoreDominion Energy South CarolinaCombination717Louisville Gas & ElectricCombination711CPS EnergyCombination677MLGWCombination629OUCElectric760Georgia PowerElectric752Entergy MississippiElectric751Mississippi PowerElectric750Entergy ArkansasElectric