Member Survey Says?

Central Electric Cooperative members who participated in our member satisfaction survey in June gave us an overall satisfaction rating of 90%, with 70% being very satisfied. The results are well above the 73% national average for cooperative energy utilities.

The online survey–generally done every two years–allows co-op members to assess performances in key areas, ranging from reliability to customer service.

As in previous surveys, members continued to give the co-op high marks in the following service areas:

• Dependability of electric service, 97%
• Restoration of service when power outages occur, 88%.
• Keeping members informed of changes affecting service or rates, 85%.
• Employees’ knowledge and helpfulness, 83%.

When it came to ranking the most important membership benefits, system reliability finished first. A strong second was residential rates that are 30% lower than the local investor-owned utility.

The survey also included questions to gauge members’ support for the co-op’s ongoing wildfire mitigation efforts. Members overwhelmingly supported activities related to wildfire mitigation, including tree trimming, property access and deploying innovative technology to detect potential issues on the system. While there was less enthusiasm for Public Safety Power Shutoffs overall, members living in high-risk wildfire areas were more inclined to support the effort as needed.

I encourage you to read pages 28-29 for a more comprehensive overview of the results.

More than 4,100 members participated, representing almost 14% of the co-op’s entire membership–our highest participation ever. In addition, we received more than 2,400 member comments to review. When CEC last issued a survey in 2019, a little more than 2,700 members took the survey.

Several factors may contribute to the increased participation. This year’s survey provided members their first opportunity to offer input in almost four years, and they were eager to be heard. Our aggressive marketing efforts through Ruralite, SmartHub and social media expanded our reach to new and younger members. The potential for members to receive a $500, $250 or $100 energy credit through a random drawing also served as a motivator to participate. See page 25 to learn about the winners.

The survey results tell us how we may serve our members more effectively. For instance, some feedback via comments said how we could better communicate with members.

Beyond the traditional forms of communication, including Ruralite, our website and social media, CEC recently adopted new technologies within SmartHub to allow members to use their preferred communication choice, whether it be text, email, letter or the SmartHub mobile app. To learn more, to to your SmartHub account to manage notifications. Not signed-up for SmartHub? Visit our website at www.cec.coop or call a customer service representative.

Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts. The input is extremely valuable as we plan for the future. We plan to conduct the next survey in 2025.