LMRE member satisfaction levels rebound

3/5/2012 11:38:00 AM

Lorain-Medina Rural Electric members continue to give the cooperative high marks for service reliability and tending to service issues promptly and efficiently.

Lorain-Medina Rural Electric members continue to give the cooperative high marks for service reliability and tending to service issues promptly and efficiently.

Approximately 94 percent of LMRE members surveyed said they were very satisfied or satisfied with the cooperative’s service.

Each year, LMRE randomly surveys at least 300 of its member-owners. The phone and Internet survey allows the cooperative to gauge trends in customer satisfaction levels and possible shifts in the makeup of the membership.

The survey included questions used as part of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index. Members are asked four key questions and their responses are ranked on a zero to 100 scale.

LMRE’s score of 81 was two points higher than  2010 and was the fifth highest among the 24 Ohio electric cooperatives. Together, the Ohio electric cooperatives’ average ACSI score was 76 and the electric utility industry nationwide averaged 74.

Members continued to give the cooperative high marks for providing reliable service and for tending to problems in a prompt and efficient manner. In fact, LMRE just completed its third straight year of having near record lows in terms of outages.

“Certainly, we are pleased to see our satisfaction numbers increasing,” LMRE General Manager Markus Bryant said. “It is good to see that our members not only see the cooperative’s service is reliable and service problems are attended to in a prompt and efficient manner, but also that LMRE is providing programs to help members save money by utilizing various energy efficient methods promoted by the cooperative.”

LMRE provides its members a variety of energy efficiency programs including home energy audits. The audits supply members with an in-depth look at their home’s energy use and a comprehensive report showing members where their home is wasting energy. The knowledge and background of the cooperative’s energy services advisor also gives homeowners the opportunity to ask questions and receive helpful tips when improving the efficiency of their homes.

“Although there was a rise in customer satisfaction, the survey showed members are still concerned with rising costs, which wasn’t totally unexpected. We had a 20-year run of stable rates and that has changed in the past several years due to rising wholesale power costs,” said Bryant.

Overall, the residential cost per kWh has increased nearly 43 percent from 2002 to October 2011. While the wholesale power costs — which make up more than half of the member’s bill — have increased nearly 50 percent in the same time span increasing from 3.4 cents in 2002 to 6.1 cents per kWh in October 2011.

Nine years ago Buckeye Power, the wholesale power supplier to LMRE and the 24 other electric cooperatives serving Ohio, took the lead and began installing new environmental controls on its coal-fired power plants. It’s a $1 billion project. The Buckeye board chose to phase-in rate increases in small increments rather than impose a larger rate increase every few years.

“Whatever it costs the cooperative to provide service is passed through to the member,” Bryant said. “As Buckeye adjusts its costs, we have to pass those costs onto our member-owners.”

A series of articles explaining the rise in costs began in the February 2012 issue of Country Living magazine and will continue to appear in future issues. Members also should have received a copy of the first article with their February bills.