E SOURCE has announced the results of the 2009 E SOURCE Gap and Priority Benchmark: A Survey of Managed Accounts. The top-performing utilities that participated in this year's survey are Silicon Valley Power and MidAmerican Energy.

The E SOURCE Gap and Priority Benchmark, which will be administered annually, is based on survey responses from more than 750 U.S. utility large business customers. In addition to indicating their most important priorities, customers were asked to rate their satisfaction and the overall value provided by their utility and their utility account representative.

Overall, this year's benchmark study found that most utilities have work to do in meeting their large business customers' expectations when it comes to keeping energy prices down and effectively communicating during energy emergencies. The key finding for utility account representatives is that their large business customers want tools and information that will help them better manage energy costs. The good news is that most utilities are meeting the expectations of large business customers for program and service offerings and for environmental efforts.

Mike Hildebrand, director of E SOURCE Business Market Services, explains, "By pinpointing specific areas that have the greatest impact on large business customers, this U.S. benchmark survey provides actionable recommendations for utilities to improve customer satisfaction and value."

Participating utilities receive an individualized report analyzing the largest gaps between what their customers perceive as important and how well the utility actually performs, along with specific recommendations for improvement. All participants also receive a summary report which provides a national benchmark of large business customer needs, highlights best practices, and offers overall recommendations for utilities wishing to improve large business customer satisfaction. This benchmark study will be conducted annually in the spring.