In November 2024, EWEB partnered with independent research firm GreatBlue Research, Inc. to conduct our biennial residential customer survey to measure perceptions, opinions, and satisfaction with our services.
Thank you for spending time to complete the survey questions! We are committed to continuous improvement and truly appreciate the feedback we received.
The Customer Survey is one way we connect with the community, but the conversation doesn’t stop here. You can provide feedback, ask questions, or learn more about our work year-round.
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About the survey
EWEB regularly conducts customer surveys to assess service satisfaction, understand awareness of key issues, and gauge interest in future offerings. The last survey occurred in 2022 and the results were presented at a public board meeting.
In November 2024, we once again invited our residential electric and water customers to share your insights on our performance, strategic priorities, utility programs, and initiatives. Like previous surveys, the 2024 survey was conducted by an independent research firm to ensure a professional, unbiased approach to survey design and data collection.
- 34,000 customers received direct email invitations from GreatBlue Research, Inc. for statistically valid representation.
- 70,000 customers were invited via our e-newsletter, with additional promotion on our website and social media.
- The survey was open for over five weeks, allowing ample time for participation.
- 1,292 responses were submitted.
- Results are highly reliable and reflect the broader customer population within a 2.7 percentage point range and 95% confidence level, meaning if the survey were conducted 100 times, 95 of those times the results would fall within the margin of error.
Summary: What the survey told us
Overall, customer trust and satisfaction have improved, suggesting growing public confidence in EWEB’s priorities and initiatives. EWEB’s ratings improved across the board, with nearly all characteristics receiving higher positive ratings in 2024 than in 2022.
- Trust in EWEB has grown, and overall average satisfaction increased from 53% in 2022 to 65% in 2024, a 12-percentage point gain.
- Satisfaction with EWEB's core services received the highest average rating, with nearly 84% of respondents satisfied with water and electricity reliability and quality.
- Notably, the average rating for conservation, resiliency, and infrastructure characteristics increased by 21 percentage points from 2022 to 2024, primarily driven by a significant increase in positive ratings for EWEB's efforts to protect the local watershed.
There are areas for improvement as well, including outage prevention, response, and communication. With utility costs and other essential expenses rising, affordability is another significant concern for customers.
- When asked how EWEB can improve, 18% of respondents mentioned at least one of the following: Infrastructure & Reliability, Outage Communication, Underground Lines.
- Despite affordability being a high priority for customers—second only to reliability—only 40% of respondents are satisfied with EWEB’s efforts to control prices and costs, showing no significant improvement from 2022.
Survey responses indicate that customers largely support EWEB’s priorities and strategic direction but expect a strong focus on affordability and reliability.
Improved trust and satisfaction
Confidence in EWEB is growing. Overall satisfaction increased from 53% in 2022 to 65% in 2024, with nearly 70% of respondents expressing high trust in EWEB.
Customers were asked to rate their satisfaction with EWEB's performance on a scale of one (1) to ten (10) where ten is very satisfied and one is very unsatisfied. Ratings of 7-10 shown.
Customers were asked to rate their overall level of trust and confidence in EWEB on a scale of one (1) to ten (10) where ten is very high trust and one is no trust.*
Here are some verbatim comments from the survey:
- “As a customer owned utility, EWEB is reliable, less costly and from what I've seen has excellent infrastructure.”
- “EWEB has done so well in providing the essentials for me that from my answers you can tell I don't know much about EWEB's work other than the essentials. So I can't help on what to improve on. But thanks for keeping the lights on constantly—hardly an outage in the last few years.”
- “EWEB is an amazing customer owned utility. Glad to be provided these essential services by such a dedicated group of public servants.”
- “I think EWEB does a great job. Excellent communication, service-oriented workers, and a strong community orientation. I wish my bill was lower, but I daresay everyone thinks that.”
Reliable core services
For over a century, EWEB has delivered safe, reliable, and environmentally responsible power and water to Eugene’s homes and businesses. Today, we continue that legacy while addressing challenges from aging infrastructure, natural disasters, and climate change. We plan to invest nearly $120 million in electric and drinking water infrastructure in 2025 and about $1 billion over the next decade to modernize and rebuild the systems that keep your water flowing and your lights on.
Our commitment to reliable core services is reflected in the feedback from survey respondents:
- Water Service Reliability: 88% satisfaction (up 11 points)
- Drinking Water Quality: 84% satisfaction (up 14 points)
- Electric Service Reliability and Outage Restoration: 79% satisfaction (up 11 points)
While these numbers are strong, some feedback pointed to opportunities for enhancing infrastructure reliability and outage communication. Here is a sample of some responses to the question, “How can EWEB improve?”
- “Communication during power outages. The outage map was very difficult to use on my phone and when power out no WiFi so the only option. Outage map was not updated as often as I wanted.”
- “Restoration of service and reliability of information provided during an outage.”
- “I'd like a conversation about burying utilities in areas with lots of trees and winter outages.”
- “Five days of darn near freezing to death last winter during the ice storm with no communication and the only way to heat my house was with the fireplace. I'm very lucky I had one.”
Focus on environmental initiatives and resilience
EWEB operates in a dynamic environment shaped by a changing climate, emerging technologies, shifting political and regulatory landscapes, and both natural and human-caused challenges. Our commitment to environmental stewardship and resilience is firmly established through Board-approved policies. Our Climate Change Policy outlines our dedication to reducing emissions from both the energy we deliver and our internal operations, while our Resiliency Policy guides us to make decisions that lessen the likelihood, impact, and duration of disruptions—whether sudden or gradual.
Encouragingly, our recent survey results indicate that we are making measurable progress in stewardship and resiliency, reaffirming our commitment to serve our community responsibly.
- Watershed Protection: Satisfaction surged from 49% to 75%, showing strong community support for protecting our drinking water source.
- Greenhouse Gas Reductions: Satisfaction increased by 15 percentage points to 58%, reflecting community support of our focus on meeting electricity needs with low-carbon sources and assisting customers with their carbon reduction efforts.
- Resiliency and Emergency Preparedness: Confidence in our ability to prepare for emergencies and boost infrastructure resiliency grew by 25 percentage points to 69%.
When asked how EWEB can improve, some of the comments related to environmental and resiliency efforts included:
- “I wish there were more environmental sustainability measures, especially with electricity use. EWEB should completely phase out natural gas and other fossil fuels (and biomass), which it can do since of the large amount of base power from hydro. It should replace the fossil fuels with wind and solar and increase battery storage.”
- “Strengthen the grid and make it more resilient to increasing risks of fire, snow and ice storms. Also, more effective efforts to help customers reduce water and and electricity use. Applying for rebates for conservation is very cumbersome.”
- “Love your emergency preparedness efforts - best, by far, of any local public agency. Looks like we are in for more climate-related emergencies (like the ice storm), I'd like to be confident that EWEB has the staff, the tools and the modernized infrastructure to get the lights back on quickly.”
- “My biggest concern is the environment. Climate change and water quality. These should be everyone's priority and focus.”
- “Work faster on getting a second major source of river water in addition to the McKenzie River.”
Customer communication
In today’s fast-paced media landscape, getting our message across is challenging. Despite fragmented media channels and the rapid spread of misinformation, satisfaction with our outreach improved from 55% to 68%, indicating more customers are well informed about our programs and initiatives.
Here are some example comments related to improving customer communication:
- “Continued outreach so people better understand their rates and billing. I often hear people complaining about their bills. I know we have very low rates here overall. Maybe there could be a program to help individual people review their bills so they better understand how their choices lead to high costs and how they can reduce them.”
- “Better awareness of programs to transition customers to more energy efficient appliances, furnaces, water heaters, vehicles, etc. I suspect/know there are rebates available but don't really hear about them.”
- “We would appreciate better information about long-term capital improvement projects and how these relate to reliable service and adaptation to environmental factors versus equipment and service reliability.”
Affordability and efficiency programs
While many respondents appreciate our service reliability and environmental efforts, affordability remains a key concern— only 40% of respondents are satisfied with our efforts to control prices and costs, and 32% cited affordability and rate assistance as areas needing improvement. We take this feedback seriously and are exploring ways to address these concerns while maintaining quality and reliability. Two of EWEB’s eight goals for 2025 focus on improving the impact of programs for customers facing affordability challenges, including targeted support for lower income households and rental units (learn more).
On a positive note:
- Bill Assistance Awareness: 70% of respondents are aware of our Customer Care Program, which provides a $280 bill credit to about 5,000 households annually. This program received a funding boost in the 2025 budget, increasing its resources to $1.6 million.
- Energy Efficiency Programs: Satisfaction increased to 55% (up 11 points) in programs that help customers reduce energy use, lower utility bills, and promote sustainability.
- Water Efficiency Programs: Satisfaction climbed by 14 points to 53%, reflecting growing appreciation for water-saving initiatives that ease financial strain while conserving vital resources.
While satisfaction in efficiency programs is up, the numbers show room for improvement. In 2024, EWEB commissioned an in-depth study to assess the energy savings potential across our service territory. The insights from this study will guide us in prioritizing cost-effective energy efficiency programs that deliver maximum benefits for our customers, strengthen grid reliability, and reduce carbon emissions.
Here are some example comments related to affordability and efficiency programs:
- “As we face rate increases, I would like to know what EWEB is doing internally to address your organizational efforts to contribute to cost savings. If rate payers are paying more, EWEB should also be reducing costs on the business side through appropriate staffing levels, administrative cost savings, etc. What are your operational costs? How can you operate lean in order to minimize rate hikes?”
- “Minimizing customer cost of service. My family for many years has looked into moving to Springfield, one of those reasons being EWEB high cost of rates. I understand EWEB employees are well-paid but more transparency about why the high cost and where the money is going.”
- “I have been blessed to get energy assistance through EWEB's low income program. I would like to see a program where it would reduce the monthly bill rather than a set amount where I pay nothing or a reduced payment for a couple of months and then revert to the full bill. This would help my monthly budget.”
- “Better options for people who need assistance. Whether that be better access to the programs or more programs. Every time I've tried to applied on the first of the month there's nothing available. I don't want to pay my bill late but I have no other choice because of my financial situation.”
- “Efforts to keep costs down. It's a struggle out here.”
Future pricing options
EWEB is preparing for a multi-year rate re-design project to ensure fair, sustainable, and future-ready pricing for electricity and water. The survey provides initial insights into customer preferences for some common pricing structures.
- Demand Response Programs: An impressive 81% of respondents are interested in participating. These programs use incentives to use less electricity during peak demand periods, helping to balance the power grid, manage energy costs, and reduce carbon emissions.
- Tiered Rates: Just over half of respondents (55%) support a tiered pricing structure, which rewards conservation by charging lower rates for lower usage.
- Time-of-Use Rates: While interest in demand response is high, interest in Time-of-Use rates declined to 58%, a drop of 13 percentage points from 2022. Time-of-Use rates are a common form of demand response, where electricity is more expensive during times of peak usage and less expensive during off-peak times. The decline in interest may indicate that many prefer flexibility in managing their energy use.
- Low Income Rates: The survey asked if low-income customers should be charged less for electricity and water, even if it means other customers may have to cover a larger share of these costs. Responses were split: 40% support low-income rates, 40% oppose, and 20% are unsure.
Here are some comments related to future pricing options:
- “I'd like to see EWEB roll out hardware that help customers understand when there is more and less electrical demand. So that I could choose times to charge my car or do other electrical intensive things when demand is lower.”
- “I would like to see EWEB better inform the public about the value of scheduling non-urgent power usage on the weekend/overnight. And I'd like to see power hour-based charges.”
- “Because of your pricing strategy of baseline service and delivery charges, the ability for me to afford electricity and water has become a serious burden over the last ~50 years. There is no motivation for me to conserve electricity or water use because it is such a minor part of my utilities cost. This is very Regressive and must Change!”
Where do we go from here?
The survey shows that many customers are pleased with electricity and water services. A priority for EWEB then is to maintain the reliability and quality of services we currently provide.
The results of the study also suggest opportunities to increase customer satisfaction further, especially in enhancing outage communication and addressing affordability concerns. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we’ll dive even deeper into the data to better understand your preferences and needs. Moving forward, we will:
- Maintain and build upon our strong service reliability.
- Explore innovative ways to support affordability and boost energy efficiency.
- Continue refining our rate design and customer programs to better meet the evolving needs of our customers and community.
We will keep you informed as we further analyze these findings and implement strategies that benefit our entire community.
*Data presented to the Board and public in 2022 reflected a trust level of 74% based on raw, unweighted survey data. In the 2024 survey, our consultant applied weighting to ensure results better represented our entire customer base. To maintain consistency, the consultant also presented 2022 data using the same methodology, which produced a revised trust level of 65% for 2022. This reflects a more accurate “apples to apples” comparison from 2022 to 2024.
Related Programs
Learn more about EWEB
EWEB is a customer-owned public utility. We provide electric service to around 100,000 customers and water service to more than 60,000 customers in the Eugene area.
EWEB commissioners
City of Eugene residents elect five commissioners to four-year terms to form the EWEB Board of Commissioners. The elected Board is responsible for overall governance of the utility.
Budget and Rate Information
As a customer-owned utility, we do not operate to earn a profit. Prices are based on the costs to serve our community with safe, reliable water and electricity.
Major projects
We're continuously working to provide you with safe, reliable services, maintain utility infrastructure, and invest in system improvements that make your services better.
