This natural gas company with 310,000+ customers in WA and OR ranks top in West

Cascade Natural Gas, based in Kennewick, ranks highest for residential customer satisfaction among natural gas utilities in the West, according to the J.D. Power 2022 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.

The study compared Cascade to other midsize utilities in the West, but its score of 787 also topped that of large utilities in the West. The average score for midsize utilities in the West was 757 and for large utilities was 738.

The study was based on customer responses regarding safety and reliability, billing and payment, corporate citizenship, price, communications and customer care.

“Our employees take great pride in providing safe and reliable natural gas to our more than 310,000 customers in Washington and Oregon,” said Nicole Kivisto, president of Cascade Natural Gas.

J.D. Power, which has conducted the study for 21 years, said with increasing natural gas prices in the past year, price satisfaction nationwide is the lowest it has been since 2016.

Cascade Natural Gas bills jumped 20% last month to cover the higher national wholesale prices it is paying.

Natural gas production has slowed while demand has increased, resulting in increased wholesale costs for Washington utilities, according to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

The war in Ukraine has forced European nations that have historically relied on imports of Russian gas to seek liquified natural gas from other sources, including the United States, further increasing demand, the state commission said.

In Washington state Cascade has more than 225,000 residential and business customers in 68 communities across Washington state, including the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla and Bellingham.