ATLANTA, Feb. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A study by customer satisfaction researcher J. D. Power and Associates has found business customers ranked Georgia Power highest in the South region among large utilities in its 2013 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study^SM released Feb. 13.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20050216/CLW066LOGO )

"Our customers are at the center of everything we do," said Mike Hazelton, Georgia Power's vice president of Marketing. "Continual improvement in our performance year over year validates that focus on the customer," Hazelton added. "Though we're pleased with these results and proud of the employees who made them possible, we are committed to working even harder to deliver exceptional customer service and value."

The study is based on interviews with representatives of more than 25,700 U.S. businesses that spend at least $250 monthly on electricity. More than 90 utility brands, serving a total of more than 11.7 million business customers, are included in the study. Overall customer satisfaction is measured by examining six factors: power quality and reliability, billing and payment, corporate citizenship, price, communications, and customer service.

Within each of the four geographic regions included in the study, utility providers are classified into one of two segments: large (serving 85,000 or more business customers), and midsize (serving between 25,000 and 84,999 business customers). Georgia Power is in the large segment.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation's largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility with rates below the national average. Georgia Power serves 2.4 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties.

www.georgiapower.com

SOURCE Georgia Power