What Are Leading Utilities Doing To Address Affordability?

Most utilities aren't short on programs. Whether it’s rate relief, rebates, efficiency offerings, or enrollment pathways, the infrastructure is in place. And yet vulnerable customers still aren't being reached, still aren't enrolling, still don't believe their utility is doing enough. The problem isn't a lack of effort. It's a disconnect between what utilities have built and the customers who need it most. The utilities pulling ahead aren't setting up more programs. They're actually building better systems.

A Five-Pillar Framework

Developed through Chartwell's Vulnerable Customer Leadership Council, these five pillars define what works:

• Identification: Predictive analytics, energy burden analysis, data matching to find at-risk customers early
• Engagement: Community-based organization partnerships, streamlined enrollment journeys
• Payment & Credit: Percentage of income plans, load-limited technologies as credit alternatives
• Assistance Resources: Single point of access for services and support
• Cultural & Language: Multilingual, multicultural partnerships to close equity gaps

Utilities Already Getting It Right

Utilities seeking proven ways to reach vulnerable customers should look no further than their peers.

BGE's Assistance Finder helped ~15,000 customers access $26.4M in grant funding through an online, self-service questionnaire that guides households through complex state and utility relief applications, matching them with programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. BGE also took its outreach offline, running 23 targeted in-person sessions at community hubs to assist residents facing high bills or potential shutoffs, reaching nearly 1,000 customers.

PG&E's approach shows what's possible when outreach operates at scale. Its Customer Service Outreach team enrolled over 9,000 customers into the CARE program, securing ongoing bill discounts of 20% or more for low-income households. Its medical baseline safety program processed 45,000 applications, ensuring vulnerable customers received extra low-cost power and mandatory advance alerts before wildfire safety blackouts. When immediate relief was needed, it fast-tracked $750,000 in federal LIHEAP emergency grants to clear past-due balances. And across 115 in-person community events, it worked to break down language and technology barriers for rural, elderly, and low-income residents.

While these approaches differ, they achieve similar outcomes. Customers are reached, enrolled, and supported before the crisis point.

The Bigger Lesson

Traditional research tools like surveys, NPS, and focus groups still have their place. But with today’s affordability challenges touching more customer segments than ever, they alone aren’t enough. Leading utilities are going deeper with lifestyle dialogues that explore how customers actually make financial decisions and co-design with community stakeholders who already have the trust utilities are still working to earn. 

The utilities building lasting affordability frameworks aren't doing it alone. They're bringing community organizations, vendors, and customers into the process because the gap between a customer in crisis and the program designed to help them isn't just an awareness problem. It's also a trust problem.

These programs didn't come together by accident.

Watch the on-demand webinar with KUBRA and Chartwell to hear directly from Pat Ricks,
who developed the framework and now leads the Vulnerable Customer Leadership Council,
and walk away with something you can actually use.

Watch Now