Why Don't Utility Customers Use the Programs Designed To Help Them?

Here’s a contradiction worth exploring. Utilities have built the programs customers say they want: rate relief, rebates, enrollment pathways. And yet, vulnerable customers aren't using them. Many don't even think their utility is doing enough to help. So why the disconnect? Why aren't customers using what's already there?

This is actually not about customer apathy, but assistance invisibility.

Awareness Is the Barrier For Many

Utilities are doing a lot of things right to address affordability issues, including targeted assistance programs, but ~40% of lower-income customers are unaware that their utility offers any assistance at all. The same pattern shows up with energy efficiency and demand-side management programs. Only ~41% report not knowing about these offerings. And of those who do know, 32% still don’t participate, citing uncertainty about savings and confusion around enrollment.  

Where Are the Communication Gaps?

Despite 53% of consumers preferring utility communications via email, many utilities still lean heavily on bill messaging, a channel only 51% of customers say they even sometimes read. This mismatch is eroding reach. Utilities are sending the right messages through the wrong doors. And it's not just about which channel, but how the message lands once it arrives. One-on-one engagement at community events consistently outperforms broadcast outreach because the conversation itself changes when it's face-to-face. 

What Utilities Can Do?

Since the programs are already in place and it’s more about awareness, shifting from passive program availability to active, coordinated visibility could have a huge impact. Reaching out instead of waiting for customers to find your programs bridges the awareness gap. Another component of the bridge is aligning messaging across all communication channels (i.e., bills, email, SMS, and IVR), and ensuring suppression logic is added to avoid conflicting or redundant messages. And because we know customers respond to in-person outreach favorably, connect with them where they are in the community, like fairs, neighborhood gatherings, and through trusted intermediaries.

Awareness is just the first of four trust-defining moments where utilities either build trust or lose it.

Watch the on-demand webinar with KUBRA and Chartwell to see the
other three — and what leading utilities are doing differently.

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