IDC PeerScape: Customer Experience - Best Practices to Mitigate the Customer Energy Affordability Crisis

Description

This IDC PeerScape looks into practices that help mitigate the customer energy affordability crisis."Energy affordability is becoming a defining issue for utilities as electrification accelerates and infrastructure investments increase," said Gaia Gallotti, research director, IDC Energy Insights. "Customer experience is moving upstream within the electricity value chain, influencing not only billing and service interactions but also grid operations and planning, while advances in data analytics, AI, and connected devices enable utilities to identify affordability risks earlier and optimize energy consumption across the system."

Product Code: EUR154505726

IDC PeerScape Figure

Executive Summary

Peer Insights

Practice 1 - Detect hidden energy vulnerability across the entire customer base
- Challenge
- Example
  - Avista (United States) using Bidgely UtilityAI
  - Eversource (United States) using Oracle Utilities Opower analytics
- Guidance
Practice 2 - Enable shame-free debt resolution through agentic AI engagement
- Challenge
- Example
  - Octopus Energy (United Kingdom) using generative AI for customer billing interactions
  - Duke Energy (United States) using conversational AI for billing and payment assistance
- Guidance
Practice 3 - Guide customers to the right tariff at the right time
- Challenge
- Example
  - PSEG Long Island (United States) using AI-driven personalization to support time-of-day tariffs
  - Octopus Energy (United Kingdom) Agile tariff and Kraken analytics
- Guidance
Practice 4 - Orchestrate household energy assets to actively lower customer bills
- Challenge
- Example
  - OVO Energy (United Kingdom) reducing EV charging costs through smart charging orchestration
  - OVO Energy (Australia) lowering customer bills through flexible tariff design enabled by load orchestration
  - Green Mountain Power (United States) home battery program
  - E.ON Next (United Kingdom) supporting vulnerable households through integrated energy and social support
- Guidance
Practice 5 - Automatically connect customers to the right support programs
- Challenge
- Example
  - Northeastern U.S. utility - data-driven targeting to increase participation in assistance programs
  - Automating program eligibility and enrollment to improve customer access to utility assistance
- Guidance