The UtilityAI LMI Solution makes it possible for utilities to better serve the millions of LMI customers in need of support while generating greater customer satisfaction and reducing OpEx costs. By leveraging customer data to generate awareness, provide billing transparency, build trust, and target and engage customers, we can help LMI customers improve their comfort, health, and safety and reduce their energy burden. Download the LMI Solution Brief to learn more.

Leveraging Data to Ease Energy Burdens for Low to Moderate Income Customers

In September 2020, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released a report entitled How High Are Household Energy Burdens? An Assessment of National and Metropolitan Energy Burden across the United States. Using data from the most recent American Housing Survey (2017), the report evaluated the energy burden of residential energy customers nationwide. 

Researchers found that 67 percent/25.8 million of low-income households (≤ 200% of the federal poverty level) face a high energy burden — i.e. spend more than 6 percent of their income on energy bills. An even greater cause for concern is that 60 percent/15.4 million of those households with a high energy burden face a severe energy burden — i.e. spend more than 10 percent of their income on energy. For some utilities, these figures could equate to more than 25 percent of their customer base.

ACEEE further emphasizes that the job losses and economic recession that resulted from the pandemic, which disproportionately affected low income communities, have led to a further increase in energy insecurity and energy burdens in 2020 and beyond. And, as a result of the pandemic, many customers are facing financial troubles for the first time.

The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative’s (SECC) illuminates another important perspective in their Understanding Lower-Income Consumers and the Smart Energy Future report. Basic awareness continues to be a significant hurdle. SECC says only 46 percent of low-income customers are familiar with programs available to help with their monthly electric bill, and only 33 percent are aware of the energy efficiency upgrades offered by their energy utility. Once familiar with these programs, they say, more than 90 percent of customers take advantage of the assistance.

Data is the Key to Awareness, Engagement and Meaningful Assistance

Utilities want to do more, and AI-powered solutions are making it possible.

In the past, accurate and cost-effective customer targeting has stood in the way of LMI customer service and program success. LMI customers have only one primary characteristic in common and only one thing that differentiates them from customers in other economic groups — income. Beyond budgets, they come from every walk of life; can be found in rural, suburban and urban communities; include people of all ages; and represent diverse households. Just as in any other income segment, LMI customers have a wide range of demographics, traits and energy use habits that utilities must understand in order to provide targeted assistance.

Bidgely’s UtilityAI™ LMI Solution uses patented disaggregation technology to create individualized profiles for every LMI customer based on their energy usage, information about their residence and load type. With easy access to a deeper understanding of each customer, utilities are able to efficiently build one-to-one relationships with LMI customers to:

  • Drive Savings While Building Trust – Increase exposure to and awareness of energy savings programs, which correlates directly to higher customer adoption, satisfaction and loyalty.
  • Break the Cycle of Debt – Leverage data to identify customers in need, and intervene on behalf of at-risk customers before they fall into more severe economic hardships.
  • Connect Customers With Valuable Resources – Maximize LMI customer participation in the rebate, financing, energy efficiency, demand response and other utility programs designed to serve them with hyper-targeted outreach and alerts that make it easy to enroll.
  • Equitably Extend the Reach of All Utility Programs – Engage LMI customers (and those in all consumption tiers) who are not typically treated with programs such as Home Energy Reports to maximize savings without incurring additional program costs.
  • Prevent and Reduce Arrearages – Proactively provide visibility into each customer’s own energy consumption throughout the billing cycle, to empower customers to lower their costs and plan for high bills. 

The LMI Solution enables thoughtful, personalized outreach which in turn makes it possible for utilities to better solve customer pain points and drive program adoption. 

Facilitating Multi-Channel Support

We know that LMI customers may not have access to broadband in their home but are likely to have smart phones. Or, in the case of older customers, paper and call center communications are likely to be more effective channels than digital solutions. The UtilityAI LMI Solution enables hyper-personalized communications and support no matter which channel is best suited to individual customer engagement.

For example, using UtilityAI’s CARE Solution, CSR agent dashboards are informed by the same LMI customer profiling and personalization engine that informs all utility programs to ensure agents have insights about each customer’s purchasing power and most relevant energy savings tips and next best actions every time they answer a call. Detailed and personally relevant information about suitable rates, rebates, home audits, budget alerts and language preferences is available to CSRs to guide their customer calls and allow them to take on the role of trusted energy advisor. 

Expanding LMI Program Offerings

Weatherization has long been a leading LMI program offering because of its power to reduce household energy burdens by ~25 percent while also benefiting the environment. The UtilityAI LMI Solution makes it simpler to accurately identify those homes that are most likely to benefit from weatherization upgrades and create hyper-targeted outreach to those homeowners.

But the power of data-driven personalization is now also enabling utilities to affordably and equitably expand access to renewable energy and energy efficiency programs with highly relevant low-cost or no-cost product offerings for things like solar panels, smart thermostats, smart plugs, and efficient appliances to further lower energy costs. Not only do these offerings reduce energy burdens, they also help foster energy justice.

The UtilityAI LMI Solution makes it possible for utilities to better serve the millions of LMI customers in need of support while generating greater customer satisfaction and reducing OpEx costs. By leveraging customer data to generate awareness, provide billing transparency, build trust, and target and engage customers, we can help LMI customers improve their comfort, health, and safety and reduce their energy burden. Download the LMI Solution Brief to learn more.

Categories: Bidgely