Utility customer experience: 7 major challenges (and how to tackle them)

How impactful can one customer interaction be to a call center? In the utility industry, every single customer interaction carries weight, often involving critical services like heat, electricity, or clean water. Whether it's a billing issue, an outage update, or a disconnection warning, utility contact centers are the frontline for maintaining trust and reliability in high-stakes moments.

Customer experience (CX) is not only a metric—it's an essential part of contact center operational strategy. As customer expectations rise and service complexity grows, utilities must do more than answer the phone; they must anticipate needs, resolve issues quickly, and communicate with clarity and empathy—all while staying compliant with strict regulations.

That’s where real-time agent guidance and conversation intelligence software come in. By equipping contact center agents with live, AI-powered support during calls, utility providers can dramatically improve first-call resolution, consistency, and overall customer satisfaction—while reducing stress and turnover among agents in the contact center.

This blog breaks down the seven most pressing challenges in utility customer experience—and how modern software like Creovai helps utility industry contact centers overcome them.  

The current state of utility customer experience

Traditionally, utility organizations focused on reliability and stability. But today’s customers expect more: digital communication, transparency, and support that’s fast, accurate, and empathetic. Along with average handle time (AHT), metrics like first call resolution (FCR) are important for contact center leaders to maintain.

Add in climate-related disruptions, increased customer churn due to missed expectations, and regulatory scrutiny, and it’s clear why CX leaders in utilities are under pressure. Contact centers sit at the heart of this shift—where agents play a make-or-break role in shaping customer perceptions.

So, what’s standing in the way of delivering exceptional utility customer experiences? Let’s take a look at the seven biggest challenges—and how to solve them.

1. High-stakes service interactions

The challenge

When service disruptions or financial hardship strike, calls to utility providers become emotional and urgent. During high-impact events (like storms or rate hikes), customer expectations for transparency and responsiveness surge—yet many providers still lack the software to provide proactive communication or empathy-driven support. Agents must be equipped to handle these situations with care and confidence. These aren’t just service calls—they're urgent, stressful life events for the customer.

The impact

• Surge in call volume during outages or billing cycles

• Customer frustration amplified by slow or inconsistent communication

• Brand trust at risk in vulnerable moments

The solution

• Prioritize proactive communication (e.g., outage alerts, payment plan options)

• Standardize messaging across agents during emergencies

• Train agents for empathetic de-escalation and real-time crisis handling

Creovai provides agents with dynamic next-best-actions and AI prompts to help them navigate sensitive conversations—like handling shutoff warnings or delivering outage updates—with empathy and accuracy. Workflow updates can be deployed in real time across the contact center.

2. Complex customer billing inquiries

The challenge

Billing confusion remains one of the top drivers of inbound utility calls. Customers often don’t understand their energy usage, time-of-use pricing, or surcharges. 70% of inbound contacts to utility providers are still related to billing—often because statements are hard to interpret or delivered without context. Customers are often confused by rate changes, usage spikes, or surcharges—leading to tense conversations and long handle times.

The impact

• Increased AHT and repeat contacts

• Decreased trust and satisfaction

• Higher strain on agents who need to explain charges

The solution

• Use plain-language billing summaries and educate customers via omnichannel outreach

• Empower agents with real-time data and explanations

• Proactively identify unusual usage and notify customers before bills are delivered

With real-time workflow automation, agents are guided step-by-step through billing explanations, eliminating guesswork and ensuring a clear, consistent message for every customer.  This helps agents clearly explain complex charges and usage spikes in real time.

3. Staying compliant while managing customer expectations

The challenge

Utility agents must remain compliant with regulatory mandates while still delivering a natural, helpful customer experience. Missing disclosures or failing to document interactions correctly can expose providers to fines or customer complaints.  

The impact

• Risk of fines or brand damage from compliance slip-ups

• Slow, overly scripted calls frustrate customers

• Agents struggle to remember regulatory requirements under pressure

The solution

• Automate compliance call flows and checklist enforcement

• Offer real-time reminders to agents based on context

• Regularly update compliance language and train frontline teams

Real-time agent workflow software like Creovai embeds compliance guardrails into customer interactions, surfacing the right scripts, legal phrasing, and confirmation steps at just the right time—helping agents stay aligned with internal policies and external regulations—without disrupting the conversation.

4. More complex interactions means lower first-call resolution

The challenge

FCR is an important metric for utility contact center leaders. Research shows that every 1% increase in FCR leads to a 1% increase in CSAT and a 1% decrease in operational costs. Achieving high FCR requires agents to resolve issues on the spot, but complex workflows and disconnected systems make that difficult.

The impact

• Repeat calls inflate operational costs

• Agents struggle to locate information quickly

• Repeat calls frustrate customers, increasing the risk that they'll churn and spread negative word-of-mouth

The solution

• Use AI to dynamically guide agents through resolution paths

• Improve access to knowledge bases and supporting tools during live interactions

Real-time knowledge surfacing and dynamic checklists enable agents to resolve issues quicker and more accurately without escalations or call-backs. With the intent-based prompts and resolution checklists, Creovai significantly improves FCR and reduces the need for costly escalations.

5. Training agents for peak demand, and sharing the knowledge across teams effectively

The challenge

Utility contact centers must remain agile during demand spikes while continuously training new and tenured agents. Research shows that ongoing, in-role training—especially using role-based KSACs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and culture)—is critical to agent effectiveness and retention. If agents don’t receive the training and resources they need to be successful, burnout and churn become inevitable.

The impact

• Long hold times and poor CX during spikes

• Burnout and high attrition from undertrained teams

• Knowledge gaps in both new and tenured agents

The solution

• Scale training with AI-powered coaching and learning in the flow of work

• Forecast staffing needs using historical data and smart routing

• Cross-train agents on outage, billing, and assistance programs

Conversation intelligence and real-time agent guidance platforms like Creovai shorten agent ramp-up time by offering in-the-moment guidance and coaching across complex topics—while also helping teams stay agile during unexpected demand surges.

6. Educating customers on sustainability and energy programs

The challenge

Utilities face the daunting task of supporting state and federal sustainability goals—but many customers are unaware of energy efficiency programs, rebates, or time-of-use plans available to them. This means customers are missing out on potential cost savings and energy efficiency, and utility call center agents are missing opportunities to build trust with the customer on behalf of their organization.

According to a 2023 study, just 19% of electric utility customers were aware that their utility had declared a goal to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, only 26% believe their utility will achieve its goal of 100% clean energy, indicating a significant gap in customer awareness and trust.

The impact

• Missed customer engagement opportunities

• Customers lack information or education, leading to mistrust or misunderstanding

• Limited awareness undermines investment in green initiatives

The solution

• Train agents to proactively educate and upsell eco-programs

• Surface relevant offers in real time based on account and usage

• Use every service call as a chance to engage on energy literacy

Use every interaction—especially billing or service calls—as an opportunity to educate customers on energy efficiency and offer tailored program enrollment using AI-powered prompts. Creovai enables agents to recommend the right sustainability initiative at the right moment, such as enrolling high-usage customers in demand response or budget billing—making every interaction an opportunity for impact.

7. Inconsistent service quality and feedback loops

The challenge

Without consistent QA and coaching, agents deliver inconsistent experiences—and coaching is often reactive or infrequent. Traditional quality assurance (QA) processes often sample only a small percentage of interactions, leading to potential blind spots in performance monitoring.

The impact

• Variable CSAT and FCR

• Missed learning opportunities

• QA teams overwhelmed by call volume

The solution

• Implement automated quality monitoring and call scoring

• Provide live feedback and nudges based on behavior and sentiment

• Configure real-time coaching prompts

Creovai's platform automates quality assurance and predicts customer satisfaction and sentiment in near real-time. By tagging specific points in conversation transcripts where strong emotions are detected, utilities can proactively address issues, reduce customer churn, and improve overall service quality. Leaders can identify trends and adjust coaching strategies quickly.

Final thoughts

Utility customer experience is no longer defined by the meter or monthly bill—it’s defined by the quality of every interaction. Modernizing customer experience starts with empowering the people on the front lines: your contact center agents. As customer expectations rise, real-time and conversation intelligence solutions like Creovai help utility CX leaders modernize operations, scale best practices, and turn agents into confident, consistent brand ambassadors.

Creovai’s platform is designed specifically for high-stakes industries like utilities. From billing to outages to emotionally charged calls, Creovai gives your agents the support, coaching, and intelligence to perform at their best—every time.

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