Dive Brief:
- Only 26% of U.S. utilities offer mobile apps to their customers, according to a new report by consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.
- The report also found that just 20% of utilities' website allow customers to monitor their energy usage.
- The report also found a wide range of performance between the most digitally-mature utilities and the ones who are behind. The top 20% of utilities by online traffic made up 56% of unique hits per customer and the bottom 20% made up only 4%.
Dive Insight:
The whole world is going digital, but many utilities are lagging behind. The customer experience has historically not been prioritized by the industry, but the rise of new market entrants who offer utility customers alternatives to grid power has placed an increased importance on the customer.
Only 14% of utility industry leaders believe their utilities are "excellent" at being customer-centric, according to a survey conducted by Utility Week and WIPRO. But signs are that's changing -- 62% of those surveyed saying their utility will be "excellent" within a year.
There are also regional differences in how digitally-mature a utility is. In the South, where clean energy standards are few and far between, only 9% of utilities have a mobile app; in the Northeast, where many utilities are already on track to meet the EPA's Clean Power Plan, 44% of utilities have mobile apps.
