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In the U.S. utilities industry, electric customers who have a positive experience reconnecting service after missed or late payments, and therefore become journey promoters, demonstrate a relationship NPS that is 120 points higher than those who have negative experiences and become journey detractors.
This substantial gap underscores how a single well-managed or poorly-handled interaction can fundamentally reshape the entire customer relationship and indicates that the experience is a “Moment of Truth” journey in the industry—a pivotal experience that shapes customer perception and brand advocacy.
Seeking reconnection creates significant stress for customers who are often already navigating financial hardships. During these vulnerable moments, how a utility company handles the situation can determine whether they earn a loyal advocate or create a lasting detractor.
Con Edison stands out as the clear industry leader in reconnection experience management, achieving an episode NPS of 56 points compared to the industry average of just 11 points. This exceptional performance becomes even more impressive when considering the volume challenge they face.
While the typical electric utility sees approximately 6% of their customer base go through reconnection journeys in a given year, Con Edison handles a higher proportion at 11% of their customer base.
Despite managing nearly twice the relative volume of reconnections, they have transformed what is typically a detractor-generating experience into a promoter-creating opportunity, setting them apart as a CX leader other industry players will want to emulate.
Providing customers with adequate advance notice of pending disconnection represents the most critical factor in creating positive reconnection experiences. Customers who receive disconnection notices with enough time to respond demonstrate episode NPS scores that are 67 points higher than those who receive insufficient notice or no advance warning at all.
Con Edison again sets the benchmark in this area, with 90% of their customers receiving adequate advance notice, contributing to their position as the episode leader.
However, overall current industry performance reveals significant room for improvement. Only 63% of customers across the utility sector receive timely disconnection notices, highlighting a widespread opportunity for enhancement.
These findings underscore the importance of proactive communication in managing customer relationships during difficult circumstances. Proper advance warning allows customers sufficient time to arrange payment or prepare for service restoration, fundamentally changing how they perceive the entire process.
Customers are also likely to perceive their utility provider as honest and transparent when informed ahead of time, increasing their trust in the company. As previously discussed on our blog, utility companies that also proactively offer alternative payment arrangements to customers facing financial difficulties can significantly improve their brand advocacy.
Even when disconnection becomes unavoidable due to non-payment, customers remember and appreciate utilities that demonstrated understanding and offered solutions during their time of need.
The clarity of reconnection instructions represents another critical experience driver that influences customer satisfaction. When utilities provide crystal-clear guidance on the steps required to restore electricity service, customers respond with markedly higher satisfaction scores.
Customers who rate the reconnection information as extremely clear, scoring it a perfect 5 on a 1-to-5 scale, give their utility episode scores that are 83 points higher than customers who found the information unclear or confusing.
Despite this clear link between information quality and customer satisfaction, current industry performance shows substantial room for enhancement. Only 52% of customers report receiving extremely clear reconnection instructions, representing a significant opportunity for utilities to improve customer experience through better communication design and clearer procedural explanations.
Con Edison again outperforms the industry here, with 71% of customers reporting that they received extremely clear instructions regarding reconnection of their electricity service.
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