Budgeting season: why utilities should invest in communication technology that pays for itself

Budget season forces utilities to make difficult decisions. Which investments are essential? Which can wait? And, perhaps most importantly, which technologies can deliver measurable value without adding another layer of cost and complexity?

Utilities are navigating a particularly challenging version of that equation. Regulatory requirements continue to evolve, extreme weather is putting new demands on operations, and customers expect more from their utility while remaining increasingly sensitive to the cost of energy. At the same time, utility teams are being asked to accomplish more with limited resources. The pressure is not simply to modernize. It is to modernize in a way that makes financial sense.

Customer expectations are also being shaped by experiences far beyond the utility industry. Customers can track a delivery in real time, receive an alert when a package is arriving, resolve a problem through a digital assistant or change a service from their phone in just a few taps. They increasingly expect that same level of responsiveness from the companies they rely on, including their utility. But unlike ordering a package or subscribing to a service, the cost of electricity is not something customers can simply opt out of. As utility costs remain a concern, utilities have to be especially thoughtful about investing in technology that improves the customer experience without ultimately adding unnecessary costs to the customer.

That makes this budgeting season an opportunity to look differently at customer engagement. The right communication technology should not simply create a more modern experience. It should help utilities operate more efficiently, recover revenue, reduce avoidable contacts and prepare teams to respond more effectively when demand spikes.

The case for proactive engagement

For many utilities, the biggest opportunity is moving from reactive service to proactive communication. Instead of waiting for a customer to call after a bill changes, a payment is missed or an outage occurs, utilities can use information they already have to reach customers first.

That shift can have a direct financial impact. A proactive payment reminder can help a customer resolve an account before it requires additional collection activity. A billing or usage notification can answer a question before it becomes a call to the contact center. An outage update can give a customer the information they need without requiring an agent to repeat the same information hundreds or thousands of times. The individual interactions may seem small, but across hundreds of thousands or millions of customers, the operational impact can be substantial.

Convey helps utilities put these proactive communications into practice across some of their most important customer journeys. And the return can show up in several different ways.

Start with revenue: proactive collections

Collections provide one of the clearest examples of how proactive engagement can generate a measurable return. When a customer is approaching a payment issue, waiting for the situation to escalate can create additional work for both the customer and the utility. Reaching the customer earlier with a relevant, timely message creates a shorter path to action.

One Convey customer demonstrated that potential by activating proactive collections messaging and generating $16.5 million in payments in just two months. The result illustrates why customer communications should not always be viewed as a cost center. When the right message helps a customer take action sooner, communication can become a direct contributor to revenue recovery.

Look beyond immediate returns

Not every benefit appears as a payment on the balance sheet. Some of the most valuable returns come from preparing for the moments when utility teams are under the greatest pressure.

Outages, severe weather, and other emergencies can generate an enormous volume of customer inquiries in a short period of time. Utilities cannot control when those events occur, but they can control how prepared they are to communicate when they do. Having proactive messaging workflows, pre-built, customizable templates, and customer data already in place means teams are not starting from scratch in the middle of an event.

That preparation can reduce the burden on contact centers while giving customers timely information about what is happening, what to expect, and what they should do next. It also creates a communication infrastructure that can be used repeatedly, rather than requiring a new technology investment every time a major event occurs.

Reduce the cost of the calls that remain

Billing is another area where proactive engagement can make a meaningful difference. Billing questions are often more complex than simple account inquiries. Customers may want to understand why their bill changed, what caused an increase in usage, or what they can do to avoid a similar bill in the future. Those conversations can take considerably more time than a straightforward customer service interaction, increasing the cost of each call and putting additional pressure on already busy contact centers.

This is where technologies such as BillWise AI can help utilities intervene earlier. By providing customers with information about usage and potential bill changes before confusion turns into a phone call, utilities can address some of the questions that would otherwise reach an agent.

DTE Energy, for example, implemented BillWise AI and reported a 30% reduction in average handle time, along with a 95% call deflection rate among BillWise AI users. The result demonstrates an important point for budgeting discussions: reducing the need for a costly interaction can be just as valuable as improving the interaction itself.

Consider a hypothetical utility receiving 500,000 calls per year. If the average cost of a call is $9 and proactive communication from Convey has been proved to reduce inbound calls by up to 35%, that represents 175,000 fewer calls. At $9 per call, the potential annual savings would be $1.575 million.

Scale that same example to one million annual calls and the potential savings rise to $3.15 million. The actual savings will vary based on a utility’s call volume, cost per contact, use cases and results, but the calculation illustrates the broader opportunity: even relatively modest reductions in avoidable contacts can have a significant financial impact at utility scale.

Modernization does not have to mean a massive transformation

One reason utilities hesitate to invest in new technology is the assumption that modernization requires a lengthy implementation, significant IT resources, and a major disruption to existing systems. That does not have to be the case.

Convey solutions are designed to work with the systems utilities already have and can be deployed around specific customer needs. In one example, a utility rolled out a fully digital Deferred Payment Assistance program across six states in just 3.5 weeks, reaching more than 500,000 customers. Rather than requiring a large-scale technology transformation, the implementation connected existing systems with automated eligibility validation and personalized outreach.

The same approach can work for utilities that want to start smaller. A utility might begin with proactive collections, billing communications, or outage messaging and then expand into additional journeys once the initial use case is delivering value. The goal is not to implement everything at once. It is to identify where proactive engagement can have the greatest operational or financial impact and build from there.

The opportunity is not limited by utility size

Large investor-owned utilities and smaller community or regional utilities have different resources, customer populations, and technology environments. They should not need to follow the same modernization roadmap.

For a large utility, the opportunity may be connecting multiple operational systems and using data across millions of customer accounts to create more personalized, automated journeys. For a smaller utility, the priority may be implementing a handful of proven workflows that reduce manual work and help a lean team communicate more effectively.

In both cases, the underlying principle is the same: technology should scale to the utility’s needs and produce value without creating unnecessary complexity. A smaller utility should not have to take on a massive transformation to benefit from proactive engagement, just as a large utility should not have to settle for disconnected point solutions.

Budget for outcomes, not just technology

The strongest technology investments are not necessarily the ones with the longest feature lists. They are the ones that can be connected to a measurable business outcome.

For utilities, that might mean recovering millions of dollars in payments through proactive collections. It might mean reducing the volume and cost of billing-related calls. It might mean giving a contact center more capacity during an outage because customers are receiving information proactively. Or it might mean creating a communication foundation that can support new customer journeys without requiring another major implementation.

That is the case for looking at customer engagement differently during budgeting season. Utilities do not need to choose between meeting modern customer expectations and controlling costs. With the right technology, the two goals can reinforce each other.

Convey helps utilities turn the information they already have into proactive, personalized communications that make it easier for customers to take action and easier for utility teams to manage demand. When those communications can recover revenue, reduce avoidable calls and improve readiness for critical events, the investment is doing more than modernizing the customer experience.

It’s helping the utility’s budget work harder, too.

Want to get in touch with a Convey expert and talk through your 2027 budget?

Frequently asked questions about utility budgeting and Convey

What does it cost a utility to use Convey?

Convey’s solutions are tailored to each utility and its specific needs. Because of this, there is not one singular cost associated with using Convey. Instead, utilities can choose from a range of solutions based on their specific use cases, communication needs, and goals. The cost of Convey’s solutions will vary depending on the solutions a utility chooses to implement.

Why should utilities consider Convey for their 2027 budgets?

Convey’s solutions can help utilities reduce overall costs while improving the customer experience. By reducing inbound call center calls, proactively reaching customers, and reducing the time it takes to serve customers, Convey helps utilities make better use of their resources and reduce operational costs.

As utilities plan their 2027 budgets, investing in proactive communication can help address customer needs without requiring utilities to increase their reliance on already-strained contact center resources.

How can I reduce costs for my utility in 2027?

Proactive messaging can help utilities significantly reduce costs in 2027. Call center costs are often a major expense for utility companies, and proactive communication can help reduce the number of customers who need to call in for information.

Of course, there will always be utility customers who prefer speaking with someone on the phone. However, many customers call because they need an answer about their bill, payment, service, or outage and do not have that information readily available.

By reaching out to customers first with the information they need, utilities can answer common questions before customers ever pick up the phone. This can reduce inbound call volume, lower call center costs, and free employees to focus on more complex customer needs.

Why does proactive communication reduce costs for a utility?

Proactive communication reduces costs for utilities by giving customers the information they need before they have to contact the utility. When utilities communicate with customers through their preferred channels, customers can get answers about their bills, payments, services, or outages without having to search for information or call the contact center.

For example, a customer may want to know why their bill changed, when a payment is due, or when their power is expected to be restored. By proactively providing that information, utilities can resolve those questions before they become inbound calls.

Fewer inbound calls can mean lower call center costs for utilities. If a utility receives 500,000 calls at an average cost of $9 per call and Convey solutions reduce inbound calls by up to 35%, the utility could save up to $1.575 million in call costs.

What type of communication solution should my utility be using?

Every utility has different communication needs, but utility customers increasingly expect timely, relevant, and proactive messages from the organizations they rely on. By sending proactive messages through the channels customers prefer, utilities can provide better service while reducing unnecessary customer contacts.

Convey’s omnichannel communication solutions are purpose-built for utilities and can support a wide range of customer communication needs. From outage updates and start/stop service communications to billing reminders and payment services, Convey helps utilities deliver the information their customers need when they need it.

For more than 25 years, utilities have trusted Convey to help them communicate with their communities when it matters most.

How much does a utility save when they use Convey?

The amount a utility can save by using Convey varies based on the utility, its call volume, the type of customer interactions it receives, and the specific Convey solutions it implements. Convey’s proactive communication solutions can reduce inbound calls by up to 35%.

For example, if a utility typically receives 500,000 calls at an average cost of $9 per call, reducing inbound calls by 35% could represent up to $1.575 million in potential savings.

Actual savings will vary by use case. Billing calls, for example, can take longer to resolve and may therefore cost more than other customer interactions. Depending on the use cases a utility implements, Convey can help reduce call volume and the associated cost of serving customers.

What does Convey do?

Since 1998, Convey has helped the nation’s top utilities and leading enterprises turn every customer interaction into a trusted, revenue-driving experience. Purpose-built for regulated industries, our solutions deliver timely, personalized communications during critical moments, from outages to high-bill alerts, while embedding compliance into every workflow.

Our workflows help organizations modernize operations and set new engagement standards while efficiently managing millions of interactions.

By continuously adapting in real time, Convey reduces costs, improves collections, and strengthens customer trust without adding operational complexity.