Depending on where you live, you don’t get to choose your utility provider. I live in San Diego, and like many, I know the frustrations that come with that lack of choice. Summer surge pricing that feels punishing. Confusing rules around solar-to-grid transfers. Long delays for service requests.
Now imagine on top of that, your area gets hit with a thunderstorm (rare in San Diego, but all too common elsewhere). The house goes dark. You’re worried about the food in your fridge spoiling. You’re anxious about how long the outage will last. Your EV isn’t charging and you need it for work tomorrow. And you brace yourself before calling customer service.
When the Lights Go Out
The outage line is busy. Wait times stretch past 30 minutes. The app hasn't been updated in hours. By the time you finally reach someone, all they can do is log your ticket and tell you to wait.
Now picture a different experience.
You call in, and a voice assistant greets you right away:
- Confirms your address.
- Checks grid data in real time.
- Tells you a crew has already been dispatched, with an estimated restoration time of 2:15 a.m.
- Offers to text you updates if the timeline changes.
That’s not a dream scenario, it’s what voice AI can deliver today.
Why Utility CX Still Breaks Down
Even as utilities digitize, customer frustrations remain.
⚡ Outage communication. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity customers in 2021 experienced just over 7 hours of power interruptions on average when major events were included. Even in more typical years, outages can last several hours, but updates to customers often lag behind reality on the ground, leaving households refreshing apps or calling hotlines in the dark.
💡 Billing confusion. A California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) study on Net Energy Metering found that billing structures are often opaque and “difficult for customers to reconcile with their expectations and solar monitoring apps.” When households can’t reconcile their bills, trust erodes quickly.
🔌 Service delays. When millions depend on a single provider (as in California or Texas), call centers can’t scale fast enough during outages or billing disputes. This drives long hold times, one of the top drivers of customer dissatisfaction, according to J.D. Power’s Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.
🛑 Trust deficit. When you can’t switch providers, every poor experience feels amplified. Customers might forgive a retailer or airline because they have alternatives. With utilities, frustration compounds because people feel trapped.
Beyond Outages: Other Everyday Frustrations
Voice AI isn’t only useful when the lights go out. It can reshape daily customer interactions across the entire utility lifecycle.
📈 Billing inquiries. A customer wonders: “Why is my bill $80 higher this month?” Instead of waiting for a human agent, a voice assistant can break it down: increased AC usage during peak hours, time-of-use surcharges, and lower-than-expected solar credits. It can even suggest moving heavy-use appliances to off-peak hours or upgrading to a rate plan that better matches usage patterns.
🚗 EV charging. With the rise of electric vehicles, customers increasingly call about charging schedules and home charger rates. Voice AI can instantly check eligibility for EV-specific rate plans, explain costs, and even initiate enrollment.
🏡 New service setup. Moving into a new home usually means a tangle of calls for start/stop service. A voice assistant can verify your identity, activate service, set up autopay, and even offer budget billing options, all in one call.
Where Voice AI Can Deliver
Voice AI isn’t about replacing people, it’s about giving customers clarity and speed in moments that matter most.
- Outage updates. Pulling directly from outage management and grid systems, a voice assistant can confirm if your home is affected, provide estimated restoration times, and proactively notify you if the timeline changes.
- Billing clarity. Rather than parsing a complex bill on your own, you can simply ask: “Why is my bill higher this month?” The assistant can break it down in plain language.
- Account services. Updating a payment method, starting or stopping service, or adding a new EV plan can all be done instantly.
- Proactive alerts. Instead of waiting for customers to call, voice AI can push notifications: “We’ve detected a likely outage in your area. Crews are on the way. Estimated restoration: 3:30 p.m.”
By plugging into the same data agents use, voice assistants can deliver accurate, actionable answers while freeing agents to handle more complex cases.
What Utilities Can Do Now
Even with regulatory constraints, there are clear steps utilities can take today:
- Start with high-volume pain points. Outages, billing questions, and service transfers account for the majority of inbound calls.
- Integrate outage and billing systems. The key is pulling data from OMS, CIS, and CRM platforms into one conversational interface.
- Pilot voice assistants during storm season. Outages are predictable stress tests; deploying voice AI for surge moments can provide fast proof of value.
- Expand into EV and solar support. With adoption growing, this is a natural next area for reducing strain on agents.
- Design for transparency. Always confirm next steps, provide reference numbers, and proactively follow up with SMS or email.
Rebuilding Trust with Every Call
Utility companies face an uphill climb when it comes to customer loyalty because customers don’t have a choice. But what they do remember is how the company responds in a moment of need.
Voice AI can’t stop the storm. It can’t prevent a transformer from blowing. But it can eliminate the silence and uncertainty that frustrate customers the most.
When a family gets real-time clarity about an outage, when a solar customer finally understands how credits apply to their bill, when an EV owner signs up for the right charging plan in minutes, trust grows.
In a sector where frustration is the default, even one smooth, empathetic interaction can reset the relationship.
That’s the power of Deepgram in utilities: real-time speech-to-text, natural text-to-speech, and voice agents that deliver reliable answers when customers need them most.