New Bidgely UtilityAI Solution Enhances Engagement and Promotes Energy Savings Among Low-to-Medium Income (LMI) Households

Bidgely introduced a new UtilityAI Low-Medium Income Solution enabling utilities to more accurately identify low-to-medium (LMI) consumption users and deliver enhanced customer engagement to support energy savings. U.S. Department of Energy research shows low-income households face an energy burden three times higher than other households, with LMI customers representing over 25 percent of utilities’ customer base, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Using Bidgely’s LMI solution to create customer profiles – based on appliance-level energy usage, residential information, and load types – utilities can personalize outreach to LMI customers with greater bill transparency as well as behavioral-based, no-cost and low-cost recommendations for energy efficiency.

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“Low-to-medium customers live in less efficient homes and experience more limited access to distributed energy resources than any other customer demographic,” said Abhay Gupta, CEO of Bidgely. “As utilities commit to net-zero carbon emission goals in the coming years, utilities are seeking to create equitable opportunities for LMI households to also benefit from the clean energy future. Our LMI solution encourages utilities to empower LMI households to lower their energy costs while also reducing their environmental footprint.”

Patented artificial intelligence (AI) techniques provide comprehensive insights into individual customer needs, allowing utilities to hyper-target communications in the form of high bill alerts, home energy reports and energy efficiency recommendations to LMI customers. Utilities can also actively promote rebates, financing offers and enrollment into demand response programs, all of which help to prevent and/or reduce arrearages while simultaneously extending access to utility programs across under-represented customer groups. Similar programs such as those with Southern California Gas (SoCalGas), for example, have proven to drive energy savings and increase customer satisfaction without incurring additional costs to utilities.

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“Technology plays an instrumental role in enabling utilities to efficiently scale their efforts, benefiting both the utility and customers,” said Katrina Metzler, Executive Director for National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition (NEUAC). “Especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, utilities will need to embrace innovation to bridge current program gaps and lead an equitable recovery for vulnerable communities. I’m encouraged by the early results Bidgely, a NEUAC member, has had in this area.”

With Bidgely’s LMI solution, utilities can leverage a full suite of features to build trust and one-on-one relationships with LMI customers, including:

• Smart alerts: employ self-comparison and a customer-specific itemization of energy spending to motivate energy-saving behavior and reduce high bill shock.
• Online audits and relevant offerings: allow customers to explore their energy consumption, learn about alternative rate plans and offer smart appliances at affordable prices.
• Virtual assessments: Deliver personalized, no-cost DIY kits that include weatherization tools or facilitate budget-conscious equipment replacement through Bidgely’s third-party partners.
• CARE support: Turn customer service representatives into trusted energy advisors with detailed dashboards that include itemized energy usage for each customer, as well as relevant energy-saving tips.

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