Chartwell Blog

Industry News

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Chartwell Explores the Road Ahead for Electric Vehicles

While Chartwell has covered the evolution of EVs for...
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Chartwell 2024 Bill Viewbook: Illuminating the Latest Trends in Utility Bill Design

Accurate bills with information that is clearly displayed and...
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Chartwell, Inc. Electric Vehicle Leadership Council Drives Forward to Inaugural Meeting

North American Utility Experts Collaborate as Trusted Advisors in...
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Utilities recognized with Chartwell’s 2024 Outage Best Practices Awards

Commonwealth Edison and Entergy have taken the top honors...
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Business Customer Leadership Council Gears Up for Inaugural Meeting

Leading Utility Experts Unite to Elevate Business Customer Experience...
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Announcing Chartwell’s Electric Vehicle Leadership Council

Chartwell, Inc., a leading provider of utility industry research...
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Announcing Chartwell’s Business Customer Leadership Council

Chartwell, Inc., a leading provider of insights serving the utility...
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Announcing Chartwell Executive Services

Chartwell is pleased to announce Executive Services, a new...
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Meeting Utility Customer Expectations About Electric Vehicles

By Casey Collins, Research Analyst at Chartwell Inc. –...
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Utilities Recognized with Chartwell’s 2023 Best Practices Awards

ComEd, CPS Energy, Duke Energy, PSE&G, PSEG Long Island,...
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Utilities Recognized with Chartwell’s 2023 Outage Best Practices Awards

March 23, 2023 Duke Energy and Commonwealth Edison have...
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The Vulnerable Customer Leadership Council

Chartwell recently launched the Vulnerable Customer Leadership Council, a...
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Utilities recognized with Chartwell’s 2022 Best Practices Awards

ComEd, Con Edison, Hydro One, PECO and SMECO have...
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BGE, Central Hudson Gas take home top honors in Chartwell’s 2022 outage awards

By Suzanne Haggerty, Director of Customer Engagement and Insights...
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Text Analytics: CX Secret Sauce

By Lori Walker, Director of Strategy at Bellomy Research...
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The Benefits of Open-Source Content Management Systems

By Laura Gousha, VP of Engagement at Mindgrub, an...
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Five Reasons Your Customer Communications Aren’t Working 

By Layna Shuppert, Marketing Communications Manager with Message Broadcast...
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Making It Easy to Go Paperless

By Gary Stringham, Founder & CEO of Cubby Paperless...
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CEO of Tucson Electric Power to Share Her Journey at EMACS 2021

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – This year’s...
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The Future Is Now for Digital Wallets

By Yara Alatshan Product Marketing Manager at KUBRA –...
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Three Must-Have Interactive Content Solutions for Energy Utilities

Breanne George, Senior Creative Copywriter at Questline – To...
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User experience is key to leveraging mobile apps for outage communications          

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – As customer service becomes...
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Six Characteristics of Award-Winning Outage Communications – Part Three: Metrics and Agility

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – In part...
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Six Characteristics of Award-Winning Outage Communications – Part Two: Channels and Tactics

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – In last...
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Lasting Impacts of COVID-19 on Utility Customer Care

Part 2: Serving with Empathy Stacey Bailey, Vice President...
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Utility Assistance Programs: The Gift of Energy

By Chris Hellmann, Research Analyst – The U.S. Bureau...
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Take Chartwell’s Customer Service Survey to participate in contact center benchmarking 

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst –   Do you want to...
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Utilities recognized with Chartwell’s 2021 Best Practices Awards

Con Edison, Austin Energy, Consumers Energy, PNM and Southern...
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Lasting Impacts of COVID-19 on Utility Customer Care

Part 1: Digital Transformation Whiplash Stacey Bailey, Vice President...
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Outage Communications Benchmarks Available on Chartwell’s Insight Center

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst – Chartwell’s latest report, 2021...
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Master the Task of Arrears Management (and more!)

With arrears at or near record highs for most...
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Forged in Crisis: Utilities Display Strengths Built in Adversity at Chartwell’s Outage Conference

By Steve Waters, Senior Consultant – Nietzsche teaches “that...
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Preparing Your Digital Infrastructure for Major Storm Events

Sponsored by: Mindgrub Guest blog by Laura Gousha, VP...
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How an innovative approach to data engineering can deliver great customer experiences

Sponsored by: AGENT511 A recent Gartner Note, “How to...
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Join us for our 15th annual PowerUp: Chartwell’s Outage Conference

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – It’s hard...
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Are Your Ad Hoc Outage Communications on Life Support? A Quick Symptom Checker

Sponsored by: Message Broadcast Friday Night Lights…Out It’s Friday....
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Talking Omnichannel to the New Utility Customers

Sponsored by: Smart Energy Water Embracing the shift in...
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4 best practices for maintaining high-quality service during outages

Sponsored by: Interactions You’re not able to change the...
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Utility leaders leveraging Nextdoor for outage communications

A number of utilities on the Outage Communications Leadership...
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Boost Satisfaction Among Customers Who Prefer Paper Bills by Optimizing Bill Design

Millennials and Gen Z may think paper bills are...
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Key to driving self-service adoption is to first improve awareness

Your customer migration strategy should prioritize moving customers from...
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Entergy, Alabama Power take home top honors in Chartwell’s 2021 outage awards

By Suzanne Haggerty, Senior Management of Customer Engagement –...
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Residential consumer data explored in Chartwell infographics

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst – Each summer, Chartwell surveys...
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Emerging digital payment options: Can utilities keep up?

With such an emphasis placed on billing and payment...
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Submissions will soon be open for Chartwell’s 2021 Best Practices Awards

UPDATE: Submissions are now open and details are available...
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Mobile field crew technology is the key to better restoration

Utility leaders have spent more than a decade trying...
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‘More than just a bill’: making the most of a vital customer communications channel

By Noah Solomon, Senior Research Manager – The utility...
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Chartwell’s 2020 Communication Benchmark Report now available

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst –  2020 saw a new...
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Gen Z to Baby Boomers: What Utilities Should Expect From The Generations

Guest blog by Shaun Jackson, SVP, Marketing, KUBRA They...
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Using a mix of strategies can increase eBill adoption

Driving eBill adoption is a permanent fixture in most...
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Award-winning strategies for outage communications

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – We were...
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Industry ranks mobile-based communication as the most important development for outage communications

Although the utility industry has been slow to adopt...
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Pushing digital transformation through the organization

By I.S. Dunklin, Director of Analytics and Research –...
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Meeting your customers in their channel of preference is essential to CSAT

According to Chartwell research, customer channel preferences vary by...
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Utility use of live chat, chatbots and virtual assistants is projected to grow

By Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst – Chartwell’s 2020 Digital...
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Removing Credit Card Fees Improves CSAT

Credit card fees are one of the most significant...
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ETR Accuracy Windows – How do you compare?

During an outage of any size or duration, ETR...
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Utility response to COVID-19 offers lessons in handling future crises

By Noah Solomon, Research Manager – It should be...
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Chartwell launches its new survey tool

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst – Chartwell launched its new...
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Deadline extended for outage awards

We've expanded our outage awards to two categories, meaning...
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Top 5 Billing & Payment Trends

According to Chartwell’s Billing & Payment Leadership Council. 1)...
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Top 3 Outage Communications Trends for 2021

According to Chartwell’s Outage Communications Leadership Council, the following...
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Utilities strategize to offer effective storm ETRs

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager –  Large-scale outage...
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2021 outage awards deadline is approaching quickly

By Suzanne Haggerty, Senior Manager of Customer Engagement Chartwell...
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Utilities share tips to help with winter bills

By Noah Solomon, Research Manager As we move through...
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Creating delightful customer payment experiences

By Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst –  Recent Chartwell publications...
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Chartwell’s 2021 awards in outage communications, restoration are open for submissions

By Suzanne Haggerty, Senior Manager of Customer Engagement –...
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Meeting Utility Customers’ Payment Expectations

By Rob Houser, Senior Vice President, Product Management and...
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Chartwell’s 2020 Payment Industry Benchmarks Available in the Insight Center

By Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst –   Respondents to Chartwell’s 2020 Payment Industry...
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TVA leverages augmented-reality tech to create virtual home energy audit

By I.S. Dunklin, Director of Data Analytics and Research...
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2020 Billing Industry Benchmarks now available

By Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst –   Chartwell’s 2020 Billing Industry...
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Utilities continue to find success in eliminating or reducing credit card fees

By Noah Solomon, Research Manager – Credit cards are...
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Leveraging Utility Bills as a Customer Experience Boost

By John Hoggard, Principal, Global Utility Markets, Quadient –...
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Updater solves the inefficiencies (and headaches) of moving, with technology

Dennis Donovan, VP of Utility & Warranty at Updater,...
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The Sweatpants Effect

By Alex Panchula, Director of Product Management, Data Science...
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How Pre-Pay Energy Helps Millennials Pay Bills in an Uncertain Economy

By Shaun Jackson, Senior Vice President, Marketing, KUBRA –...
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Strengthening customer loyalty in the digital age

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst –  Chartwell’s latest survey of residential...
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EMACS 2020 is in the books!

By I.S. Dunklin, Director of Data Analytics and Research...
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Utility Collections in a COVID-19 World Present Public Relations Challenges

At the start of the pandemic, many utilities did...
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Improving Customer Experience in Four Steps

Utilities have traditionally enjoyed a competitive advantage via a...
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How should utility providers approach digital transformation?

More than 60% of digital transformation initiatives and pilots...
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Improve Customer Experience and Reduce Live Agent Costs at the Same Time

What you know about a customer at the moment...
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The Customer and Business Impact of Enabling Next-Level Self-Service

Across industries including financial services, telecommunications, and utilities, customer...
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Discover the Humans in Your Data for Big Customer Payment Wins – Even During a Pandemic

A 650% increase in email engagement. A 47% payment-in-full...
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Does Your Payment Solution Meet Customer Expectations?

Is your utility keeping up with the rapidly changing...
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How to Reduce Delinquencies Before Resuming Disconnects

By Kristen Hoppe, Marketing Manager, Message Broadcast – What...
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Improving customer satisfaction with outage communications

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst – Outage communications is a...
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Crisis and Innovation – Chartwell EMACS Keynote Presentation with Google

The last several months have been one of the...
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Learn how Enbridge engaged customers previously resistant to eBill messaging

By Noah Solomon, Research Manager Here at Chartwell, we...
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The Continuous Changes and Challenges of COVID-19 – Are Utilities Prepared?

In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted...
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Benchmarking the state of the digital experience in the utility industry

Chartwell’s 2020 Digital Experience Industry Benchmark Survey is in...
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People’s Choice – Video finalists ready for the virtual spotlight

By Suzanne Haggerty, Senior Manager of Customer Engagement –...
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Improving customer satisfaction through outage communications

For the utility industry, outage communications is key to...
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How utilities rapidly adapted to COVID-19

COVID-19 at first came slowly to the United States,...
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Utilities recognized with Chartwell’s 2020 Best Practices Awards

Duke Energy, PSEG Long Island, Con Edison, BGE and...
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Chartwell’s 2020 Outage Restoration Benchmark report available now

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst –   Chartwell’s latest benchmark report...
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How utilities are implementing robotic process automation (RPA)

By Noah Solomon, Research Manager – Robotic process automation...
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Chartwell’s latest outage communications benchmarks available for download

Chartwell has been tracking trends in outage communications for...
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Key Takeaways from PowerUp, Chartwell’s Outage Conference

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – We were...
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Join us next week for Chartwell’s VIRTUAL PowerUp outage conference

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – No one...
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The utility industry shifts to more mobile-centric approach

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – As the...
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Deadline extended for Best Practices Award submissions

By Suzanne Haggerty, Senior Manager of Customer Engagement — The...
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Outage communications and response complicated by COVID

By Chandler Dunklin, Client Relationship Manager – While much of...
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Confronting the billing and payment challenges raised by COVID-19

By Chandler Dunklin, Client Relationship Manager – Most utilities responded quickly...
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What to do when the COVID-19 bill comes due

As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly evolved in recent weeks,...
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Submissions are open for Chartwell’s 2020 Best Practices Awards

By Suzanne Haggerty, Senior Manager of Customer Engagement — So, the...
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TEP meets rising customer expectations using research, VOC and cross-functional teams

Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst – John Bord, Manager of...
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In coronavirus response, utilities prove nimble even as they continue to power our lives

By Chandler Dunklin and Chartwell Staff – Utilities have...
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How to create a more customer-centric organization

By Chandler Dunklin and Chartwell Staff – Utilities have...
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As the coronavirus strikes, utilities move to protect customers

By Noah Solomon, Research Manager – The coronavirus, also known...
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Chartwell research shows jump in mobile and electronic payment options

By Rebecca Harris, Data Analyst – Chartwell’s latest benchmark...
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Three tips for turning power outages into winning opportunities

By Russ Henderson, Senior Research Manager – A badly...
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How AI improves customer communications and customer experience

Today’s customers are accustomed to receiving top-notch customer experiences...
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Metrics that Matter: How Customer Effort Scoring can improve the ease of doing business

Utilities are unique in that they often have defined...
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Best Practices Awards in Outage Communications and Outage Restoration

Chartwell is excited to announce the winners of our...
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DTECH 2020 speakers explore the future of the utility industry

“Today, we’ve figured out that customers are looking for...
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Outage maps, now essentially ubiquitous, remain a fundamental channel for utilities

Outage maps, which only a decade ago were a...
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Can utilities keep up with the times on mobile pay?

With such an emphasis placed on billing and payment...
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VOC: Discovering the precious artifacts of customer experience

Utilities connect with their own “locals” to gain insight...
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New year, new deadline: Time to work on those outage award entries

We've expanded our outage awards to two categories, meaning...
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Boosting customer experience in the utility industry through customer journey mapping

Journey maps describe a customer’s entire journey and ultimately...
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Chartwell expands the Outage Conference and associated awards

Mobile technology, grid hardware and software, analytics, and social...
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Don’t fail at scale: a lesson from airline push alerts

Push notifications can provide a convenient, satisfying way of...
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Customers expect ETR accuracy and timeliness

Understanding customer expectations regarding ETR accuracy and timeliness is...
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Utility marketplaces evolve into tools to engage customers beyond the meter

Chartwell data shows that consumers who have used their...
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Winning People’s Choice video combines information with humor

Attendees at Chartwell's 2019 EMACS - The Customer Experience...
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EMACS 2019: Delivering in a digital, data-driven landscape

EMACS 2019, held Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in New Orleans,...
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Get the latest data on robotics process automation, payment methods and more!

This year’s survey is set to continue delivering salient...
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The pioneers are still standing – will more utilities charge ahead with auto-enrollment?

This year, for the first time since 2016, a...
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ComEd, JEA, Pepco, SCE and Tucson Electric Power recognized with Chartwell’s 2019 Best Practices Awards

ComEd, JEA, Pepco, Southern California Edison and Tucson Electric...
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Increasing customer independence with chatbots and virtual assistants

Chartwell recently released a report focusing on how utilities...
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Outage communications: From culture change to tech revolution

Utility leaders have spent more than a decade working...
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Chartwell’s 13th annual Outage Communications Conference features innovation

No one knows outage communications better than Chartwell and...
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2019 CBP awards deadline is almost here

Chartwell’s other 2019 Best Practices Awards categories include Billing...
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How to welcome your new robot overlords

Robotics Process Automation, or RPA, is in vogue. Utilities...
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Delivering more effective customer communications

Chartwell research shows that utilities need to engage customers...
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Amplifying customer care and communications using social media

Customers don’t routinely visit their utility’s website for information,...
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Award advice: Start early, gather a team, revise often

Download your entry forms, which outline details on the...
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Utilities combat the “Amazon Effect” with innovative digital outage communications tools

Like so many other sectors of the economy, the...
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OK Google: Connect my utility

Google has been working with the two utilities, helping...
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Credit card fees – the Endgame?

Many utilities are currently pursuing potentially reducing or removing...
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Workshop: How to provide an award-winning outage communications experience

Southern California Edison’s Tomaso Giannelli will lead a limited-seating...
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Georgia Power bridges silos to implement technological solutions

Donna Collins, Strategic Support Analyst at Georgia Power Company,...
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When outages strike, is your utility equipped with a comprehensive communications strategy?

Chartwell researchers understand that each year, utilities are faced...
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Flint Energies prepay program increases CSAT, reduces uncollectible debt and labor costs

How can utilities, especially one with a smaller customer...
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Technology trends in outage communications place humans at the center of increasing automation

Outage communications is uniquely positioned within the utility organization,...
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Submissions are open for Chartwell’s 2019 Best Practices Awards

The original awards of their kind for utilities, Chartwell’s...
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Director of Customer Service at LG&E and KU focuses on growing ability to meet customer expectations

Debbie Leist, Director of Customer Service and Marketing at...
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Utilities recognized with Chartwell’s 2019 Best Practices Awards in Outage Communications

Southern California Edison, Oncor and Florida Power & Light...
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CSRs move beyond traditional roles as omnichannel affects call centers

As technology enables utilities to utilize more digital channels...
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Learn how utilities are transforming marketing communications with business customers

When utilities try to drive program adoption or energy...
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Game on! How utilities can use gaming for contact center safety training

With a large number of CSRs right around the...
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Increasing engagement and brand favorability with customers and employees

Capturing the interest of both customers and employees are top communications...
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Deadline to share your best outage communications efforts is coming up quickly

It's that magical time of the year again: the...
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Engaging utility customers in the digital age

Chartwell’s newest report, Engaging Utility Customers in the Digital...
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How a Canadian utility leveraged automation to improve the customer experience

In April 2016, Hydro One began leveraging Robotics Process...
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Prepare for the future of customer communications. Take Chartwell’s Communications Survey today!

Customers increasingly prefer digital channels over traditional ones. In...
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KCP&L grows electronic payment channels with strategic approach

Nearly half of utility customers pay via some form...
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Calling all outage communications thought leaders: Best Practices Award deadline is just a few weeks away

Dan Séguin, Hydro Ottawa's Manager of Media and Public...
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Dominion Energy Virginia flips the conventional customer experience model with its Strategic Underground Program

In 2014, Dominion Energy Virginia began a system-wide initiative...

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