Consumer Insights to Navigate the Future of Utilities

In the ever-evolving landscape of the energy sector, 2025 marks a year of challenge and change for utilities.

As technologies surge and demand for energy intensifies, utilities are caught at a crossroads, facing shifting economic and environmental priorities and high customer expectations, wondering where best to focus their efforts to meet changing needs. 

With all these challenges and decisions converging in 2025, how can utilities navigate the terrain and make decisions? The answer lies in customer research which can help businesses better understand challenges and expectations in four key areas:

1. Anticipating Demand

2. Meeting Expectations for Reliability

3. Managing Cost Concerns

4. Meeting Sustainability Goals

Anticipating Demand

Electricity demand continues to rise with large contributions coming from new technologies like cryptocurrency, AI, and data centers, along with a push for electrification. It is estimated over the next three years, the increase in demand across the US will be similar to the current consumption in California. Utilities must anticipate future demands, increase their grid capacity, and plan for a reliable grid.

Three emerging factors impacting demand:

Cryptocurrency

Since the introduction of bitcoin in 2009, interest in cryptocurrency, mining, and the volume of cryptocurrencies has increased greatly. Cryptocurrency’s strain on energy demand in the United States has grown since some have moved mining operations to the US following China’s 2021 declaration making cryptocurrency transactions illegal. Mining proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, require large amounts of electricity to power. In fact, as of the beginning of 2025, it is estimated that bitcoin has used more energy than The Netherlands. Some cryptocurrencies have a limit and as miners approach that limit, it becomes more complex and puts a greater strain on energy demand. As bitcoin nears its limit, it is expected that energy usage will continue to remain high.

How AI and Data Centers Impact the Energy Industry

Data centers are growing rapidly in the US. A majority of the data center demand comes from traditional workloads including cloud storage and digitization. However, AI-related data centers are growing at a rapid rate to expand and improve training AI models. The move to build data centers has faced limitations because of the increased demand on the grid. It’s estimated that data centers will account for almost 12% of electricity demand in the US by 2030, rising from the current 5%. By analyzing data from AI and data centers, utilities can gain actionable insights to optimize operations and improve customer satisfaction.

Electrification

Under the previous administration, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act were passed and included measures to increase electric vehicles and encourage homes to switch heating and appliances to electricity. While the new administration has reversed these orders, there has still been a movement to electrify, upping demands on the electric grid.

How Can Customer Insights Help?

Consumer research can help anticipate potential electrification by understanding customer preferences and needs, and how to prepare—whether it’s for an electricity provider that wants to plan for any increased needs or a natural gas provider that wants to understand any potential loss of business.

Bellomy has partnered with utilities to help understand potential shifts in demand. Across these studies, Bellomy gained insight into:

• Knowledge of electrification

• Plans to transition and barriers to adoption

• Concerns about the cost of going electric

While customer experience and knowledge of electrification is limited and few are ready to transition appliances, utilities must have an understanding of how potential electrification may impact the grid. For large-scale commercial customers, it is key for utilities to assess transitions to electricity as they can have the greatest impact on demand.

 

Bellomy case studies:

Understanding residential customers’ attitudes and knowledge of electrification read more →

Understanding residential customers’ intention to electrify home heating   read more →

End-use studies help prepare for electrification   read more →

Capturing changing attitudes towards energy   read more →

Planning for large-scale fleet electrification   read more →

 

Meeting Expectations for Reliability

Despite the anticipated increases in demand, customers still expect exceptional reliability. As many have transitioned to working from home, they need consistent power without brief interruptions. Furthermore, there is a heightened expectation for reliability among commercial customers as even small outages can have a significant impact on production, efficiency, and their bottom line.

With the media coverage of recent grid failures like the Texas power failure in 2021, customers are more aware of grid vulnerabilities and have expectations for ways their utility can maintain or improve reliability.

What Can You Learn from Customer Insights?

Customer research can help utilities understand customers’ expectations around reliability and grid maintenance.

Many are able to tolerate a certain number of outages each year, but as outage frequency increases, it can have a negative effect on customer satisfaction. While outage tolerance and impact on satisfaction may differ by utility or region of the country, it is important for utilities to understand customer tolerance of outages and how experiencing an outage impacts customers.

While most utilities are consistently working on grid maintenance to ensure reliability, many customers lack awareness of these investments and do not understand how they impact grid resiliency. Insights into awareness and expectations can not only help utilities in planning for grid maintenance but also inform how to communicate about these improvements.

 

Bellomy case studies:

Reliability Linked to Customer Satisfaction read more →

Expectations to Maintain Grid Consistency read more →

 

Managing Cost Concerns

Financial stress has increased nationally as inflation rose to a 40-year high in 2022. While inflation has softened in more recent years, consumer price sensitivity has been accentuated by perceptions that household expenses have continued to increase across categories.

Additionally, global changes have impacted customers’ perceptions of costs. The war in Ukraine led to concerns of rising gas prices. Concerns of increased costs are rising coupled with fears of a recession as a result of the tariff announcements.

While these changes are outside the control of utilities, they still have a substantial impact on how customers think about their household budgets and utility costs. Ultimately, many customers still expect to be provided with good value and low prices from their utility, regardless of increased costs of utility operations.

What Can You Learn from Customer Insights?

Market Research can help utilities understand market needs, including customer perceptions of price, concerns about rising prices, and how utility bills fit into their lives.

Critical for utilities is understanding the decisions customers face when paying bills. For those who are hit the hardest by increased costs, it is crucial for utilities to show empathy and work with those who are facing difficult trade-offs between essentials like utilities, home, and groceries.

 

Bellomy case studies:

Tracking Customer Satisfaction Amid Economic Changes read more →

How Do Utility Bills Fit into Household Budgets? read more →

 

Meeting Sustainability Goals

Many utilities have set sustainability goals to reduce carbon emissions over the next 25 years. Often these goals are a result of public and/or regulatory pressure to combat climate change.

Some examples from utilities Bellomy partners with include:

• 50% reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2030

• Stop all coal power production by 2030

• Increase the percent of renewable generation to 55% of total generation by 2030

• 70% reduction in carbon emissions from 2010 levels by 2035

• 80% reduction in methane from 2011 by 2050

• 97% reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2050

• Net zero emissions by 2050

From this list, key dates are in alignment with those in the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement was ratified in 2016 and aims to halt the increase in the global temperature to below 2˚C above pre-industrial temperatures. To achieve this, the Agreement has set goals to cut emissions by about 50% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022 and included provisions to address climate action. Some of these actions included investments in renewable energy, energy storage solutions, and nuclear energy power. It also provided residential and commercial incentives to electrify appliances and vehicles.

With a change in the federal administration in 2025, the US has exited the Paris Agreement and funding is being withdrawn from the IRA. With less focus on sustainability and a potential shift in public opinion, utilities and customers alike face a choice to continue to pursue sustainability goals and environmental upgrades or focus efforts on other needs.

What Can You Learn from Customer Insights?

Research can help utilities understand customer perceptions of sustainability goals, renewable and carbon-free sources, and costs, as well as inform an understanding of how those perceptions may be evolving.

Generally, customers are not well educated about the energy mix employed by their utility and often have misperceptions of where their electricity comes from. An opportunity exists for utilities to inform customers of the energy mix and future changes they are making to it.

Additionally, not all customers understand the cost implications of reaching sustainability goals and increasing the amount of energy from renewable and carbon-free sources. Ultimately, customers desire transparency and want to know how sustainability goals benefit the greater good and how achieving these goals may impact their wallets.

 

Bellomy case studies:

Understanding Utility’s Energy Mix read more →

Sustainability Costs read more →

 

What does the future hold?

While utilities may be experiencing uncertainty as they plan for the coming years, customer research can help close gaps and provide answers.

Through this blog post we have explored ways Bellomy has partnered with utilities to better understand the impacts of:

• Increased demand and emerging needs,

• High reliability expectations,

• Affordability concerns, and

• Desires for sustainability efforts

Understanding trending topics can also play a crucial role in grasping consumer interests and market dynamics.

For utilities looking to inform their plans with a better understanding of how the ever-evolving landscape impacts customer perceptions, Bellomy offers expert insights and solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of the industry.  Contact us today to learn more! 

Written by Katie Alexander, Bellomy Research Manager