Low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers are interested in utility weatherization programs, but participation in this customer group is often low because of a lack of awareness, complicated enrollment processes, and financial, structural, and institutional barriers.

There’s a lot of room for improvement, but your utility doesn’t have to tackle this challenge alone. Simplifying the enrollment process can help, and utilities can also get a boost when they partner with local organizations. Doing so can result in new funding streams and greater reach.

Coming out of the COVID economy and into an inflationary one has left a lot of utilities with a lot of debt, as many low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers have struggled to keep up to date with payments. Managing arrears while maintaining flexibility for struggling customers is a balancing act for utilities with no universal recipe.

Fortunately, utilities all over the US and Canada have used many methods to managing arrears. Here are five creative approaches to payment assistance programs that utilities have been offering to help customers in arrears.

More than 60% of low- and moderate-income (LMI) households in the US face a high energy burden, with some paying more than 20% of their income on their utility bills. Many LMI customers report trouble paying their bills or forgoing other household needs to pay their bills, with almost a third experiencing disconnections or accumulating debt to their utility providers.