Customer Experience Innovation in Utilities: From CX Debt to Digital Leadership

The Urgency of CX Transformation in Utilities

The utilities sector is at a pivotal crossroads. As the world accelerates toward decarbonization and digitalization, utilities face mounting regulatory pressures, evolving customer expectations, and the urgent need to modernize aging infrastructure. Yet, for many, legacy customer experience (CX) systems—often referred to as "CX debt"—stand in the way of progress. CX debt manifests as fragmented digital journeys, outdated self-service tools, and slow, manual processes that frustrate customers and drive up operational costs.

To thrive in this new era, utilities must move beyond incremental improvements and embrace bold, holistic transformation. The path forward is clear: leverage agile methodologies, modern digital platforms, and data-driven personalization to reimagine the customer experience from the ground up.

Understanding CX Debt: The Nine Critical Areas

CX debt in utilities typically accumulates across nine strategic areas, each representing a friction point for customers and a missed opportunity for providers:

Complexity of Information: Confusing tariffs, unclear bills, and opaque communications make it hard for customers to understand their energy usage and costs.
Pricing and Billing Issues: Fluctuating rates and hard-to-decipher bills erode trust and satisfaction.
Service Interruptions: Poor communication during outages or maintenance events damages customer confidence.
Sustainability Concerns: Customers increasingly expect providers to demonstrate credible commitments to renewable energy and sustainable practices.
Customer Service: Slow, reactive, or inconsistent support frustrates customers and increases churn.
Digital Experience: Outdated, non-intuitive digital tools and fragmented channels hinder self-service and engagement.
Regulatory Compliance: Navigating complex regulations can lead to inconsistent experiences and missed opportunities for proactive communication.
Customization and Personalization: One-size-fits-all offerings fail to meet the diverse needs of today’s customers.
Trust and Transparency: Lack of openness in operations and communications undermines the customer-provider relationship.

Addressing these areas is not just about fixing pain points—it’s about unlocking new value, reducing costs, and building the foundation for digital leadership.

Lessons from Award-Winning Transformation: The British Gas Story

A standout example of CX innovation is the transformation journey of British Gas, the UK’s largest energy supplier. Facing a radically changing market—where digitally native entrants and regulatory changes threatened traditional business models—British Gas recognized the imperative to transform its customer experience.

The Challenge: Legacy systems and processes created friction for customers seeking to manage their energy accounts, book services, or access new offerings. The result was high call volumes, slow response times, and a growing gap between customer expectations and reality.

The Solution: By forming integrated, cross-functional teams and optimizing agile capabilities, British Gas and Publicis Sapient identified and addressed over 200 customer pain points. In just 82 days, they delivered a minimum viable product (MVP) for a new customer app, followed by 17 consecutive monthly releases that introduced:

Two-click tariff changes
Apple and Google Pay integration (a UK energy market first)
Real-time smart meter data visualization
Seamless home-boiler service booking and management

The Impact:

Over 55% of all customer interactions now occur through digital channels
Call volumes dropped by 4.3 million (15%)
The app surpassed 2 million downloads
Significant increases in digital payments, top-ups, rewards claimed, and service bookings

The British Gas app was recognized as a “standout” by industry groups, and the agile delivery mindset continues to drive ongoing digital transformation across the business.

The Roadmap: From CX Debt to Digital Leadership

Utilities seeking to overcome CX debt and achieve digital leadership should focus on four core pillars:

1. Agile Transformation

Break down silos and foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and rapid delivery.
Empower cross-functional teams to own customer journeys end-to-end, accelerating innovation and responsiveness.

2. Platform Modernization

Build integrated, scalable digital platforms that unify customer data, enable seamless self-service, and support new products and services.
Migrate legacy systems to the cloud for agility, scalability, and cost efficiency.

3. Data-Driven Personalization

Leverage advanced analytics and AI to anticipate customer needs, deliver proactive communications, and create tailored experiences that drive loyalty.
Enable real-time, contextual interactions—from outage alerts to personalized energy-saving tips and rewards.

4. Seamless, Sustainable Digital Experiences

Design mobile-first, omnichannel journeys that are intuitive, accessible, and frictionless.
Embed sustainability into the customer experience, offering green tariffs, transparent reporting, and tools that empower customers to make sustainable choices.

The Business Case: Why CX Innovation Matters

Reduce operational costs by shifting interactions from costly call centers to efficient digital channels
Accelerate the rollout of new products and services, such as low-carbon solutions and smart home offerings
Unlock new revenue streams through personalized upselling and cross-selling
Build resilience and agility to respond to market disruptions and regulatory changes

Start Your Transformation Journey

The utilities sector is undergoing profound change. Digital transformation is the key to unlocking new value, achieving sustainability goals, and delivering exceptional customer experiences. Whether you are navigating regulatory complexity, accelerating decarbonization, or reimagining your customer journey, Publicis Sapient is your partner for what’s next.

Connect with our experts to discover how we can help you overcome CX debt, modernize operations, and lead in a rapidly evolving landscape.