Digitizing the Low-Carbon Technology Connection Journey: Benchmarking and Best Practices

As the world accelerates toward decarbonization, utilities face a pivotal challenge: how to digitize and simplify the customer journey for connecting low-carbon technologies—such as electric vehicle (EV) chargers, solar panels, and heat pumps—to the grid. The surge in adoption of these technologies is reshaping the energy landscape, creating both operational pressures and unprecedented opportunities to engage customers, drive efficiency, and support sustainability goals. Here, we benchmark best practices from the UK and North America, highlight common pain points, and offer actionable insights for utilities seeking to create seamless, scalable digital experiences that empower customers and accelerate the energy transition.

The Urgency for Change: A Surge in Low-Carbon Connections

The adoption of low-carbon technologies is growing at an exponential rate. In the UK, for example, new registrations for battery electric vehicles increased by over 1,600% between 2017 and 2022—a trend mirrored in North America and beyond. This surge means utilities must process far more connection requests, often within fixed regulatory timeframes and with limited resources. At the same time, customers—both residential and commercial—expect the same level of digital convenience and transparency they experience in other industries.

Benchmarking the Current State: Pain Points and Opportunities

A comparative analysis of the quote-to-install journey across leading utilities in the UK and North America reveals several common pain points:

Fragmented, manual processes: Customers are often required to complete paper forms, navigate unclear requirements, and interact with multiple stakeholders, leading to confusion and delays.
Lack of personalization: Journeys are rarely tailored to the needs of different customer segments, such as homeowners versus installers or commercial fleet operators.
Limited self-service: Customers have few options to track progress, schedule site visits, or access real-time updates online or via mobile apps.
Opaque roles and responsibilities: The involvement of utilities, installers, and third-party providers is often unclear, resulting in a disjointed experience.

Despite these challenges, benchmarking also highlights actionable strategies that deliver measurable improvements in customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and support for decarbonization goals.

Best Practices for Digitizing and Simplifying the Journey

1. Digitize and Streamline Processes

Leading utilities are replacing manual, paper-based forms with intuitive digital workflows. Integrating third-party data sources—such as address lookups and equipment registries—accelerates form completion and reduces errors. Dynamic scheduling tools and digital forms guide customers step-by-step, minimizing confusion and administrative burden.

2. Personalize and Guide the Experience

Personalization is key to building trust and engagement. Utilities are leveraging unified customer data platforms and AI to offer contextual messaging, digital tools (like cost calculators and eligibility checkers), and tailored FAQs. Segmenting journeys for different customer types ensures that both residential and commercial users receive relevant information and support. Proactive communications and product recommendations anticipate customer needs and drive satisfaction.

3. Enable Self-Service and Transparency

Empowering customers to track progress, manage appointments, and access real-time status updates through web portals or mobile apps is becoming standard. Providing clear, upfront pricing and digital scheduling for site visits reduces friction. AI-driven contact centers and mobile apps deliver outage notifications, status updates, and personalized energy-saving recommendations, reducing call center volumes and improving satisfaction.

4. Integrate Stakeholders for a Seamless Experience

Clarifying roles and responsibilities across utilities, installers, and third-party providers is essential. Integrated digital ecosystems support customers end-to-end, from initial inquiry to installation and activation. This reduces handoff friction and ensures a consistent, high-quality experience at every stage.

Regional Nuances: Adapting Global Insights

While the UK’s relatively unified regulatory environment has enabled more standardized digital journeys, North American utilities must navigate a patchwork of state, provincial, and federal regulations. This complexity requires:

Flexible, modular digital platforms that can adapt to evolving business needs and regulatory changes.
Cloud migration and agile delivery models to ensure scalability, resilience, and rapid response to extreme weather or surges in demand.
Accessibility and inclusion, with digital platforms designed to serve diverse populations, including multilingual support and mobile-first design.

Pilot projects, such as the use of digital nudges and gamification in Canada, demonstrate the power of data-driven engagement to shift energy use, reduce infrastructure costs, and foster active customer relationships. U.S. utilities are similarly investing in customer education and digital tools to guide customers through incentive programs and installation requirements.

The Role of Data and AI

Unified data platforms are the linchpin of modern customer journeys. By consolidating customer, asset, and usage data, utilities can:

Personalize communications and product recommendations
Predict and manage grid impacts from new connections
Optimize scheduling and resource allocation
Enable new business models, such as demand response and dynamic pricing

Investing in these capabilities not only enhances the customer experience but also unlocks new value streams and operational efficiencies.

A Step-by-Step Roadmap for Utilities

To transform the quote-to-install journey for low-carbon technologies, utilities should:

Assess Regional Regulatory and Infrastructure Realities: Map out specific requirements and constraints in each service territory.
Prioritize Customer Experience: Design journeys that are light, ethical, accessible, and data-driven—leveraging frameworks that ensure inclusivity and simplicity.
Invest in Scalable Digital Platforms: Adopt cloud-based, modular solutions that can evolve with business and regulatory needs.
Foster Cross-Sector Collaboration: Partner with OEMs, installers, municipalities, and technology providers to create integrated ecosystems.
Embrace Agile and Data-Driven Innovation: Use agile delivery models and analytics to continuously refine and personalize the customer journey.

The Path Forward: Empowering Customers and Accelerating Decarbonization

The digital transformation of the low-carbon technology connection journey is both a challenge and an opportunity. By learning from global best practices and adapting them to local realities, utilities can deliver seamless, resilient, and customer-centric experiences that empower customers, optimize operations, and accelerate the energy transition.

Publicis Sapient stands ready to partner with utilities on this journey—bringing global expertise, regional insight, and a proven track record in digital business transformation. Connect with our experts to discover how we can help you modernize your customer journeys and unlock new value in a rapidly evolving landscape.