As residential satisfaction scores hit record lows and bills rise, utilities are asking customers to do more than ever before: use less electricity during peak times, allow the utility to control their thermostat and navigate new rate structures. These changes require customers to move from passive consumers to active stewards of a shared grid, where daily choices support reliability and affordability.
Making that relationship shift hinges on customers understanding these offers and trusting their utility enough to act on them. Time of use rates, behavioral demand response and device-based programs can reduce individual bills and support the system, but only if customers enroll and actually change long-standing habits.
Email and other digital channels have driven early wins, but moving beyond early adopters to achieve MW targets requires rethinking tactics. Recent research suggests customers are overwhelmed by digital outreach: the average user now receives 82–120 emails per day and 70% of consumers unsubscribed from at least three brands in the past three months due to excessive messaging. Utilities need channels that build trust with customers and rise above the background noise.
Proactive outreach is welcome
Many people value proactive outreach when it delivers clear benefits: research from Metrigy finds that nearly 69% of consumers want proactive outreach, especially when it helps prevent problems, save money, or save time.
This dynamic aligns directly with the value proposition of load flexibility programs. When a utility reaches out to help a household understand a new rate or enroll in a program that offers savings, it's solving a problem before it surfaces. In this context, high-touch channels like conversation-driven outbound calling are gaining traction as a way to cut through inbox fatigue and build trust.
Why live conversations matter for load flexibility
Load flexibility programs are rarely simple. Customers need help understanding how events work, what they should do differently and what happens if they opt out. Digital and print campaigns can introduce the basics, but in a live conversation, an expert can answer questions, clarify misconceptions and tailor examples. This focused education creates informed participants who understand how to get the most out of the program. Calling can also reach customers who are less responsive to digital channels, including low-to-medium income and other hard‑to‑reach segments.
Data from Onward Climate’s work with utilities shows just how powerful a human conversation can be: outbound calling has delivered conversion rates up to nine times higher than email for cost-saving and premium programs. In a recent pilot with a Pacific Northwest utility, outbound calling generated a 7.45% conversion rate for a time of use rate and renewables program, moving customers from awareness to enrollment in a single touchpoint. These customers had received previous marketing, but a conversation addressed misunderstandings and gave them the confidence to enroll.
Skilled conversations don’t erode trust, they earn it
Many utility leaders worry that outbound calling is inherently risky — that it will drive complaints or erode already fragile satisfaction scores. Onward’s data suggests that when calls are designed around customer value and delivered by trained specialists, the opposite can be true. Their sentiment analysis across hundreds of thousands of calls for premium green power programs shows more than 95% of customer interactions were neutral-to-positive. When outbound calling connects with customers on their priorities, it becomes a tool for earning trust.
From campaign channel to insight engine
Conversation-driven outbound calling can also serve as a continuous customer insight engine. Because each interaction can be scored and analyzed, utilities understand what’s causing confusion, which offers resonate and which segments need additional education. Unlike email or social media, these insights come from real-time, two-way conversations that reveal why a message lands — or doesn’t. This data informs messaging and program design for future initiatives, creating a feedback loop where proactive outreach drives enrollments and reduces friction.
Take the next step with outbound calling
For utilities working to scale load flexibility participation, outbound calling can function as a core channel alongside digital and mail. Leveraging outbound conversations expands the reachable market, moves customers from awareness to enrollment and continuously delivers insights to evolve programs.
Onward Climate partners with utilities, implementers, DERMS and VPP operators across the U.S. to grow participation in load flexibility and green power programs. The company has enrolled 700,000+ customers over 20+ years and offers flexible performance-based enrollment services.
