When it comes to outage communications, utilities face a paradox: customers want instant, accurate updates, but they don’t necessarily want to pick up the phone.
That’s not bad news.
As Util-Assist’s John McClean explains in a recent Factor This! article, it’s a sign that utilities’ digital channels are finally meeting customer expectations. Proactive notifications, AI chatbots, and self-service tools are reducing the need for live calls, freeing staff for higher-value work.
As digital self-service, proactive alerts, and AI-driven notifications become standard, utilities are rethinking what “customer engagement” really means and how far automation should go.
From Call Centres to Clicks: A Shift in Customer Expectations
The traditional outage experience of long wait times, overloaded call centres, and limited updates is being replaced by an expectation of immediacy. Today’s customers want real-time information on any device, whether that’s a text alert, push notification, or chatbot response.
This shift challenges utilities to maintain trust while adopting automation. It’s no longer just about restoring power; it’s about delivering transparency, empathy, and consistency across every channel.
These themes were also the focus of our recent Current Conversations webinar, The Future of Outage Communications: Two Expert Perspectives, in which John McClean and operations technology specialist Jeff Grant shared differing viewpoints on how automation, technology, and human oversight will define outage communications in the years ahead.
Read the full article: Utilities: Customers Don’t Want to Call You — and That’s Good News
Watch the webinar: The Future of Outage Communications: Two Expert Perspectives
What Comes Next
As utilities continue to evolve their outage management strategies, the focus is shifting from responding to outages to anticipating them, and from call handling to customer experience. Success largely depends on how effectively utilities blend automation with empathy to keep customers informed and confident.
Util-Assist’s outage communications contact center solution, PowerAssist, combines technology with real operational expertise to help utilities enhance outage response and customer communication. If you’re looking to take the next step toward more proactive, customer-focused outage communications, we’re here to help. Together, we help utilities strengthen communications, improve customer trust, and deliver a smoother experience when it matters most.