Utility companies — whether they deliver electricity, natural gas, water, or some combination — share a common operational challenge: managing an enormous volume of customer interactions and administrative processes against the backdrop of aging infrastructure, regulatory complexity, and the accelerating demands of grid modernization. In 2026, a growing number of utilities are deploying virtual assistants to take on the administrative and customer-facing work that consumes contact center and back-office resources without generating strategic value.
Customer Billing: High Volume, High Complexity, High Stakes
Utility billing is a complex operation. Rate structures vary by customer class, time-of-use period, demand measurement window, and applicable tariff. Estimated bills, billing adjustments, payment arrangements, and reconnection fees all generate customer inquiries and disputes. For large utilities with hundreds of thousands or millions of customer accounts, even a fraction of a percent of billing contacts creates a massive interaction volume.
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) reported in its 2025 utility customer operations benchmark that billing-related contacts represent 38–45% of all inbound customer interactions at investor-owned electric utilities. Handling this volume cost-effectively while maintaining service quality is a persistent operational challenge.
Virtual assistants provide a scalable first-tier billing support layer. Trained VAs can answer standard billing questions, explain rate components, process payment arrangements, enroll customers in budget billing or autopay programs, and escalate complex disputes to billing specialists. This offloads routine contacts from higher-cost channels and frees contact center staff for interactions that require human judgment.
Meter Data Administration: Managing the Exceptions
Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has given utilities access to interval meter data at unprecedented scale — but that data generates its own administrative burden. Meters fail to communicate. Consumption anomalies trigger exception flags. Estimated reads require follow-up when actual data is restored. High-bill complaints require consumption history analysis.
A 2025 Deloitte utilities operations report found that AMI-driven data exceptions and the resulting customer interactions consume a significant and growing share of back-office operations resources at utilities that have deployed smart meters. The volume of exceptions scales with the size of the meter population, creating a workload that grows faster than utilities typically plan for.
Virtual assistants can own the administrative layer of meter data exception management: identifying flagged accounts from exception reports, initiating outreach to customers with estimated or anomalous reads, coordinating field technician dispatch for meter investigation, and updating account records when issues are resolved. This structured workflow keeps the exception queue from becoming a backlog.
New Service Administration: From Application to Energization
Residential moves, commercial tenant changes, and new construction connections each require a service establishment or transfer process. The administrative steps — identity verification, deposit assessment, service scheduling coordination, and billing account setup — generate significant back-office workload, particularly in high-growth service territories.
Virtual assistants can manage the administrative components of the new service workflow: processing applications received through web forms or phone contacts, communicating scheduling windows, tracking field order completion, initiating account setup in the billing system, and sending welcome communications to new customers. This keeps the new service pipeline moving without requiring dedicated back-office staff for routine processing.
Supporting Demand Response and Customer Program Enrollment
Utilities increasingly use demand response programs, time-of-use rates, and energy efficiency incentive programs to manage grid operations and meet regulatory obligations. Enrolling customers in these programs requires targeted outreach, application processing, and ongoing communication. Program administrators often lack the staff capacity to pursue eligible customers aggressively.
Virtual assistants can support program enrollment campaigns: managing outbound contact lists, processing enrollment applications, sending confirmation communications, and maintaining program participation records. McKinsey's 2025 utility customer engagement study found that personalized, timely outreach increases demand response program enrollment rates by 20–30% — a meaningful improvement for utilities under regulatory pressure to meet participation targets.
Utilities seeking to improve administrative efficiency and customer service quality with flexible staffing solutions can explore VA support at Stealth Agents.
Sources
- Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Utility Customer Operations Benchmark Report, 2025.
- Deloitte, AMI Operations and Customer Impact Analysis, 2025.
- McKinsey & Company, Utility Customer Engagement and Demand Response Enrollment, 2025.