If there's one theme dominating utility industry conversations in 2026, it's this: energy bills are stretching household budgets in ways they haven't before. And both utilities and state regulators are looking for creative ways to mitigate cost growth, encourage investment and reduce the impact on customers.

Rates on the rise, utilities under pressure

Nationally, residential electricity rates have climbed roughly 25% over the past four years, and 2026 has brought little relief. Industry trackers report that utilities across the country requested more than $18 billion in rate increases in just the first half of this year, a record pace. Most of those increases are tied to investments utilities can't avoid: aging infrastructure that must be replaced, grid hardening against increasingly severe weather, higher costs for transformers, poles, and wire, and surging demand from electrification and data centers.

Surveys conducted earlier this year show that in the past year, more than one in six customers has been unable to pay their bill in full or carry a past-due balance. Some seniors are being forced to choose between medicine and air conditioning. Working families are watching a bill that once felt routine become a source of monthly dread. In the post-COVID economy, utilities are seeing populations of customers who quality for low- and middle-income programs on the rise. But often, these same groups may not be aware that they qualify for these programs. Utilities are focusing on how to engage with these customers.

What utilities are doing to support their customers

First, utilities are scrutinizing every dollar of capital spending. Not every project can be deferred, because reliability and safety investments protect customers too, but more and more utilities are focusing on sequencing their work plans to smooth the impacts, while also pursuing federal and state funding wherever they can to offset ratepayer costs.

Second, states and utilities are working to make sure new large load projects pay their way. As data centers and other major customers connect to the grid, utilities across the country have been advocating for rate structures and contract terms that assign those infrastructure costs to the customers driving them, to protect residential ratepayers.

Third, utilities are expanding their direct assistance programs, such as budget billing programs, which level out seasonal spikes, and debt relief programs that can forgive past-due balances for customers who stay current. Complimenting low and moderate income (LMI) programs, energy efficiency programs remain the most durable way to lower a bill. Free home audits, weatherization support and appliance rebates all reduce consumption at the source, because the cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one you never use.

Closing the gap between eligible and enrolled

Across the industry, utilities are beginning to treat low- and moderate-income assistance programs and energy efficiency programs not as separate offerings, but as one integrated strategy for lowering customer bills. Rather than asking a struggling customer to navigate a maze of disconnected programs, the emerging approach bundles them: a single enrollment that pairs bill assistance or a percentage-of-income payment plan with free weatherization, appliance upgrades, and efficiency measures that shrink the underlying bill for good.

New program designs and AI are helping utilities identify eligible customers earlier, by drawing on eligibility data from programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and partnering with trusted local organizations for outreach. This helps to simplify applications and provide customers with "one-stop" intake models that screen customers for every program they qualify for in a single conversation.

These approaches are directly targeting the industry's chronic adoption problem: eligible customers who never enroll because the process is too fragmented or the programs too invisible. By taking the time to understand where and how customers are struggling, utility companies can create more personalized approaches to ongoing affordability. A holistic path forward combines short term relief with lasting efficiency savings, reducing bills today and keeping them lower tomorrow.