Improving access for income-qualified electric customers
Research, personas, and a future-experience vision to help more income-qualified Xcel Energy customers take advantage of energy-efficiency assistance programs.
8 future concepts
Future-experience vision
Low awareness of energy-efficiency programs, plus complicated qualification criteria and processes, keep many income-qualified customers from accessing the discounts and assistance they're eligible for.
We worked to understand the annual program evaluations conducted by Xcel Energy's third-party partners, used that research to highlight grounding and focus areas for ideation, and facilitated a collaborative working session with both Xcel Energy employees and community partners.
Five customer personas
Built from research analysis, the personas needed to capture two important nuances:
Homeowners can qualify and enroll themselves, while renters can only participate if their landlord or property manager applies on behalf of the entire property.
Smaller 1–4 unit properties are usually managed by the owner directly, who wants smart investments that don't break the bank. Larger properties involve managers balancing tenants, ownership, and property value.
Eight future-experience concepts
Designed around the two main persona groups — tenants/residents and property owners. The working session also revealed how important it is to re-think how Xcel Energy collaborates with community-based organizations, so three of the eight concepts focused on empowering Xcel's partners as trustworthy resources, guidance, and support for customers.
Developed a clear vision for the future
From the concepts created in the multi-day session, we outlined a cohesive future experience supporting the people and partners who experience, promote, and deliver income-qualified energy-assistance programs.
Connected past, present, and future efforts
We cross-referenced each future-experience concept with current and planned work that could establish it, alongside aspirational goals to guide its future development.