The affordability pressure hiding across the U.S. utility industry, and what to do about it.

With the first U.S. customer affordability index live and the 2026 affordability landscape coming into focus, a clearer picture of customer pressure is emerging.

While many utilities still benchmark themselves on average rates, the underlying trends tell a different story:

• Moderate-rate utilities in high-poverty regions are carrying the heaviest affordability pressure
• Customer arrears are climbing even at utilities with rates below the national average
• The customers most at risk are often invisible to traditional rate-based reporting

In this webinar, BlastPoint and Tierra Resource Consultants will walk through how utilities can move from affordability insight to targeted relief, using PressurePoint to identify where pressure is concentrated and Tierra's Rate Relief Index to design programs that actually reach the customers who need them most.

We'll be joined by Elizabeth Paulson, Customer Assistance Supervisor at Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, NEUAC Advisory Committee Member, and IUCX Customer Assistance Deep Dive Steering Committee Member who brings 20+ years of experience developing, implementing, and scaling high-impact customer solutions and community initiatives at investor-owned and municipal utilities.