Philadelphia Gas Works: a bill people can read.

PGW is the city-owned utility that heats Philadelphia. Confusing bills, unreliable online payments and poor communication had worn down trust in every customer group, from low-income households to owners managing several business accounts.

That showed up as long call-center waits, public complaints on social media, late payments and customers who never found the assistance programs built for them. One business customer called PGW "the Comcast of gas."

I led a multi-method research program: social media listening to capture unfiltered complaints, three moderated focus groups with 24 participants, a review of billing practices at peer utilities, and interviews with customer service, marketing, legal and finance.

The focus groups were split into three segments: low-income households (8), standard residential customers (7) and small-business and property managers (7).

• "Terrified when people receive bill. Never know what the price will be."

  Low-income participant

• "Bill means nothing to me, how much I owe and when it's due."

  Residential participant

• "Always in a rabbit hole. How could I dispute it?"

  Business participant

• Bill anxiety was universal. It came from unpredictability, not just cost. Even customers on autopay were upset before opening the envelope.
• Digital failures blocked basic tasks. Site crashes, form errors and payment lockouts stopped people from paying at all.
• Everyone reads the summary; few read the detail. Every participant looked at the amount due, while usage charts drew mixed interest. The bill needed progressive disclosure.
• A hidden advantage. PGW charges no fee for any payment method, but nobody knew, so customers avoided paying online.
• Help was invisible. Low-income customers didn't know about or misunderstood the CRP and LIHEAP assistance programs.
• Inserts buried the essentials. Marketing flyers made important billing information easy to miss and easy to throw away.

The bill became one modular system: the same core layout for everyone, with a segment-specific module that swaps in assistance programs, budget billing or multi-account tools. The amount due is set at 48pt, body text never drops below 12pt, contrast meets WCAG AA, and every payment option is marked NO FEE.

1. Bill redesign. Modular layout, clear hierarchy, segment modules and NO FEE messaging.
2. Digital experience. Form validation and error handling, responsive pages, a rebuilt payment flow and a multi-account business portal.
3. Communication. Email bill alerts, SMS reminders and redesigned, color-coded mailers that avoid the patterns customers associate with scams.
4. Self-service. FAQs by customer type, video tutorials, a 24/7 chatbot and a dedicated business support line.

Bring low-fidelity bill prototypes into the focus groups to iterate faster, capture call-volume and payment baselines before launch so impact can be measured precisely, and run formal usability testing with customers over 65 to validate type size and contrast.