The Challenge

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) customers often receive electricity bills that are confusing due to the dual billing structure: their local CCA supplies the electricity, but their investor-owned utility (IOU) handles delivery, infrastructure and billing. This split responsibility can lead to confusion about who provides what service, and who charges for it, which in turn generates customer questions, frustration, and, at times, mistrust.

To improve transparency and build customer confidence, CalChoice and Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) each partnered with Tripepi Smith to create customized “Understanding Your Bill” resources. The primary goal was to clearly explain how to read a dual-provider bill, reinforce the value of local energy choice, and ensure these resources were accessible to all customers, including those who primarily speak Spanish.

Our Approach

Tripepi Smith began by reviewing actual customer bills and collaborating with agency staff to identify common areas of confusion. From there, our team created a content framework that explained key billing sections in plain language, prioritized visual clarity and aligned with each agency’s brand.

We then developed custom webpages and companion graphics for each CCA, featuring annotated utility bill samples that broke down generation versus delivery charges and clarified commonly misunderstood terms. Each graphic used icons, callouts and color-coded sections to guide users through their bill.

Because both CalChoice and CEA serve linguistically diverse communities, every asset was developed in both English and Spanish. This included dual-language versions of the bill graphic and web copy, with layout adjustments to accommodate translation length and maintain readability. The Spanish-language content ensured that these important educational resources were accessible and equitable.

For CalChoice, we created two sets of resources, one for customers billed by Southern California Edison (SCE) and another for PG&E, reflecting the different bill formats across member agencies. For CEA, we built a tailored “Understanding Your Bill” webpage and graphic focused on SCE customers.

All materials were designed for flexible use across platforms, including websites, email campaigns, social media, customer service responses and outreach events.

Results

Both agencies launched their “Understanding Your Bill” resources in 2021, integrating them into their websites and promoting them through various customer touchpoints. The bilingual materials quickly became go-to tools for customer service staff, helping to clarify billing questions and reduce confusion for both English and Spanish speakers.

These resources have strengthened customer trust by providing clear, accessible information about the CCA billing process and have reinforced each agency’s commitment to transparency and service. By demystifying the utility bill and expanding access through Spanish-language content, CalChoice and CEA are better equipped to serve and retain customers in diverse communities.