Why Staying Quiet About Data Centers Puts Energy Utilities at Risk of Losing Brand Trust and Customer Engagement

Executive summary: As data center development accelerates, electric, natural gas and combination utilities face a growing trust gap with customers who are trying to make sense of rising bills, grid pressures and environmental concerns. In the absence of clear, proactive communication from utilities, customers often fill the void with news headlines, assumptions and misinformation—frequently linking data center growth directly to higher energy costs and reduced service reliability. That silence has consequences: eroding trust, heightened frustration and weaker customer engagement when it matters most. Energy utilities that get ahead of the narrative by clearly explaining context, impacts, trade-offs and customer protections can correct misconceptions, reinforce their role as a trusted advisor and preserve credibility before skepticism takes hold.

With phrases like “everyone hates data centers” and “data centers are raising our bills” making headlines, it’s easy to see why these facilities are coming under scrutiny from energy utility customers. When customers see their bill go up and hear about a data center nearby, many assume the two are connected.

That assumption has real consequences. As customers absorb incomplete or misleading information about how data center growth affects utility bills, service reliability or environmental impact, trust in the electric, natural gas or combination utility begins to erode. And once trust erodes, engaging effectively with customers becomes more difficult for utilities.

There is far more to the story with details most customers never see because they stop reading long before they reach them. Getting ahead of that narrative matters. Clear, timely communication gives utilities the opportunity to correct misinformation before it spreads and to reinforce their role as a trusted advisor customers rely on.

Why Energy Utilities Cannot Afford to Stay Silent About Data Center Growth and Impacts

When customers experience bill increases and hear about a nearby data center, they look for an explanation. Without guidance from the utility, many assume the two are connected.

For example, a Bloomberg investigation found that residents in and around Baltimore described sharp increases in their power bills and struggled to explain them. With data center growth nearby, many pointed to those facilities as the most visible change. Even though the underlying causes were more complex, the conclusion felt simple to customers: data centers appeared and customers’ bill went up.

In a separate article, Axios describes what it calls “America’s energy jam,” highlighting how rapid growth in data center demand is adding pressure to the electric grid and fueling anxiety about prices and reliability. For customers trying to make sense of higher bills, those headlines often become the explanation, especially when utilities don’t offer one of their own.

Once these assumptions take hold, utilities often become the focus of frustration. More than just shaping opinion, misinformation influences how customers respond to rate increases, service disruptions and long-term planning decisions.

Proactive Communication Is Critical for Energy Utilities to Retain Customer Trust and Engagement

Escalent’s Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement (UTBCE): Residential and Business studies consistently show that trust is built through clear, proactive communication with customers, especially during moments of change and uncertainty. When electric, gas and combination utilities explain what’s happening and why, customers are more likely to stay engaged, even when the message is difficult.

Utilities already see this with rate increases. When customers first learn about a change by opening their bill, frustration rises. When energy utilities communicate in advance about what’s changing, what’s driving it and how customers might benefit from it, trust is easier to maintain, even if customers don’t like the outcome.

The same principle applies to data centers. Left unaddressed, misinformation makes it harder for utilities to work effectively with customers and communities. Acting early helps protect utility credibility before skepticism takes hold.

Energy Utilities Have an Opportunity to Lead as a Trusted Advisor to Their Customers About Data Center Growth

Escalent’s Cogent Syndicated UTBCE research shows that customers respond best when electric, gas and combination utilities help them make sense of complex issues, rather than leaving them to piece together information from headlines and social media. Acting as a trusted advisor means explaining what’s known, acknowledging uncertainty and staying engaged as conditions evolve.

Escalent’s customer experience management research also reinforces this point. Trust builds over time through small, consistent moments such as a clear explanation on a website, a short FAQ that anticipates common questions or a bill insert that speaks plainly. When customers feel informed, they’re more likely to give utilities the benefit of the doubt as new challenges arise.

How utilities show up now will shape how customers interpret future decisions.

Three Key Customer Concerns About Data Centers That Energy Utilities Need to Communicate Around According to Escalent’s Energy Experts

Rather than technical detail, we see time and time again in our Cogent Syndicated research studies for energy utilities that customers are looking for reassurance around a few core issues that impact their day-to-day lives—and this equally applies to data center concerns:

1. Reliability. Utilities should explain how they plan for growth and ensure that new demand from data centers doesn’t compromise service for existing customers.
2. Affordability. Customers want to know whether data centers will raise their bills. Utilities should address this directly and explain how costs are managed to protect residential customers.
3. Sustainability. Questions about energy use, water consumption and environmental impact surface quickly. Utilities should acknowledge these concerns and explain how sustainability factors into planning and operations.

The main takeaway: customers ultimately want and need to know that energy utilities are taking steps to ensure data centers don’t compromise the clean, reliable and affordable service customers expect.

Customer Expectations Point to a Clear Communication Playbook for Energy Utilities

As data centers continue to expand and play a critical role in the energy landscape, utilities face increasing pressure to communicate effectively with customers, regulators and local communities. Clear, proactive brand communication helps build trust, reduce misunderstandings and ensure that the benefits and challenges of data center operations are well understood by customers.

Here are four key communication principles electric, gas and combination utilities can follow when communicating with customers about data centers:

1) Get ahead of the narrative

• Acknowledge what customers are hearing about data centers and that customers have questions
• Share objective context before misinformation spreads

2) Keep your communication clear and accessible

• Focus your messaging on what customers care about most
• Use short explainers, FAQs and other easy-to-scan formats

3) Address customer concerns directly

• Speak plainly about service reliability, customer costs and sustainability
• Explain how the utility is protecting customers in each area

4) Position the utility as the objective expert

• Communicate consistently across channels
• Focus on facts and customer impact, not defending data centers

When customers understand what’s happening and why, utilities spend less time managing frustration and more time delivering the service customers expect.

Wondering how your communication can proactively address utility customer concerns about data centers and reinforce trust before misinformation takes hold? We’d love to help.

Contact Escalent’s energy industry experts by filling out the form below to start a conversation.

 

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