With support from Good Energies Foundation, in Falling Behind: Defaulted Customers 60dB examines the experiences of defaulted customers–those who lost access to their energy products due to repossession, locking, return, or other factors.
It delves into four key areas of exploration:
> Who: Profiling defaulted customers by analyzing demographics, socioeconomic factors, and their prior access to energy and consumer financing.
> Experience: Assessing fairness, transparency, and the challenges faced by defaulted customers, using the 60 Decibels Consumer Protection Score.
> Why: Identifying the reasons for lapsed payments and understanding how customers came to have their product locked or repossessed.
> Impact: Understanding the current energy access status of defaulted customers and whether they have switched to alternative energy sources or are unserved.
To provide deeper context, this report compares insights between defaulted and active customers, highlighting key differences in engagement, repayment behaviour, and service experience. The analysis has been conducted at the respondent level for both customer groups i.e. no weighting was used as 60dB did not see differences by relevant segments.
60dB explored patterns and correlations across a variety of metrics, including demographic factors such as gender, education level, location (rural, peri-urban, urban), and income level. Additionally, they conducted segmented analysis by two product categories: Solar Home System (SHS) and Appliances (e.g., Solar Water Pumps, Off-Grid Refrigerators, Solar TVs) —as well as by company. Where notable differences emerged, they have highlighted them throughout the report.
For the top insights from the study, as well as the download link, please visit the 60dB website here.