US Utilities Sector
Website Accessibility for Utilities Organizations
Customers depend on utilities websites to manage accounts, report faults, and access essential service information. A genuinely inclusive digital presence ensures everyone can engage with your services, whatever their needs.
Recite Me works with a wide range of utilities organizations, including:
Regulatory Framework
Accessibility Regulations for US Utilities Companies
Many utility providers are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Accessible Canada Act (ADA), requiring alignment with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Here is what utilities organizations need to be aware of:
Adhere to WCAG 2.2 AA Standards
Utilities websites and online account management portals should conform to WCAG 2.2 Level AA to comply with global accessibility laws. Level AAA can serve as an aspirational goal.
Uncover and Address Digital Barriers
Water, gas, electricity, and telecoms providers should conduct thorough audits of their digital services to pinpoint accessibility shortcomings and create a clear roadmap for remediation.
Maintain a Transparent Accessibility Statement
A current accessibility statement should outline which parts of your digital estate have been reviewed, any outstanding issues identified, and the timeframes in place for resolving them.
Embed Ongoing Accessibility Reviews
Accessibility should be treated as a continuous commitment rather than a one-time exercise. Utilities organizations should schedule regular testing cycles across all customer-facing digital channels.
Prepare to Take Regulatory Action
Utilities companies must meet the accessibility obligations set out in applicable legislation. Non-compliance can trigger formal investigations and lead to enforcement action or legal proceedings.
Offer Alternative Routes to Services
Where digital content has not yet reached full accessibility, utilities providers should ensure alternative channels exist so customers can still carry out essential account tasks and access critical service updates.
How We Help
Accessibility Challenges in the Utilities Sector that Recite Me Can Resolve
Utilities organizations face a distinct set of digital accessibility demands. Here is how Recite Me can support you:
Utilities websites attract an extremely wide cross-section of society. Older customers, people with visual or cognitive impairments, and those who speak English as a second language all need to manage their accounts, submit readings, and raise queries online. The Recite Me Assistive Toolbar addresses this directly by adding text-to-speech, language translation, font and colour adjustments, and a range of other personalization tools directly to your website, enabling customers to self-serve on their own terms.
Many utilities organizations have grown through mergers and acquisitions, resulting in multiple legacy websites, brand portals, and customer-facing platforms running in parallel. Achieving a consistent standard of accessibility across these environments is not straightforward. The Recite Me Website Accessibility Checker gives your team automated scanning at scale, surfacing WCAG 2.2 violations with prioritized recommendations so your developers can work through issues methodically and efficiently.
Utilities providers are increasingly subject to accessibility scrutiny from regulators and consumer bodies. If your organization receives a formal complaint or compliance notice, a clear and credible remediation plan is essential. Recite Me helps you understand exactly what is expected, identify the highest-priority fixes, and document your progress in a way that demonstrates genuine commitment to improvement.
Bills, tariff comparisons, interruption notices, and terms and conditions are routinely provided as PDFs by utilities companies, and a significant proportion of these documents are not accessible to screen reader users or those who rely on assistive technology. The Recite Me PDF Accessibility Checker and Remediation Tool enables utilities teams to scan, identify, and fix large volumes of documents efficiently, reducing compliance risk and ensuring that critical information reaches every customer.
An accessibility statement is only valuable if it reflects reality. Many utilities organizations struggle to maintain statements that accurately capture what has been reviewed, what still needs attention, and what improvements are genuinely planned. Recite Me provides the data and structure needed to produce statements you can stand behind, and keep updated as your digital services evolve.
Across Your Organization
Key Roles Recite Me Supports
Delivering accessible digital services in utilities is a collaborative effort. Recite Me supports teams across the organization in playing their part.
Marketing & Communications
Recite Me helps marketing teams produce communications that genuinely reach everyone, including customers with additional needs or those who prefer to engage in languages other than English.
- Real-time content translation
- Customizable reading and display
- Accessible digital communications
- Broader reach across all audiences
Digital, IT and Web
Recite Me gives your technical teams the visibility and tooling they need to build and maintain accessible utilities platforms, from initial development through to ongoing monitoring.
- Live progress dashboards
- Automated website scanning
- Continuous monitoring between audits
- Fix recommendations ranked by severity
Compliance & Governance
Recite Me helps compliance teams demonstrate that your organization is meeting its accessibility obligations, with evidence trails suitable for regulatory review and internal governance.
- Audit-ready documentation
- Exportable compliance evidence
- Structured records of remediation
- WCAG 2.2 level AA alignment reporting
Our Solutions
Recite Me Accessibility Solutions for the Utilities Sector
Recite Me offers a connected suite of accessibility tools that help utilities providers serve every customer online, meet their legal obligations, and manage documents at scale. Key solutions include:
INCLUSION
Assistive Toolbar
- Text-to-speech with over 65 voices
- Translation software with over 100 languages
- Styling changes for colors and fonts
- Focus tools, such as rulers and screen masks
- Reading aids, such as dictionaries, page summarizers, and magnifiers
COMPLIANCE
Web Accessibility Checker
- Full site scanning for WCAG 2.2 violations
- Prioritized list of accessibility fixes
- AI-powered autofixes, code suggestions, and image alt text generation
- Schedule future audits for long-term compliance
- Integration with project management tools like Jira and Azure DevOps
DOCUMENTS
PDF Accessibility Checker
- Full website scanning to identify inaccessible documents
- Implement AI-powered autofixes to resolve accessibility issues
- Remediate PDF files at scale
- Track progress and schedule future scans
- Compliance with accessibility standards like the ADA and the ACA
Customers
What Utilities Organizations Say About Recite Me
Utilities providers across the US use Recite Me to make their websites and documents more inclusive for the customers who depend on them every day.
- Lauren Sanders
- Marketing Manager, Utilita
- Louise Beardmore
- Customer Services and People Director, United Utilities
- Cecil Edey
- Conduct and Consumer Vulnerability Manager, British Gas
Download the Utilities Accessibility Guide
Practical guidance on building more accessible digital services for utilities customers.
Resolving digital barriers
Website build tips
How Recite Me helps
Utilities Accessibility FAQs
Which accessibility laws apply to US utilities companies?
Utility providers in the US must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires digital services to be accessible to users with disabilities.
Are utility bills and other customer documents required to be accessible?
Yes. Documents that customers need to manage their services, such as bills, tariff information, interruption notices, and complaints procedures, should be fully accessible. Exemptions exist in specific circumstances, but these are narrow and should not be relied upon without proper legal review.
Will an accessibility tool handle all of our compliance requirements?
No single tool can guarantee full compliance on its own. Accessibility software accelerates the process of finding and fixing issues, but your teams still need to act on the findings and maintain improvement over time. Tools are an enabler, not a substitute for genuine organizational commitment to accessibility.
Is having an accessibility statement enough to satisfy our obligations?
A published accessibility statement shows intent, but it does not mean your website is compliant. What matters is whether the barriers your statement acknowledges are being actively resolved. Regulators and legal bodies will look at the substance of your remediation efforts, not just the existence of the statement itself.
How often should utilities providers be checking their digital accessibility?
At a minimum, a full audit should take place every quarter, with additional checks triggered whenever new features, pages, or documents are launched. Accessibility issues can be introduced through routine content updates, so building monitoring into everyday operations is the most effective long-term approach.
