Winning Good Customers- Losing Bad Debt

Bad debt, the revenue that utilities write off because customers can't or won't pay their bills, continues to accumulate like barnacles clinging to a ship's hull and creating drag. As economic growth returns, utilities expect their cash flows to improve. But the bad-debt provisions of major European and North American utilities remain high well beyond the recession. Some utilities will write off as much debt in 2011 as they did last year, according to Bain & Company projections.