Union Power Cooperative

Overview

Powered by Purpose & Member Service

Union Power Cooperative serves more than 90,000 member accounts across five counties with a mission to enhance the quality of life of its members and communities through safe, reliable electric power and energy services with exceptional value. As a member-governed cooperative, Union Power’s work is rooted in service, local accountability and the seven cooperative principles, from Concern for Community to Education, Training and Information. Those values shaped its website redesign with Powerful. Union Power wanted an experience that felt easy to navigate, intuitive for visitors, refreshed in appearance and capable of helping members complete common tasks online with less need for routine phone calls and emails. The redesigned site supports that direction with a modern design, clear pathways to key resources and content that reflects the cooperative’s role in building a brighter future for the communities it serves.

Turning Research Into a Bright Design

Union Power wanted its redesigned website to feel modern, clean, innovative and professional while still staying true to its cooperative identity. That balance mattered. A refreshed design could do more than create a new look; it could help visitors quickly understand who Union Power is, what it offers and where to go next. Through Powerful’s UX Package, the design direction was shaped by a site analytics report, heat map analysis and internal stakeholder survey, giving both teams a clear view of how visitors were interacting with the site before design decisions began.

The analytics showed meaningful patterns. During the period reviewed, Union Power’s site received 65,000 visitors and 165,900 page views, with mobile traffic making up the largest share of activity. The findings also noted that engagement on mobile and tablet was significantly lower, which pointed to a clear design opportunity: the new site needed to feel strong on smaller screens, not simply fit on them. Powerful carried that insight into a responsive, mobile-first design that gives visitors a smoother path to essential information from the moment the homepage loads.

The premium design also reflects Union Power’s “Building a Brighter Future” message through a strong hero area, warm photography, clean visual movement and clear pathways to priority actions. The homepage pairs promotional storytelling with task-oriented structure, placing options such as Sign Up for Service, Pay My Bill, Member Login and Outages directly below the hero. That approach keeps the design visually engaging while still grounding the experience in what visitors are most likely trying to accomplish.

The refreshed homepage also gives Union Power room to tell a fuller cooperative story. Sections for Operation Round Up, the latest news, Carolina Country magazine and member impact statistics help connect service details to community value. The illustrated footer continues that local storytelling, creating a final visual moment that feels personal, rooted and distinctly Union Power. Together, these choices give the site a polished design with a practical purpose: helping members feel informed and connected.

Navigation Shaped by Real Visitor Needs

Union Power’s content strategy carried the same evidence-driven approach into the site structure. Powerful and Union Power looked at what visitors were actually doing on the site, then shaped the content strategy around those behaviors. The UX findings showed that visitors commonly came to the site to pay their bills or find outage information, while key homepage priorities included Pay Bill, Report an Outage, Sign Up for Service, Member Portal, Contact Us, News, Operation Round Up and Billing & Payment Options.

That strategy appears in the header and above-the-fold layout. The top bar keeps Report an Outage and Pay My Bill visible, while the main navigation organizes information under member-focused categories such as My Account, Member Resources, Outage & Reliability, Energy & Safety, Community & News and Your Cooperative. The quick-action buttons beneath the hero repeat the most essential tasks in a visual format, giving visitors a second path if they scan the page instead of opening a menu. It is a simple move, but for a member checking a bill or outage status, simple is the whole point.

The heat map findings also showed where content could carry more weight by reducing extra clicks. The UX Package recommended pulling key information out of accordions so visitors could see options without opening several hidden panels. That insight supports a content approach built around visible explanations, guided choices and direct links. For example, outage-related content could be grouped into an Outage Center so visitors can reach the outage map, street light repair form and report-an-outage information from one focused place.

Contact and urgent service information received similar attention. The UX Package recommended bringing texting and calling information out of accordions, including phone numbers on the Contact Us page and making those numbers tap-to-call for consistent access across devices. This matters most in moments when members are already trying to solve a problem, such as reporting an outage or checking restoration information. By letting analytics and heat map patterns guide content decisions, the redesigned site helps Union Power present information in a way that feels organized, timely and helpful.