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A practical internal guide for writing web copy that feels cohesive with the public-facing voice on SCE.com
Lead with the customer need. Write in plain language. Make the next step obvious. Reinforce trust through clarity, responsibility, and practical value.
SCE copy sounds clear, helpful, calm, trustworthy, action-oriented, and community-centered — with optimism that is grounded in practical actions, real programs, and reliable service.
| If you remember only this… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Lead with the user task | Start with what the reader needs to do, solve, or understand. |
| Use plain language | Prefer familiar words, short sentences, and active voice. |
| Be specific | Use concrete actions, named programs, timelines, and clear benefits. |
| Stay calm and responsible | Especially for billing, outages, wildfire, scams, and safety topics. |
| Make the next step obvious | Use straightforward CTAs: Learn More, View Options, Get Help, Apply Now. |
| Theme | What it means |
|---|---|
| Safety | Protect customers and communities with clear, steady, useful guidance. |
| Reliability | Emphasize dependable service, grid stewardship, and operational responsibility. |
| Affordability | Help customers manage costs through support, options, and energy-saving tools. |
| Clean energy progress | Connect today's actions to a cleaner, more resilient future (California's 2045 net-zero goal). |
| Community support | Frame SCE as a partner serving people, neighborhoods, and the region. |
| Customer choice | Show available tools, programs, and paths forward rather than a single "pitch." |
| Wildfire & disaster recovery | One-quarter of SCE's service area is in a high fire risk area. Use calm, factual, and empowering language. Acknowledge impact while directing customers to specific resources. |
| Attribute | What it means in practice | What it does NOT sound like |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | Easy to scan and easy to understand on first read. | Dense, technical, or abstract. |
| Helpful | Focused on solving the customer's need and guiding the next step. | Overly promotional or self-congratulatory. |
| Trustworthy | Calm, factual, balanced, and responsible. | Hyped, vague, defensive, or absolute. |
| Action-oriented | Built around useful verbs and tangible actions. | Passive, meandering, or generic. |
| Optimistic but grounded | Positive about progress without sounding inflated. | Cheerleading, futurist jargon, or puffery. |
| Community-centered | Shows service to customers, communities, and California's future. | Purely corporate or internally focused. |
Utility first. SCE-style copy starts with usefulness, then reinforces trust, then ties back to mission or broader value when relevant.
| Situation | Recommended tone | What to emphasize |
|---|---|---|
| Billing / payment assistance | Reassuring, practical, respectful | Available options, eligibility, next steps, nonjudgmental support |
| Outages / PSPS / scams / safety | Calm, precise, urgent when necessary | Immediate actions, trusted resources, plain instructions |
| Wildfire & disaster recovery | Calm, factual, empathetic, direct | Acknowledge impact; specific programs (Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program); clear next steps; avoid fear-based language |
| Customer support / how-to | Straightforward, service-oriented | Clarity, ease, completion of task |
| Clean energy / efficiency | Optimistic, empowering, concrete | Benefits, practical actions, rebates, resilience, cleaner future (net-zero 2045) |
| Corporate / about / strategy | Confident, factual, mission-led | Scale, responsibility, stewardship, long-term direction |
| Careers / employer brand | Purposeful, motivating, authentic | Impact, teamwork, future-building, real contribution |
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Use task-led headlines: Help Paying Your Bill, Explore Payment Options, Find Support for Your Move. | Don't open with a brand boast when the reader needs help completing a task. |
| Write in plain language and keep one idea per sentence. | Don't sound like an ad if the page is service-oriented or support-oriented. |
| Use "you" for customer actions and benefits; use "we" for SCE's role and responsibility. | Don't use hype words such as "game-changing," "revolutionary," "best-in-class," or "unlock." |
| Use named programs, facts, and examples when they help the reader act or understand. | Don't overpromise outcomes, especially on sensitive topics such as safety, billing, or disaster response. |
| Keep paragraphs short, use subheads, and make the CTA easy to spot. | Don't bury the action. Avoid making the reader hunt for what to do next. |
| When relevant, tie copy back to safety, reliability, affordability, clean energy, or community impact. | Don't rely on unexplained jargon, acronyms, or insider language. |
| Name specific programs: CARE (32.5% discount), FERA (18% discount), Energy Assistance Fund (EAF), PSPS, Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program. |
| Use more often | Use less often |
|---|---|
| help, support, explore, learn, manage, find, discover | unlock, supercharge, elevate, maximize |
| reliable, affordable, clean, resilient, community, progress | revolutionary, game-changing, disruptive |
| options, programs, resources, guidance, next steps | ecosystem, solutioning, future-proof |
| apply, view, get help, learn more, compare, download | jump in, power up, let's do this |
Use these formulas to keep copy cohesive across the site.
Before publishing or sharing copy, ask: