(Here, it is technically optional for utilities but is an additional $10/month to have your electricity bill posted to you instead of emailed. The tax office requires email as does my bank though - I just checked.)
Our local utility offers a one-time $10 credit for opting-out of paperbilling... most similar signups do/will require in-person verification – which I consider a 'perk' at this point in my life (for identity protection reasons).
>how do you operate without email?
There're a few dozen million of us non-email users; granted most are infirm in some way (whether to age or insanity).
A civil court action several years ago required me to sign attensation to "no phone / email" – which at the time was still true. As I am not an attorney, they cannot refuse my access pro se to the legal system – this case eventually required me to seek representation, so this became moot.