preferences and concerns that drive the energy consumption behaviour of European consumers. An overview of the findings (in terms of the exploration of "awareness, understanding and attitudes towards active demand", "attitude and behaviours towards energy efficiency and active demand" and "attitudes and preferences towards smart metering systems") of the surveys carried out within three different projects – Advanced, E-balance and USmartConsumer – is presented in Table 3.1. Not all Member States are covered, but the surveyed countries are representative of different geographical areas and can give some useful information on the general trends occurring at European level
44
Advanced
E-balance
USmartConsumer
Awareness, understanding and attitudes towards active demand
Attitudes and behaviours towards energy efficiency and active demand
Attitudes and preferences towards smart metering systems
Quantitative sample Quantitative sample Quantitative sample
DE 1001 496 ES 1000 173 FI 138 FR 1002 IT 1007 315 NL 1001 1647 PL 1004 1632 154 PT 1661 SE 1006 UK 1000 270
Source: Advanced, E-balance, USmartConsumer
Table 1. Overview of initiatives exploring consumers' energy consumption attitudes and behaviours
In all surveys quantitative research tools - such as structured interviews or questionnaires - are used to explore different aspects of consumer’s energy consumption behaviours. In some cases the use of quantitative tools has been complemented by the use of qualitative tools - such as focus groups or semi structured or open interviews – to get a deeper understanding of the motivations and drivers for behavioural change in energy consumption. As shown in Table 1, the scope of the quantitative surveys changes slightly from project to project. In this section I will briefly present the main findings from these European surveys (carried out within the context of these three EU projects) on consumer attitudes and concerns.
The Advanced project focused on the interaction between consumers and technology and on consumers' level of awareness, understanding and attitudes towards active demand. The quantitative research was based on an online survey carried out in eight European countries involving over 8,000 consumers (Advanced FP7 Project, 2015). Some interesting findings that can be useful in identifying consumer's attitudes and preferences are the following:
45
Saving money is the main driver for paying attention to energy consumption at home; Data privacy is still a concern for many consumers.
The E-balance project investigated consumers' needs, requirements, and concerns to assess the preliminary potential of the E-balance approach, unveil possible obstacles, and determine consumers’ requirements to be mapped into their business model. The findings of the online survey launched in three Member States (Poland, The Netherlands and Portugal), are consistent with those highlighted by the Advanced project:
For the vast majority of consumers the most important driver for the acceptance of the new technology is the reduction of electricity bills and the control over their electricity bill;
The main consumers' concerns are the perceived cost-effectiveness of the solution, the amount of involvement needed to use the system effectively and privacy issues.
Finally, the USmartConsumer project took a slightly different angle. The aim of their market survey was to understand consumers' wishes and how they will behave if they are given the right tools and information. The findings regarding the level of consumers’ awareness of their electricity consumption and consumers' main attitudes and concerns towards the new technology are in line with the literature and with the results presented by the Advanced and E-balance projects namely:
Control over electricity bills and the reduction of electricity bills are still the main drivers of consumers’ interest for the new technology;
Data security and privacy are main concerns, in particular data abuse by third parties.
The USmartConsumer project also investigated consumers' preferences regarding feedback solutions and the way smart meter data are presented. The findings showed that websites, tablets, mobile applications and In-Home Displays (IHD) are the favourite feedback tools in all countries, but there are strong differences among them. Detailed paper invoices (letters) do not seem to appeal the consumer.
Concerning feedback visualization, most consumers prefer having smart meter data presented in several ways, for a better comprehension (e.g.: table and numbers, charts, etc.)
The three studies analysed shed some light on consumers' attitudes, preferences and concerns. Table 1 provides an overview of the main findings grouped into four main categories, i.e. attitudes that drive consumers' behaviour (feedback information), the channels and devices used to deliver smart meter data (feedback solutions), the way this information is presented to the consumers (feedback visualization) and the main consumers' concerns.
46
Surveyed aspects Findings Feedback information
(consumers' attitudes)
- monetary - environmental - social responsibility
Monetary saving is the most important driver for most of the countries
Feedback solutions - web portal - smartphone/tablet - IHD
- letter
High interest in web portal, IHD and smart app.
Low interest in text messages and paper format
Feedback visualization - tables and numbers - charts
Smart meter data need to be presented in several ways for better understanding
Consumers' concerns - privacy and security - loss of control
- change in comfort level
Privacy and data security are still major concerns
Table 2. Summary of findings from European surveys
The results of the surveys however should be taken with some caution, as the respondents' answer is influenced by a variety of circumstances, e.g. national circumstances, the survey sampling methods and the way the questions are formulated. In some cases the respondents interviewed have never seen a smart meter or a feedback interface: the risk of misunderstanding by the respondent is thus high, even if the survey provided an explanation.
In this context, it is important to mention the ongoing effort at EU level to investigate if a well- functioning electricity market is in place for consumers in the EU and to assess how the performance of retail electricity markets for consumers has developed in the recent year. A study on these questions has been recently released: "Second consumer market study on the functioning of the retail
electricity markets for consumers in the EU" (European Commission, 2016e). Part of the study is
specifically dedicated to survey consumer's awareness, attitudes and experiences with electricity services and uses.
More specifically, the study assesses the awareness of EU consumers of "how much they pay for their electricity" (Figure 12). It emerges that across EU28, 52% of respondents said that they know how much they paid for electricity. However a variation is visible among countries in Europe, where in country as Italy and Spain a considerable lower level than in Slovakia, Lithuania and Cyprus is observed.
47
Source: Second consumer market study on the functioning of the retail electricity markets for consumers in the EU (European Commission, 2016e)
Figure 12. Agreement with the statement: "I know how much I pay for electricity (per month, year or any other frequency)", by country
In addition, the study also assesses consumer awareness of "how much electricity they use" (Figure 13). In this case a larger variation across countries is observed in the proportion of respondents who answered that they were aware of how much electricity they used. It appears that consumer's awareness of their electricity consumption in term of KWh is lower than monetary awareness.
Source: Second consumer market study on the functioning of the retail electricity markets for consumers in the EU (European Commission, 2016e)
Figure 13. Agreement with the statement: "I know how much electricity I use (per month, year or any other frequency) in KWh", by country
The study also investigates consumer's awareness of smart metering infrastructure: "I am aware of
48
Source: Second consumer market study on the functioning of the retail electricity markets for consumers in the EU (European Commission, 2016e)
Figure 14. Agreement with the statement: "I am aware of smart meters and what they do", by country
It emerges that awareness of smart meters is low in most Member States. Across the EU28, 33% of respondents disagreed with the statement "I am aware of smart meters and what they do" and further 7% replied with a "Don't know" response. The study goes further on smart metering analysis, presenting a case study on smart meters that illustrates that smart meter deployment should be accompanied with appropriate data visualization systems, to ensure that the consumer receives customized feedback on their energy use. This case study will be further explained in Chapter 4.
From the studies presented till know I can draw the conclusion that consumer's awareness on electricity use and smart electricity system enabling technologies is not uniform across Europe. A significant numbers of consumers do not know much about their electricity use and on the potentiality of smart metering infrastructure. This affects the decisions they make regarding their electricity contract or in making savings.
In the next section I will enrich the findings coming from surveys; in particular I will provide an overview of how consumer engagement strategies are increasingly being employed in EU DSM pilot