According to Accenture, government and electricity providers worldwide are responding to escalating concerns over climate change, security of supply and volatile energy costs by making bold new investments such as smart metering and mass market energy efficiency.  With many of these investments focused on empowering residential consumers to manage their energy usage more actively and efficiently. 

However, following its global survey of more than 9,000 consumers in 17 countries, Accenture found that while some consumers are open to the idea of moving to electricity management plans - whereby the suppliers actively help households use energy more efficiently through the remote limiting of when home appliances are used - price remains a key factor to the adoption of these plans.

When asked what would discourage them from using electricity management programmes, 46% of the consumers surveyed cited higher electricity bills — despite the fact that electricity management programmes are designed to reduce usage during peak time rates and therefore lower costs. In addition, more than two in five respondents (41%) cited as a deterrent their energy provider’s selling, at a profit, the electricity they themselves saved, and one-third (32%) said they would be discouraged from using electricity management programmes if it would give their electricity provider greater access to their personal electricity consumption data.

“In the new energy era, residential consumers who allow major household appliances to run at off-peak times will potentially receive a financial benefit,” said James Arnott, Senior Executive Accenture, South Africa Resources. “However, utilities must address consumer concerns about external control, privacy and lifestyle implications before broad-based adoption by consumers will occur. In the end, they need to articulate a simple and intuitive value-proposition that resonates with the end-consumer.”

In addition, only 29% of consumers said they trust their electricity providers to advise them on actions they can take to optimise their electricity consumption.  This trust is lowest in deregulated markets such as Germany (10%), Sweden (16%) and the United Kingdom (17%) and highest in regulated markets such as Singapore (54%), China (41%) and South Korea (40%).

Furthermore the report also found that while 75 percent of consumers believe they understand the actions they need to take to optimise their electricity consumption, only 28 percent are aware of and understand programmes offered by electricity providers to help them do so.

“Overall, consumers do not fully equate their personal electricity usage with its environmental impact and overestimate their own understanding of how to optimise their consumption. Electricity providers need to educate consumers on the environmental connection between their usage, the impact on the environment and the value of available options,”

“Without a basic understanding of this relationship, many consumers will not engage in a positive manner and if not carefully managed; their reactions might create a detrimental perception” says Arnott.

Methodology
Accenture’s report, “Understanding Consumer Preferences in Energy Efficiency,” is based on an online survey of 9,108 consumers in 17 countries worldwide conducted during January 2010. The sample included 1,505 respondents in North America; 3,054 in Western Europe; and at least 500 in each of Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Singapore, South Africa and South Korea. The sample was representative of the general population as a whole in terms of age, gender and income, except for emerging economies with low Internet penetration, where the sample was representative of the urban population. The data collection was undertaken by Harris Interactive.