OPINIONS ON SMART GRID

Smart Grid Consumer Survey; Preferences and Attitudes about Smart Meters, Home Energy Management, Demand Response Programs, and Smart Appliances
Bob Gohn, Brian Davis and Clint Wheelock, 4Q 2010 (Pike Research)

"…During 2010, industry discussion of consumer [acceptance of the Smart Grid] has intensified, particularly in the wake of loud consumer pushback related to smart meter deployments in the Pacific Gas & Electric and Oncor service territories. Utilities are seeking effective ways to communicate the benefits…[K]ey players…continue to wrestle with developing the business models and user experiences that will resonate…[S]everal dozen home energy management companies are jockeying to find their place…

"In order to establish a framework for understanding consumer interest and attitudes…Pike Research conducted a survey…in the summer of 2010…While energy information displays (EIDs) and smart appliances enjoy relatively strong levels of interest, consumers are less enthused about smart meters and demand response (DR) programs…"

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"…Familiarity with the concept of smart meters was quite low…Ambivalence to smart meters was most common among respondents…Strong opinions, whether favorable or unfavorable, were strongly correlated with familiarity…Increased consumer access to electricity usage information was identified as an important benefit…Improved reliability of electricity service was not far behind…The most popular reason for an unfavorable opinion about smart meters…focused on concerns that the devices would lead to an increase in electricity bills…

"…Consumer interest in the energy information display (EID) concept was fairly strong…Interest in EIDs was greater among consumers with higher monthly electric bills…The largest number of EID intenders (38%) stated that they would actively manage the energy usage in their home, as opposed to a more passive or “set and forget” mode of EID usage…Dedicated in-home display units (IHDs) were the most popular user interface option…Consumer willingness to pay for EIDs has diminished since 2009…Nearly all respondents interested in EIDs (92%) selected the electric utility as their preferred provider of energy management services…"

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"…[F]or the purposes of this survey, Pike Research described [Demand Response Services (DR)] programs as “energy savings plans.”…Consumers with higher electricity bills were more likely to express interest in DR programs…

"…43% of respondents stated that they would be “extremely” or “very” interested in
purchasing a smart appliance, assuming the price was right and the electric bill savings would be enough to make it worthwhile…Early adopters of technology showed much higher levels of interest… 68% were comfortable paying at least 10% more than the price of a conventional appliance…[but] 23% indicated that a smart appliance would have to be the same price as other appliances…[The most frequent objection was losing] control [of] their own appliances (49%). 39% expressed a concern about the 'Big Brother' aspect of their utility monitoring their electricity use."