WHAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE SMART GRID

Consumer Pulse Research Program – Wave 2
December 11, 2011 (Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative)

"…Smart grid awareness remains low: About half of consumers (51%) say they have never heard the term and another one-fifth (21%) say that they have heard the term smart grid but don’t know much about what it means…Awareness levels are similar for smart meters (46% have never heard the term and 20% don’t know much about what it means).

"…Knowledge of smart grid and smart meter varies by demographics and by consumer segment…Most people now have positive or neutral impressions of smart grid: 54% of those who are familiar with the term say that their general feelings about smart grid are favorable; 21% say neutral; 15% say negative; and 10% don’t know…General impressions of smart meters are about the same, at 54% favorable, 23% neutral."

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"…Smart grid/meter favorability vary by demographics and consumer segment…Seven benefits were tested to determine which ones consumers feel are most/least important. All seven benefits are considered important by at least 80% of consumers.

"…Overall the most important benefit is…A smart grid senses problems and reroutes power automatically. This prevents some outages and reduces the lengthof those that do occur…[T]he benefit that the highest percentage of customers said was important enough to help justify a higher electric bill is…Smart grid reduces greenhouse gas emissions by making it easier to connect renewable energy sources to the electricity grid…Five of the seven benefits were identified as most important by at least one of the five SGCC segments…"