Consumers to Utilities: You Don't Get Something for Nothing (Even Energy Efficiency)

Consumers are overwhelmingly resistant to home energy management plans in which utilities remotely limit the use of their home appliances. That is, they won't do it for free. "Understanding Consumer Preferences in Energy Efficiency," a report on a global survey of more than 9,000 consumers in 17 countries, says consumers are more amenable to the idea if they can get significant discounts on their power bills in return for their participation. The report, provided by management consulting and technology services company Accenture, also notes almost half of consumers wouldn't sign on for an electricity management plan if it meant their power bills were going to increase. And predictably, data privacy was an issue for about a third of the survey participants.

Quick Take: Here we have another example of why electricity providers need to reinvent themselves, or at least their marketing departments, if they really want consumers on board with Smart Grid energy efficiency efforts. The Accenture report also says 75% of consumers think they know what they need to do to get the most out of their electricity use, but only 28% know about and understand utility programs intended to help them do it.

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