IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v60y2013icp621-628.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Consumer engagement: An insight from smart grid projects in Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Gangale, Flavia
  • Mengolini, Anna
  • Onyeji, Ijeoma

Abstract

This paper provides an insight into consumer engagement in smart grid projects in Europe. Projects analysed are those included in the catalogue annexed in the JRC Report “Smart Grid projects in Europe: lessons learned and current developments”. The analysis suggests an increase in the interest in consumer engagement projects at European level and a strong focus on the residential sector, and emphasises the key importance of public funding to support these projects. The study also reveals that projects involving consumers are characterised by the pursuit of two main objectives: gaining deeper knowledge of consumer behaviour (observing and understanding the consumer) and motivating and empowering consumers to become active energy customers (engaging the consumer). The paper reviews the main activities undertaken to obtain these objectives and highlights trends and developments in the field. Finally, the paper discusses obstacles to consumer engagement and the strategies adopted by the projects surveyed to tackle them, highlighting the need to build consumer trust and to design targeted campaigns taking into consideration different consumer segments. The conclusions are in line with findings and analyses presented in the literature and underscore the need for further research and action at European level.

Suggested Citation

  • Gangale, Flavia & Mengolini, Anna & Onyeji, Ijeoma, 2013. "Consumer engagement: An insight from smart grid projects in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 621-628.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:60:y:2013:i:c:p:621-628
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.05.031
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513003637
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.05.031?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Verbong, Geert P.J. & Beemsterboer, Sjouke & Sengers, Frans, 2013. "Smart grids or smart users? Involving users in developing a low carbon electricity economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 117-125.
    2. Diaz-Rainey, Ivan & Ashton, John K., 2008. "Stuck between a ROC and a hard place? Barriers to the take up of green energy in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 3043-3051, August.
    3. Hargreaves, Tom & Nye, Michael & Burgess, Jacquelin, 2010. "Making energy visible: A qualitative field study of how householders interact with feedback from smart energy monitors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 6111-6119, October.
    4. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Social norms and energy conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9-10), pages 1082-1095, October.
    5. Honebein, Peter C. & Cammarano, Roy F. & Boice, Craig, 2011. "Building a Social Roadmap for the Smart Grid," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 78-85, May.
    6. Krishnamurti, Tamar & Schwartz, Daniel & Davis, Alexander & Fischhoff, Baruch & de Bruin, Wändi Bruine & Lave, Lester & Wang, Jack, 2012. "Preparing for smart grid technologies: A behavioral decision research approach to understanding consumer expectations about smart meters," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 790-797.
    7. Burgess, Jacquelin & Nye, Michael, 2008. "Re-materialising energy use through transparent monitoring systems," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 4454-4459, December.
    8. Hans-W. Micklitz & Lucia Reisch & Kornelia Hagen, 2011. "An Introduction to the Special Issue on “Behavioural Economics, Consumer Policy, and Consumer Law”," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 271-276, September.
    9. Ngar-yin Mah, Daphne & van der Vleuten, Johannes Marinus & Chi-man Ip, Jasper & Ronald Hills, Peter, 2012. "Governing the transition of socio-technical systems: A case study of the development of smart grids in Korea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 133-141.
    10. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Social norms and energy conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 1082-1095.
    11. Steg, Linda, 2008. "Promoting household energy conservation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 4449-4453, December.
    12. Brodie, Roderick J. & Ilic, Ana & Juric, Biljana & Hollebeek, Linda, 2013. "Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 105-114.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska & Katarzyna Byrka & Jakub Serek, 2020. "How to Foster the Adoption of Electricity Smart Meters? A Longitudinal Field Study of Residential Consumers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Lillemo, Shuling Chen, 2014. "Measuring the effect of procrastination and environmental awareness on households' energy-saving behaviours: An empirical approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 249-256.
    3. Kendel, Adnane & Lazaric, Nathalie & Maréchal, Kevin, 2017. "What do people ‘learn by looking’ at direct feedback on their energy consumption? Results of a field study in Southern France," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 593-605.
    4. IqtiyaniIlham, Nur & Hasanuzzaman, M. & Hosenuzzaman, M., 2017. "European smart grid prospects, policies, and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 776-790.
    5. Yash Chawla & Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska, 2019. "Public Awareness and Consumer Acceptance of Smart Meters among Polish Social Media Users," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-27, July.
    6. Buckley, Penelope, 2020. "Prices, information and nudges for residential electricity conservation: A meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    7. Simcock, Neil & MacGregor, Sherilyn & Catney, Philip & Dobson, Andrew & Ormerod, Mark & Robinson, Zoe & Ross, Simon & Royston, Sarah & Marie Hall, Sarah, 2014. "Factors influencing perceptions of domestic energy information: Content, source and process," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 455-464.
    8. Nemati, Mehdi & Penn, Jerrod, 2020. "The impact of information-based interventions on conservation behavior: A meta-analysis," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    9. Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska & Katarzyna Byrka, 2019. "Determinants of the Willingness to Energy Monitoring by Residential Consumers: A Case Study in the City of Wroclaw in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    10. Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska, 2016. "What makes consumers adopt to innovative energy services in the energy market?," HSC Research Reports HSC/16/09, Hugo Steinhaus Center, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.
    11. Ayoubi, Charles & Thurm, Boris, 2020. "Pro-environmental behavior and morality: An economic model with heterogeneous preferences," OSF Preprints w8afg, Center for Open Science.
    12. Agarwal, Sumit & Sing, Tien Foo & Sultana, Mahanaaz, 2022. "Public media campaign and energy conservation: A natural experiment in Singapore," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    13. Šćepanović, Sanja & Warnier, Martijn & Nurminen, Jukka K., 2017. "The role of context in residential energy interventions: A meta review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1146-1168.
    14. Cardella, Eric & Ewing, Brad & Williams, Ryan Blake, 2018. "Green is Good – The Impact of Information Nudges on the Adoption of Voluntary Green Power Plans," 2018 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2018, Jacksonville, Florida 266583, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    15. Vesterberg, Mattias, 2017. "Power to the people: Electricity demand and household behavior," Umeå Economic Studies 942, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    16. Christian Cordes & Joshua Henkel, 2022. "Enhanced "Green Nudging": Tapping the Channels of Cultural Transmission," Bremen Papers on Economics & Innovation 2208, University of Bremen, Faculty of Business Studies and Economics.
    17. Elbaz Shimon & Zaiţ Adriana, 2016. "Efficient Use of Behavioral Tools to Reduce Electricity Demand of Domestic Consumers," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 63(s1), pages 89-107, December.
    18. Baddeley, M., 2011. "Energy, the Environment and Behaviour Change: A survey of insights from behavioural economics," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1162, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    19. Sweeney, Jillian C. & Kresling, Johannes & Webb, Dave & Soutar, Geoffrey N. & Mazzarol, Tim, 2013. "Energy saving behaviours: Development of a practice-based model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 371-381.
    20. Spandagos, Constantine & Yarime, Masaru & Baark, Erik & Ng, Tze Ling, 2020. "“Triple Target” policy framework to influence household energy behavior: Satisfy, strengthen, include," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:60:y:2013:i:c:p:621-628. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.