Hug, nudge, shove or smack? Testing approaches to reducing peak energy consumption by consumers - Final Report

There is consistent pressure on consumers – particularly vulnerable consumers – generated by the consistent increase in energy prices. This pressure needs to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable electricity management at both the supply - side and demand - side. There are therefore two sides that can be influenced by interventions – the demand - side (those using the electricity, such as energy consumers) or the supply - side (those supplying the electricity, such as generators, distributors and retailers). One key challenge that affects both sides is ‘event days’. These days occur when the level of demand exceeds the ability to supply – for example, on a few very hot days each year. If the infrastructure cannot keep up with demand, then two options are available: 1) Improve or increase the infrastructure (an option that will increase costs for both the suppliers and consumers) or 2) Reduce the demand for electricity during event days, either by using voluntary or required demand control. This research deals with the latter option, by examining how interventions /levers on the demand - side can encourage consumers to use less electricity during event days, reducing the load on infrastructure and helping to keep prices lower. In order to examine this issue, the current research combines behavioural economics and social marketing to generate multifaceted insights. Two studies are referenced in this report. Study 1 was a behavioural economics experiment previously conducted by some members of the research team and Lucy Orr (2016 ) and examines a context of general energy efficiency with a student sample. This study is referenced throughout in order to provide a comparative lens for results. The second, and main, study reported here is a behavioural economics experiment that examines the specific context of peak demand with a sample of general population adults. Three research questions were proposed to be addressed in Study 2 , specifically: RQ1: How do consumers respond to each of the four policy levers for demand control? RQ2: How does the initial effect decay over time for each lever? RQ3: What are the individual differences that influence consumer responses to the levers