Abstract
Today's increasing demand for electricity requires solutions that better align with energy demand and supply. Innovative technological solutions such as smart metering applications are gaining popularity among electricity providers. Despite numerous benefits, smart meters, a part of the technology on the Internet of Things (IoT), continue to struggle for widespread consumer acceptance due to limited knowledge on electricity savings and environmental awareness. These factors were examined in isolation and have not been theoretically incorporated or examined. Hence, this study investigates the factors that influence residential consumers' acceptance of smart meters by integrating electricity-saving knowledge and environmental awareness with the second generation of “unified theory of acceptance and use of technology” (UTAUT2). The literature revealed an important link between users' behavioural intention and users' use behaviour. Well-established theories of acceptance like “technology acceptance model” (TAM) and UTAUT, incorporate the behavioural intention variable in the nomological network of technology adoption determinants. This study highlighted the impact of users' behavioural intention on users' use behaviour, which was not examined previously by any of the smart meter acceptance models. The data were collected from 318 consumers of residential smart meters in Putrajaya and Malacca, the cities in Malaysia, and were statistically tested using SME-PLS The study confirms that adding electricity-saving knowledge and environmental awareness to the UTAUT2 leads to a significant increase in the explained variance in consumer acceptance of smart meter.
Highlights
The components of the power grids are connected to form smart grids via communication networks that use sensors and the Internet
This study found that environmental awareness and electricity-saving knowledge had a meaningful and favourable impact on the consumers’ behavioural intention when it came to the use of smart meters
The findings revealed that the performance expectancy significantly affected the behavioural intention This implied that the greater the performance expectancy of the smart meter, in terms of its usefulness, ability to function, and degree of response in disseminating complete, new, applicable, and correct information, the greater the intention of consumers to use smart meters because they align with their needs
Summary
The smart meter has been introduced to the public as an alternative to traditional electricity meters. Traditional electricity meters must be separately inspected by metering workers from the energy provider companies. Smart meters can promote extensive and economical customer involvement in the utility segment and increase the involvement of the end-user in energy conservation [3]–[5]. Smart meters can support a wide range of goals geared toward reducing climate change and provide energy security. Driven by various initiatives, such as liberalised markets, market competition, service quality, operations, and customer choice, utility providers are investing in smart meter systems [7], [8] to facilitate and promote energy-efficient lifestyles by reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption, as well as increasing renewable energy. A report on smart meter deployment stated the number of installed smart meters has increased by over 100 per
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