Abstract
The main objective of our study was investigating the impact of norms and financial motivation on the disutility of energy management for Polish households. We analyzed consumer preferences and willingness to accept demand-side management (DSM) programs. Choice experiment was applied for electricity contracts including external control of electricity consumption. Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior provided the theoretical framework of the study, which tested hypotheses about the impact of social norms on consumer choices of electricity contracts. We show that people with higher descriptive social norms about electricity consumption are less sensitive to the level of compensation and more responsive to the number of blackouts. People willing to sign a contract for financial reasons were less sensitive to the external control of electricity consumption and less inclined toward the status quo option. Injunctive social norms and personal norms had a non-significant impact on consumer decisions. We conclude that financial incentives can reduce the effect of the norms. Social and personal norms seem to be more important when we analyze the revealed preferences. European countries face significant challenges related to changes in energy policy. This study contributes to understanding the decisions of households and provides insights into the implementation of DSM.
Highlights
Electricity use has increased exponentially since the Industrial Revolution, affecting the long-term sustainability of our planet [1]
Climate change policies focus on reducing electricity consumption, but given the expected growth in demand, more coordination is required in the power systems
We examined the impact of social norms and the effect of financial motivation on the acceptance of contracts that decrease the flexibility of electricity usage
Summary
Electricity use has increased exponentially since the Industrial Revolution, affecting the long-term sustainability of our planet [1]. A power deficit is a typical technical problem that is often experienced during peak load It occurs when the production and import of electricity cannot cover consumption. When peak demand is high, there is a risk of power shortage This challenge to the grid often results in supply-side measures, such as investing in power plants to satisfy the demand, as well as higher tariffs for consumers. Researchers have proposed various solutions to this problem, including time-of-use pricing, load control, education, increasing consumer awareness of energy costs and environmental pollution, and providing the information about the current use (feedback). These measures are known as demand-side management (DSM)
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