Implications of customer value perceptions for the design of electricity efficiency services in times of smart metering

Abstract

Smart meters are the backbone of modern electricity metering and an important enabler of reaching energy efficiency targets. The implementation of new metering infrastructure is, however, making little progress and is often focused on technical aspects only. Additionally, existing smart metering information systems do not yet exploit the possibilities to optimally support customers in their electricity savings activities. Knowing customer preferences is absolutely essential for the effectiveness of energy efficiency measures and, as a consequence, for realizing the economic value of smart metering technology. The presented research contributes to the field by identifying customer value perceptions concerning new smart meter services in the retail electricity market in Switzerland. Founded on a choice-based conjoint analysis with a data sample of more than 1500 respondents from three Swiss regions, five customer segments with different preferences are identified. With the exception of the comfort-oriented customer segment, the other four segments are comprised of customers who are willing (1) to pay for smart meter services and (2) to change their behavior to save electricity. Based on the identified customer value perceptions, implications for the design of smart meter-based energy efficiency services are elaborated.