Market failures and willingness to accept smart meters: Experimental evidence from the UK

Abstract

To facilitate the sustainable energy transition, governments and innovators are encouraging households to adopt smart technologies that allow for increased flexibility in energy grids. At the time of undertaking this research in 2020, the UK’s ambitious smart metering policy had indisputably failed to achieve its objective of equipping all dwellings with smart meters. This research uses a novel experiment to elicit the willingness to accept of 2,430 nationally representative UK households for smart meter installation. Randomized information treatments allow for assessment of the impact on adoption and willingness to accept of oft-cited market failures, namely imperfect information and diffusion externalities. We explore treatment effects and identify non-additional policy expenditures for a range of potential subsidy programs.