Post # 71 -- UK Smart Meter Pilot Shows Promising Reductions in Consumer Energy Consumption

General Electric last announced the results of a three month test of smart meters in the English village of North Leigh, stating that the meters allowed the community to reduce its energy consumption by 10% over three months.

The United Kingdom has committed to the European Union’s goal of reducing primary energy consumption of primary by 20% by 2020—the EU's so-called 20/20/20 initiative. Part of the effort to to provide the UK government and British utilities with information to gauge effective methods of influencing consumer behavior to reduce energy usage, the "Challenge North Leigh!” pilot was part of the government-sponsored Energy Demand Research Project (EDRP), a suite of large scale trials across Great Britain. It seeks to better understand how consumers react to improved information about their energy consumption over the long term.

The EDRP is testing a range of methods of providing customers with improved feedback on their energy consumption, including:

-smart electricity and gas meters;

-real-time display devices, which show energy use in pounds and pence;

-more accurate and more frequent bills;

-energy efficiency information; and

-community engagement.

For “Challenge North Leigh!,” Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE)—a Scottish-based utility providing electric service both north and south of the England/Scotland border—provided GE smart meters to the 800-home Oxfordshire community, making the 2,000 villagers some of the first in the United Kingdom to have smart meters installed in their homes. The smart meters gathered data in real-time and communicated that information back to the energy supplier. SSE was then able to present gas and electricity usage information to individual customers. This information was made available to individuals on a website, allowing them to view their energy usage and enabling them to make informed choices to reduce their electricity demand—again, according to G.E., by about 10% over three months.

The full project results have not yet been posted, but “Challenge North Leigh!” points to the potentially positive role smart meters can play in consumers' energy conservation practices.

Post # 18 - British Consumers: Not Yet Ready for Smart Meters?

On the eve of the recent British elections, the UK government announced plans to equip every home in Britain with smart meters by the end of 2020. Energy suppliers would install approximately 26 million electricity and 22 million gas meters at a cost of £7bn – which works out to an annual per-household cost of about £15. Of that amount, £10 would be accounted for in supplier cost savings and £5 would be borne by their customers.

Balanced against these costs, the plan predicts major consumer benefits. Specifically, the plan envisions that the average consumer will see (through energy use reductions facilitated by smart meters) savings of approximately £25 to £35 per bill. See here and here.

But the question always remains: will consumers actually use smart meter data? In this regard, a recent survey suggests that, at least in the UK, consumers may not be ready for smart meters.

Late last month, on behalf of PassivSystems, a home technology firm, the British public opinion research organization YouGov conducted an online smart meter survey of 2085 adults. The YouGov survey suggests that approximately seven out of ten British consumers would not act on the information provided by smart meters even if smart meters were installed. See here and here. In other words, actual consumer behavior may trump the projected consumer cost reductions.

Of course, this type of survey – asking consumers to predict future conduct based on new, unproven, and not yet available technologies – cannot be viewed as definitive. But the YouGov survey is one more indication that consumers haven’t yet bought into the smart meter concept – and may prove resistant when asked to foot the bill for smart meter installation.