Customer Acceptance of Smart Grid: The role of psychological interventions and customer value

Ph.D. Workshop at Energieinformatik 2013, Vienna

Abstract long paper: Besides efficiently managing the energy supply - which has been the focus in the past - the efficient and effective management of the energy demand is nowadays considered to be of utmost importance in order to meet the energy challenges of the future. Politicians, managers, engineers and researchers alike agree on so-called smart grids being a promising solution in that regard. The smart grid provides various solutions, products and services - such as demand response programs, real-time feedback systems, smart metering solutions etc. -, which enable a better management of the demand for energy. However, these solutions must be employed at customer side and the customers need to accept and use them in their daily life. Only if customers actively accept and use these solutions and thus actively participate in the smart grid, one can fully exploit the opportunities regarding energy efficiency and demand control they offer. Thus, it is crucial to understand which factors increase customers' acceptance of smart grid technologies and services. In this PhD different interventions, including psychological interventions, will be tested in order to identify acceptance factors that increase customer participation in a smart grid. The results of this PhD should prove useful for managers as well as for policy makers when designing smart grid applications, developing products and service bundles, effective business models and incentive schemes.