Identifying the Factors for Ensuring Customers Actively Engaged in Smart Grids

Abstract

Smart grids are expected to become an essential component of the future energy system. The technical potential of smart grids is far reaching and increasingly well understood, and smart grids are now in the early phases of market deployment in several regions, particularly, in Europe and the US. Less understood than the technical aspects is how and to what degree end users (i.e. the customers) are willing and able to embrace smart grid technologies and the changes in mindset associated with this transition. This article reports the main findings from an IEA (International Energy Agency)-DSM (demand side management) project addressing the role of customers in a smart grid deployment scheme, specifically how customer behavior may restrict the technical potential of smart grids from being realized. With a model of household energy behavior as the theoretical point of departure, the research builds on experiences from various smart grid pilot studies, together with consumer research within similar domains, to identify behavioral challenges that are likely to hamper adoption of "smart grid behaviors". Based on this insight, a set of recommendations to minimize customer resistance to smart grid deployment is suggested.