Do Price Signals Encourage Customers to Change Their Energy Usage Behaviors? Evidence from a Statewide Time of Use (TOU) Rates Experiment

Transcription

1 Do Price Signals Encourage Customers to Change Their Energy Usage Behaviors? Evidence from a Statewide Time of Use (TOU) Rates Experiment Elizabeth Focella, Ph.D., Research Into Action, Inc., Portland, OR, USA Benjamin Messer, Ph.D., Research Into Action, Inc., Portland, OR, USA

2 Disclaimer The information provided and views expressed in this presentation are those of Research Into Action and do not represent the California Time of Use Working Group BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 2

3 California IOUs Tasked with Conducting TOU Rate Opt-In Pilot Would customers reduce/shift their electricity usage in response to the higher electricity prices in the afternoons/evenings? Did these actions persist over time? What barriers prevented participants from changing behaviors? 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 3

4 Pilot Randomized Control Trial Design Over 55,000 customers opted-in and randomly assigned to control and TOU experimental groups Control groups on standard tiered rate 2 to 3 experimental groups per IOU on TOU rates, varied by peak hours in afternoon/evenings (e.g. 4:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m., etc.) 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 4

5 TOU Pilot Timeline Customers recruited to participate in the Pilot June/July 2016 First customer survey fielded June to Aug End of the Pilot Start of the Pilot Second customer survey fielded Summer/Fall 2015 Oct. to Dec December BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 5

6 Actions Taken Often or Always from Most to Least Common (all groups/surveys) Turned off the lights 88% Avoided running the dishwasher 66% Avoided doing laundry 64% Turned off office equipment 53% Avoided running their pool/spa pump 51% Reduced using or turned off AC on warm days in winter/spring 45% Turned off AC in summer 43% Reduced using or turned off heat on cold days in winter/spring 39% Increased thermostat temp in summer 37% Turned off entertainment equipment 37% Pre-cooled home 32% Avoided cooking 27% 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 6

7 The TOU Rate Increased the Following Actions: Avoided running the dishwasher Avoided doing laundry Avoided running pool/spa pump 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 7

8 Actions That Persisted for TOU Rate Groups Turned off lights Turned off office equipment Turned off entertainment equipment Pre-cooled home 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 8

9 Actions Taken Resulted in Savings for Many TOU Rate Groups Nexant performed load and bill impact analyses First summer: Nearly all TOU Rate groups monthly bills and peak hour usage reduced due to behavior change Most TOU Rate groups load reductions were significant -3.94% -$ BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 9

10 Barriers Reported from Most to Least Common (all groups/surveys) Done all they can do in winter/spring 43% Household already used very little electricity 32% Someone at home/works from home most of the day 22% Home gets uncomfortable if they reduce usage 20% Children make it difficult to change routines 14% Have old appliances that use a lot of energy 12% Schedule does not allow them to reduce usage 11% Elderly members make it difficult to change routines 11% Don t know or can t think of actions to take 10% Disabled members make it difficult to change routines 7% 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 10

11 Barriers Reported by More TOU Rate Groups vs. Control Done all they can do in winter/spring Someone at home/works from home most of the day Schedule does not allow them to reduce usage 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 11

12 Barriers Reported by Less TOU Rate Groups vs. Control Household already uses very little electricity Don t know or can t think of actions to take 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 12

13 Key Takeaways Price signals with messaging and outreach encouraged TOU customers to change their behavior regarding laundry, dishwasher, and pool pump TOU customers mostly persisted in taking actions during the first 12 months of Pilot Behavior change resulted in bill and load reductions for customers in several TOU Rate groups Most common barriers for TOU customers related to doing all they can and household schedules 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 13

14 Questions Contact: Benjamin Messer Elizabeth Focella Report is available upon request or at

15 Study Design Climate Region Segment Control vs. Rate 1 Control vs. Rate 2 Control vs. Rate 3 Non-CARE/FERA CARE/FERA PG&E, SCE PG&E, SCE PG&E, SCE Hot Below 100% FPG 100 to 200% FPG Seniors PG&E SCE None Moderate Non-CARE/FERA CARE/FERA PG&E, SCE, SDG&E PG&E, SCE, SDG&E PG&E, SCE Cool Non-CARE/FERA CARE/FERA PG&E, SCE, SDG&E PG&E, SCE, SDG&E PG&E, SCE 2018 BECC Washington, DC October 8, 2018 pg. 15