When asked about their level of interest across eight consumption management programs, the majority of utility customers (83% on average) express interest in at least one program. Interest is highest for appliance rebates (61%) and time-of-use incentives (59%) and about 1 in 2 customers expressing interest in digital tools.
Very few utilities, meanwhile, have managed to capture this demand. With the exception of mail-based energy usage analysis, which itself struggles to reach 20%, most programs are currently utilized by less than 10% of consumers nationwide. Low usage levels can be tied to the fact that most consumers have heard of only one type of program, and one in three (37%) are unaware of any programs offered by their local utility.
¡°While clearly the goal should be to increase program usage, merely increasing interest provides significant benefits to utilities,¡± said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Market Strategies International. ¡°Utilities that successfully educate customers about the features and benefits of consumption management programs get a boost in customer satisfaction and trust levels.¡±
Further hampering utilities¡¯ ability to maximize adoption of consumption management programs is the fact that most customers lack a sense of urgency. While upwards of 50% of customers are interested in programs once made aware, very few say they are likely to adopt programs in the next six months.
¡°We have found that utilities that approach energy consumption management programs with traditional product management discipline have the greatest immediate demand and product usage experience for these programs,¡± Oberle continued. ¡°This includes planning, budgeting and managing a targeted marketing effort like any retail company would.¡±
The study not only explores awareness and usage of¡ªas well as interest in¡ªconsumption management programs, but further assesses customers¡¯ perceptions of their local utility on its efforts to educate, motivate and deliver on programs. A small number of utilities in each region of the country have managed to achieve high awareness and usage levels as well as accolades from their customers on three of the eleven metrics, including clearly explaining the programs they offer, having programs that are easy to enroll in, and making information on programs easily accessible.
