Working Paper: NBER ID: w15386
Authors: Ian Ayres; Sophie Raseman; Alice Shih
Abstract: By providing feedback to customers on home electricity and natural gas usage with a focus on peer comparisons, utilities can reduce energy consumption at a low cost. We analyze data from two large-scale, random-assignment field experiments conducted by utility companies providing electricity (the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)) and electricity and natural gas (Puget Sound Energy (PSE)), in partnership with a private company, Positive Energy/oPower, which provides monthly or quarterly mailed peer feedback reports to customers. We find reductions in energy consumption of 1.2% (PSE) to 2.1% percent (SMUD), with the decrease sustained over time (seven months (PSE) and twelve months (SMUD)).
Keywords: energy consumption; peer comparison; feedback; field experiments
JEL Codes: O13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Peer comparison feedback (C92) | Reduced energy consumption (Q41) |
| Households with higher historical energy usage (R22) | Larger reductions in energy consumption (Q41) |
| Lower energy users (Q41) | Increased energy usage after receiving reports (Q41) |