To increase interest in time-of-use pricing, install a monitor

Consumers get on board when they see what they are saving.

About 41 percent of respondents to our Utility Pulse™ 2013 study said they would be interested in time-of-use pricing. This was described to them as a rate plan in which utilities charge lower rates during periods of lower demand (mornings, late evenings and nights), higher rates during periods of higher usage (afternoons), and the highest rate during occasional critical peak demand times.

Participants were then told about a time-of-use pricing plan in which the utility installs an in-home display monitor or a thermostat that displays the energy demand period or current price.

When asked if they’d be interested in this time-of-use pricing plan, the number increased by six points, to 46.8 percent.

The message is clear: If you include a monitor as part of a time-of-use pricing plan, customers are more likely to be interested.