Bill me this way! – customer preferences regarding electricity bills in Sweden

Panel: Panel 6. Dynamics of consumption

Authors:
Kerstin Sernhed, Lund Institute of Technology
Jurek Pyrko, Lund Institute of Technology
Juozas Abaravicius, Lund Institute of Technology

Abstract

The liberalised electricity market in Sweden stresses the fact that the electricity companies must focus on customer satisfaction. Two major customer surveys concentrating on households’ requirements concerning the electricity bill have been carried out in spring 2002. The interest in energy management lies within the fact that the electricity bill can be used as a feedback instrument to influence energy behaviour and the consumer’s awareness of energy usage.

What kind of information do households really want on their bills? What do users think of the information they get on the bill today? How frequently do they want the bill to come? What information or which services should be included on the bill regarding content, design, medium and frequency? How important is it whether the bill is based on actual readings of electricity use and not just on preliminary estimates?

The experience of Swedish households indicates that the information included in the electricity bill is difficult to understand. Most customers feel that it is important that the bill is based on current readings of electricity usage. The electricity bills are not coming frequently enough to enable the households to relate their usage of electricity to habits and behaviour in everyday life. Historical information on the household’s electricity usage could be added to the information in the bill to make such relations between electricity consumption and habits visible, although there are some limitations due to the format of the bills. The cost of the feedback is also an obstacle since neither the sender of the bill nor the receiver is willing to pay for the information.