Grid Modernization Supported by Most Utility Customers

Image courtesy of Carol Jacobs-Carre under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License, resized to 700 x 391 pixels.

Recent research reveals that the vast majority of Americans fully support the idea of power grid modernization, indicating a willingness to help pay for grid enhancements.  Unfortunately, far fewer people are actually aware of the steps their utility provider is making toward this end.  Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.

How U.S. Consumers Perceive the Idea of Grid Modernization

According to a survey from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), a whopping 87% of Americans think that grid modernization is at least somewhat important.  And 85% agreed that these efforts help utilities plan better for the future, while 76% believe these activities help improve the quality of life within their community.  Unfortunately, less than half of the respondents (48%) are aware of what their local utility is doing to achieve these positive results.

The SECC survey, which aims to explore the impact of grid modernization efforts on customer experience, satisfaction and trust, analyzed 1,500 responses.  The research found that 62% of customers with a smart meter view their usage information once a month or more.  And of this group, 82% have made adjustments to their usage patterns based on this information, broken down as follows:

• 47% made adjustments to their daily routine.
• 39% reduced heating and cooling usage.
• 25% installed energy efficient appliances.
• 19% obtained a financial incentive for adjusting usage.

While it is great that customers understand the benefits of a more modernized grid, it is disappointing that so few are aware of progress toward this end.  To me, this represents a huge opportunity to engage with customers and communicate everything that is being done.

I would think making customers more aware of grid modernization efforts would lead to an increase in goodwill, and (cough, cough) perhaps make them just a smidge more tolerant of power outages.   Simply put, customers want to know that their utility providers are doing everything they can to enhance the quality of life, and if utilities can demonstrate this, it is likely that they will be viewed more favorably by customers and regulators.