Extolling virtues of cost-effective products and services for electricity consumers
The idea of empowering consumers to monitor and control electricity consumption through smart meters and the concept of AD has been gaining ground. The EU-funded ADVANCED (Active demand value and consumers experiences discovery) project investigated how this can be applied on a European scale. Overall, the goal was to shed light on ways to overcome the barriers hindering the mass deployment of AD in Europe. Work began by analysing data and lessons learned in AD collected through four real-life pilot projects and 138 pilots across Europe where the interaction between consumers and AD programmes had been assessed. This resulted in conclusions on key barriers and solutions to AD. These conclusions formed the basis for two EU-wide surveys that identified the pros and cons of AD technology for consumers and provided insight into their attitudes toward use. The impact of AD on electricity systems was assessed and quantified. This included system performance and stability and economic benefits for consumers. A framework was also created for data security and data protection. Project partners investigated best practices in AD and, due to the central relevance of the communication with consumers, communication umbrellas based on project results were designed. The umbrellas consist of key messages and motivational drivers as well as communicational guidelines for residential, industrial and commercial consumers to use when designing AD programmes. ADVANCED offered solutions to issues that concern the design and management of AD programmes and the impact of AD on electrical systems and consumers. Providing electricity consumers with information on their consumption and the ability to respond to time-based prices and other types of incentives will motivate them to actively manage their consumption. Consumers will also have more control over their costs and will be able to actively contribute to environmental protection.
Keywords
Electricity, consumers, active demand, electricity systems, electricity consumption
