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Bill Me This Way! - Customer preferences regarding electricity bills in Sweden

Sernhed, Kerstin LU ; Pyrko, Jurek LU and Abaravicius, Juozas LU (2003) ECEEE Summer studies 2003
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,... (More)
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. (Less)
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author
; and
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
customer preferences, Electricity bill, customer survey, billing for actual use, energy behaviour, feedback instrument
host publication
[Host publication title missing]
publisher
European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE)
conference name
ECEEE Summer studies 2003
conference location
St Rafael, France
conference dates
0001-01-02
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
c17b0d5a-3c9c-42b6-8b73-2cbb594a6c68 (old id 576601)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 10:24:01
date last changed
2020-06-09 16:09:06
@inproceedings{c17b0d5a-3c9c-42b6-8b73-2cbb594a6c68,
  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.<br/><br>
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?<br/><br>
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.}},
  author       = {{Sernhed, Kerstin and Pyrko, Jurek and Abaravicius, Juozas}},
  booktitle    = {{[Host publication title missing]}},
  keywords     = {{customer preferences; Electricity bill; customer survey; billing for actual use; energy behaviour; feedback instrument}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE)}},
  title        = {{Bill Me This Way! - Customer preferences regarding electricity bills in Sweden}},
  year         = {{2003}},
}