Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative highlights successful utility programs for residential and small business customers

The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) today announced the release of a new paper, “Advancing the Modern Energy Consumer,” that highlights successful programs and services for residential and small business customers from electricity providers across the United States.

The new paper is organized by the six themes on consumers’ needs and wants developed with the “2021 State of the Consumer” report, a meta-analysis of SECC’s 2020 consumer research aimed at providing an overview of today’s residential and small business energy customers. The six themes identified in that report are:

1. Consumers are making the connection between smart energy and slowing climate change.
2. Consumers across all segments are interested in smart energy-enabled products.
3. Lower-income consumers are keenly interested in smart energy and the environment.
4. Consumers need more tools for assessing programs and technologies.
5. Consumers look to their utilities for support as they deal with the impact of COVID-19.
6. Education and engagement are essential to realizing the promise of beneficial electrification and Advanced Metering Infrastructure.

For each of these six themes, the new paper provides context for why it is important in today’s energy industry and multiple programs and services that demonstrate the theme. The electricity providers featured in the paper include investor-owned utilities, electric utility cooperatives and municipal utilities, such Ameren Illinois, Mississippi Power, Austin Energy, Con Edison, SMUD, National Grid and North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives.

Highlighted examples include a smart thermostat campaign for lower-income consumers, a rooftop solar education program, a demand response program paired with smart home technology, a virtual energy coaching initiative and a smart neighborhood pilot program. The paper provides details on these programs and an overview of some of the benefits that customers have received through the programs so far, such as energy savings, improved comfort and convenience, and environmental benefits.

The “Advancing the Modern Energy Consumer” paper is available for download for both SECC members and the public here, and the “2021 State of the Consumer” report can be accessed here.