Since 2011, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) has been studying the needs and wants of American consumers as they relate to smart energy technologies, and as consumers have evolved, so too have SECC’s research approaches.

To stay current on a wider range of topics and keep pace with fast-moving consumer expectations, we launched the Smart Energy Snapshot Series in the summer of 2023. This new research series quickly captures Americans’ thoughts on timely energy-related topics via brief, nationally representative surveys.

The series began with “Alleviating Americans’ Energy Burdens”, which asked Americans whether they have struggled to pay their electric bills over the past year, and has since covered important topics like price sensitivity around electric vehicles (EVs), interest in using AI for energy-related purposes and much more.

In this month’s blog, we share three key takeaways about American consumers we have gleaned from the Smart Energy Snapshot Series:

1. A quarter of Americans have struggled to pay their electric bills.

In our first Snapshot Survey, we wanted to assess how consumers were impacted by inflation and high energy costs, and we found that a quarter of Americans had struggled to pay their electric bills over the past 12 months. This rose to 32 percent of Americans who rent their homes and 34 percent of those making under $50K per year. Even among Americans with incomes exceeding $100K per year, about one-in-five (18 percent) still said that they have struggled to pay their electric bills.

As consumers tried to stay current with their electric bills, they reported having made several sacrifices in their daily lives. About half (51 percent) reported having cut expenses elsewhere in their households, while about one-third found ways to make extra money (34 percent) or had to make late payments (32 percent). Twenty-two percent also reported having not paid the full amount on their bills at some point over the previous 12 months.

2. Consumers have concerns about outages and want their utilities to help.

In December 2023, we studied power outages and consumers’ preferred means of learning about extreme weather and outages. This Snapshot Survey found that 41 percent of consumers are more concerned with outages today compared to 10 years ago, with 16 percent of respondents saying they are a lot more concerned. According to the survey, only 10 percent of Americans are less concerned with outages, while 49 percent reported no change.

While just under half of today’s consumers said that they are more concerned with outages, the survey found that nearly all (91 percent) would like their electricity providers to provide tips and suggestions to help them prepare for extreme weather events and power outages. Forty-three percent said that they strongly agree that their electricity providers should be providing this information, and about half of consumers stated that email was their preferred channel.

3. The purchase price is the top cost-related impediment for EVs.

Finally, with the “Electric Vehicles: Exploring Consumers’ Cost Concerns” survey, published in May of this year, we confirmed that the purchase price for electric vehicles is the primary cause for concern among consumers who don’t currently own an EV. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents who did not own an EV cited this as a barrier.

Further, when asked to select one cost-related barrier that has the biggest impact on EV ownership, purchase price really rose to the top – 40 percent of non-owners said this was the top barrier, with the next highest barrier at 14 percent. This Snapshot Survey also revealed a general lack of awareness of tax credits and rebates for EVs, both of which can substantially reduce the initial purchase price.

The new Smart Energy Snapshot Series helps us expand our understanding of today’s consumers and the full range of their interests, concerns and behaviors. We encourage you to stay tuned for the next installment in the series, which will cover Spanish-speaking households, and to join us at the 2024 Members Meeting & Fall Workshop where a rapid-fire discussion will analyze key findings from the series.