Salt River Project: The Persistence of Customer Choice (NAPDR Case Study #2)

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One of the key rationales for investing in smart grid and meters is to offer consumers pricing that more accurately reflects true costs in order to encourage a flatter system-wide load leading to greater reliability and cost mitigation.

Many pricing pilots have indicated that consumers respond to price signals, especially when enabled by automation, yet reservations and fears remain that the public will reject time-based pricing or that behavior changes will not persist. When measured, there seem to be consistently high satisfaction rates among those consumers who have experienced dynamic pricing and prepay programs. While no empirical evidence exists to the contrary, a significant number of consumer advocates, regulators, and others remain skeptical.