Dans un communiqué, IBM a rendu publiques « les conclusions de son étude «2011 IBM global utility consumer survey» », menée aurprès « de plus de 10 000 personnes dans 15 pays différents pour étudier les exigences et les besoins des consommateurs d’énergie du monde entier ». L’étude comprend des « données spécifiques à la France », portant sur un panel de 315 personnes interrogées.

Il en ressort principalement que « les consommateurs d’électricité français sont deux fois plus enclins que l’ensemble de la population sondée – à l’exception d’un pays – (le Danemark) à identifier et comprendre leurs dépenses et l’unité de facturation (euro par Kwh) ». 

Le cocorico ne s’arrête pas là puisque les Français « sont deux fois plus nombreux que dans n’importe quel autre pays étudié à comprendre la formule «tarification au temps d’utilisation» ». Ils ont également une « connaissance solide des mesures et réseaux intelligents », se soituant au même niveau que les habitants des Pays-Bas. IBM souligne cependant que « paradoxalement c’est également en France que le pourcentage des sondés n’ayant aucun savoir du tout sur ces sujets est le plus élevé ».

Enfin, « plus de 60% des consommateurs français s’adressent à leurs fournisseurs d’énergie lorsqu’ils ont des questions concernant leur consommation », ce qui constitue le « pourcentage le plus élevé de l’ensemble des pays étudiés. C’est aussi la population qui se fie le plus à son gouvernement pour les informations liées à l’énergie ».

KWh, connais pas
Dans les 15 pays, IBM observe qu’un grand nombre de consommateurs « ne comprend pas l’unité de base de tarification de l’électricité ainsi que d’autres concepts énergétiques utilisés par les fournisseurs d’énergie » – c’est pourtant simple, il suffit de bosser 10 ans dans le secteur pour commencer à avoir quelques notions de base.

En conclusion, IBM souligne l’xistence d’un « fossé important entre ce que les consommateurs savent actuellement et ce qu’ils auraient besoin de savoir pour réduire leur consommation d’énergie et bénéficier des initiatives d’énergie plus intelligente » et « que le niveau de connaissance est extrêmement lié à la volonté de changement des personnes interrogées en matière de consommation et d’économies énergétiques ainsi qu’à la mise en place d’initiatives énergétiques locales. 61% des personnes ayant une connaissance solide des technologies énergétiques et des conditions de tarification considèrent ainsi le déploiement des compteurs et réseaux électriques intelligents comme positif, contre seulement 43% des individus avec des connaissances faibles en ce domaine. »

En savoir plus (mais en anglais)
– Une vidéo avec des témoignages de consommateurs (New York, 2011).

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– Ensuite, la “Statistics Fact Sheet”, avec les elements clés:

« IBM has conducted the “2011 Global Utility Consumer Survey” to better understand the wants and needs of energy consumers worldwide. The study explores key influences, perceptions, knowledge and expectations of approximately 10,000 energy consumers across 15 countries, and in nine different languages. The aim of the survey was to take a different approach to what other vendors are exploring, and instead, focus not on what consumers wanted to see emerge in the future, but on what their expectations are today.
The fifteen countries include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Key Findings
Influences
· Saving money was noted as having the one of the highest level of influence, behind consumers making changes to their energy usage behavior (62%), though it was no longer the dominating factor. This was consistent with almost all of the countries in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
· National economic considerations were important to more respondents (51-55%) than environmental and natural resource considerations (43-51%), although how these two ranked relative to each other differed by age group.
· Information sent directly to the consumer by the provider (bill and inserts) remained the top reported single influence across all of the countries with more than one-third of consumers using energy bills and inserts to source information about energy costs, environmental impact, and alternative suppliers.
· Reliance on traditional media (television, newspapers/magazines, etc.), internet-based sources (non-provider web sites, social media, etc.), and opinions of friends and family in aggregate outweigh the influence of direct-contact sources like bill inserts and provider web sites.
· Most of the relative rankings of information sources remained consistent across age groups, but a few notable exceptions emerged. The two most significant age variations were found in the influence of government information sources (ranked fifth among those 35 or older, eighth among those 25-34, and last among those 18-24) and friends and family (fifth among those 18-34, seventh among those 35-54, and ninth among those 55 and over).
Knowledge
· Slightly more than 30% of consumers reported that they were unaware of the basic unit of charge for energy consumption (e.g., cents per kwh) while 5% can not identify their own energy provider.
· Approximately 50% do not have any understanding of the term “time of use pricing.”
· 60% do not know the meaning of the terms “smart grid” or “smart meters,” and 80% are unaware of “consumer energy portals.”
· More than half of the respondents do not know if their energy provider has a green energy program that is available to them – and almost a quarter of those who participate in green energy programs have no idea if they pay a premium for that power, or how much more they pay.
· Customers who were most knowledgeable were 42% more likely to have a positive opinion of local deployment programs underway or proposed, 51% more likely to believe that these programs would bring benefits to their family, and 64% more likely to change energy usage patterns to meet specific goals.
Expectations
· 42% of consumers are committed to engaging more with their providers to meet their personal goals and objectives, while 33% are not likely to take added responsibility for these decisions in the short to mid term.
· More than 50% of consumers worldwide expect the deployment of smart grids and smart meters to foster development of clean energy technologies, and over 60% believe that these technologies will benefit their families.

Talking points
Overview Findings
· Despite major improvements and developments with new energy saving technologies, programs, tools and incentives, the industry continues to see more confusion amongst consumers.
· IBM has conducted the “2011 Global Utility Consumer Survey” to better understand the wants and needs of energy consumers worldwide.
· The study explores key influences, perceptions, knowledge and expectations of approximately 10,000 energy consumers across 15 countries, and in nine different languages.
o The 15 countries include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
· The aim of the survey was to take a different approach to what other vendors are exploring, and instead focus not on what consumers want to see emerge in the future, but on what their expectations are today.
· Based on the survey findings, IBM believes that there is a need to go back to basics and educate consumers by examining their behaviors, the channels of communication and their behavioral triggers.
Overview Behavioral Economics
· In November 2010, IBM industry experts along with academic experts in consumer decision-making identified key factors related to consumer usage of energy.
· The workshop focused on why consumers behave the way they do when they act against their own best interest. These findings can provide better insights into the thoughts, motivations, and misconceptions of consumers to help utilities shift perceptions.
o Behavioral economics attempts to explain how people actually behave in economic situations, as opposed to how they would or should act if they were perfectly rational. Behavioral economists try to better understand and incorporate the myriad of forces that predictably drive behavior.
· Chairs are designed to match the ergonomics of our bodies; Smarter Planet offerings should also be designed to match the “ergonomics of our mind.”
o People often make poor decisions due to cognitive biases, but these same biases can be used to “nudge” consumers to make the right decision (e.g. reduce electricity usage).

Enfin, le detail par pays :

Australia – 308 respondents
§ Australians ranked at the top in percentage of households reporting at least some major change made to save energy; they also ranked first in all but one of the “non-capital intensive” action categories (e.g., improving insulation, switching over to energy-saving light bulbs).
§ Australian respondents had the highest percentage who believe that smart meters would have a positive influence on customer service; on all five other areas queried, Australia ranked second.
§ Three in five Australians reported that it is likely they will change their energy usage behavior if they can gain some of the expected benefits.
§ In terms of knowledge, of the 308 respondents, 74% were unable to define ‘smart grid’ and 65% are unaware of the term “smart meter.”
§ Consumers in Australia are greatly influenced by reducing their energy consumption with 56% noting “reducing environmental impact” as a key factor when making energy decisions. This is the highest percentage of all participating countries.

Denmark – 314 respondents
§ Denmark had the highest percentage of respondents who approved of plans to go forward with smart grid and meter deployment – whether they knew of specific plans or not.
§ Far fewer Danish respondents (only 12%) see a threat to their privacy from smart grids and smart meters.
§ More than 60% of the respondents in Denmark are in favor of sharing their data with other companies to obtain benefits for their household; this is one of the two highest percentages of all countries.
§ Denmark had one of the highest percentages of respondents indicating a significant understanding of their energy bills with 73% noting complete knowledge of the term “DKK per kwh.”

France – 315 respondents
§ French electricity consumers were twice as likely to recognize and understand their usage and billing unit (euro per kilowatt-hour) than those in all but one of the other countries; they were more than twice as likely as any other country to have an understanding of the term “time-of-use pricing”.
§ France, along with the Netherlands, ranked at or very near the top in both percentages of consumers with strong knowledge of smart grids/smart meters and those with no knowledge at all of such topics.
§ Over 60% of consumers are turning to their energy providers for information about energy consumption, the highest percentage among the countries in the survey. They also rank at the top in terms of reliance on government sources for energy information.

Netherlands – 301 respondents
§ One-third of Dutch respondents characterize their provider as a company that treats them like a valued customer; this was 50% higher than the same response in the US, and more than twice as positive a response as any of the other countries.
§ Compared to a similar survey in 2008, Dutch consumers again were the only ones for whom the percentage of those who say they would participate in a green energy program (for those who do not or do not know they have access to one) and the percentage who actually participate in green energy programs when given the opportunity are roughly the same. Most other countries have run at about a 2:1 ratio of “wanters to buyers”.
§ While 75% of those who had a clear opinion on the matter approve of the current smart metering efforts underway in the Netherlands, residents there were consistently less likely than the other nations to agree with statements that indicated that they believed specific benefits would accrue to their family or nation.
§ While only 7% did not know the name of their energy retailer, over 40% could not identify the name of the distribution company which delivers their power to them.

United States – 2128 respondents
§ Just under 60% of American respondents reported that it is likely they will change their energy consumption behavior if they can gain some of the expected benefits.
§ When asked about what impact smart grid efforts would have on auto manufacturers in the nation, consumers in the 10 largest states had responded “positive” at rates that were close to or above the national averages in all cases but one – Michigan. Consumers in this state, where the automotive industry is the strongest driver of the economy, are far less likely to believe it will be positive than the nationwide average, and twice as likely to believe it will be negative.
§ 65% have little knowledge of ‘smart grids’ and similarly, 60% are unaware of ‘smart meters’.
§ 66% believe saving money is a key driver to reducing energy consumption followed by 51% who noted they would change their daily usage patterns if it meant achieving more energy independence from foreign sources.

Brazil – 451 respondents
§ 67% of the Brazilian respondents have never heard the term smart grid, or if so, do not understand it. The same for 41% of respondents regarding smart meter.
§ Brazilian respondents present a positive outlook toward smart grids and/or smart meters and the usage of data collected and transferred over these.
§ 71% are quite favorable to share their consumption behavior with companies that can help them to save energy and reduce their costs. Just 3% are against that.
§ Most of Brazilian respondents, 78%, believe that smart grids and/or smart meters will bring benefits for them and their families in the long run. Just 7% do not believe on such technologies.
§ Among the benefits, most of the Brazilian respondents, 76%, would like to receive more detailed information about their consumption behavior so that they can monitor and regularly adjust it.
§ In Brazil, a mix of environmental and economic considerations served as the dominating factors influencing the likelihood of energy consumption behavioral changes.
Canada – 359 respondents
§ 75% of Canadian respondents have little knowledge of the term ‘smart grid’, 62% can not define the term ‘smart meter’ and 83% are unaware of ‘consumer energy portals’.
§ Many respondents are aware of clean energy programs however, only 26% are currently utilizing these plans. Slightly over 10% are willing to pay an additional 10% or more on their monthly energy bills for electricity generated by clean energy sources.
§ 67% of consumers are influenced by monetary factors in the decision making process when related to energy consumption.
§ Those with knowledge of the industry felt smart meter technologies will have a positive impact on their households with 49% noting that these will help control energy usage and costs by providing them with the data needed to make informed decisions.
§ 67% of consumers are influenced by monetary factors in the decision making process when related to energy consumption.
§ 49% responded that smart meter technologies will have a positive impact on their households by helping them to control energy usage and costs by providing them with the data needed to make informed decisions.

Germany – 606 respondents
§ 59% of German respondents are unaware of the term ‘smart grid’ and 63% had no insight into ‘consumer energy portals’. These are the lowest percentages across the participating countries, making German consumers amongst the most knowledgeable.
§ Saving money was noted as having the highest level of influence behind consumers making changes to their energy usage behavior with 61%, followed by 53% of consumers driven by the goal to reduce the consumption of natural resources.
§ 59% believe that smart meter technologies will benefit their families in the long run and 53% see these offerings helping advance development and use of clean energy technologies.

Japan – 614 respondents
§ 76% of Japanese respondents are unaware of the term ‘smart grid while 17% demonstrated some knowledge and 83% could not define ‘smart meter.’
§ Many in Japan were concerned with the future of their economy with 43% noting this aspect as a key influencer, as well as decreasing dependence on imported energy (42%).
§ 34% of respondents, more than any other country, turned to television or radio for information about energy conservation before referring to their energy bills.
§ For Japanese consumers, the strongest motivator was the national economy, not personal cost. Many in Japan were concerned with the future of their economy with 43% noting this aspect as a key influencer, as well as decreasing dependence on imported energy (42%).
§ 34% of respondents, more than any other country, turned to television or radio for information about energy conservation before referring to their energy bills.

Poland – 151 respondents
§ “Smart grid” is a relatively unfamiliar term in Poland, with 76% unable to provide a description, and somewhat fewer consumers are familiar with the term “smart meters” than global averages. Yet, other knowledge levels are quite high with respect to other countries; Polish respondents believed they had a good understanding of their energy bills and 61% felt comfortable describing ‘time-of-use-pricing’ for energy.
§ 54% did not know whether their electric power provider offers them the option to participate in clean energy programs. Of those who were aware, 57% have purchased clean energy.

Ireland – 153 respondents
§ “Smart meter” was a relatively unknown term in Ireland (71% could not define it), but there is a much higher awareness of the terms “renewable power” and “green power” (over 50% had “complete knowledge” of each).
§ 52% are willing to pay more on their monthly electric bill for electricity generated by clean energy sources and 55% would pay more for environmentally friendly products. Both of these are significantly higher than the percentages willing to pay more for these products than the global average.
§ Saving money (71%), national economic factors (over 60%), and ensuring local reliability (58%) were the leading influencers for consumers trying to conserve energy.

United Kingdom – 473 respondents
§ 63% were unaware of their provider offered a clean energy. 42% are not willing to pay more for clean energy sources. 75% are also not open to paying more for environmentally friendly products.
§ As with most countries, saving money is a leading contributor to the decision making process in regards to energy consumption (66%), followed by decreasing dependence on foreign energy sources (51%) and ensuring reducing consumption of natural resources (49%).
§ 45% believe they would change their daily energy usage if it helped ensure the reliability of their local energy supply and the same percentage would do so if it helped ensure the future economic health of the nation.

New Zealand – 323 respondents
§ 89% of those who are not sure they have the option to choose electricity generated by clean energy source say they would like that option, with about half of those expressing a willingness to pay a premium. However, only 48% of those with the option actually do purchase clean energy from their providers when it is offered.
§ Saving money is the leading driver for consumers to conserve, followed by conserving natural resources, decreasing dependence on foreign energy, and ensuring the health of the national economy (each with about 60% responding affirmatively).
§ 46% of individuals believe that smart grid technologies will lower the monthly cost of their household energy bills, 35% believe it will have a positive impact on the environment and 39% say it will offer the ability to charge an electric vehicle.

Belgium – 152 respondents
§ 75% of those who are not sure they have the option to choose electricity generated by clean energy source say they would like that option; however, only 47% of those with the option actually do purchase clean energy from their providers when it is offered. »