Abstract:
About 90% of electricity generation is projected to come from renewable sources by 2050 (https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050).
However, increased dependence on renewables (such as wind and solar) can make energy supply more volatile and harder to predict. Put simply: Will there be enough electricity between 5-7 pm when most of us return from work and turn on our cooking hob, crank up the air-con or heating, and switch on the TV?
To ensure a stable electricity system, we need flexible consumers who are able and willing to adjust their electricity demand to match the capacity of the grid. This flexibility can take many forms, from households scheduling their dishwashers to off-peak hours, charging their electric vehicles overnight as opposed to afternoons, or preheating their boilers at times when energy is cheap and abundant.
In this Academy session, we will explore what it takes to motivate consumers to become more flexible: by adopting new habits, new technologies, and participating in demand-response programmes. We will introduce a new guidebook that we designed for policymakers and energy suppliers to help them apply behavioural insights to encourage demand flexibility, and ultimately safe and reliable grid for the future.
Presenter(s):
Ondrej Kacha & Jesper Akesson, The Behaviouralist. Task Leaders of the Users TCP Behavioural Insights Platform
Presentation slides and related publications/links
