energies Article Public Awareness and Consumer Acceptance of Smart Meters among Polish Social Media Users Yash Chawla and Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska * Department of Operations Research, Faculty of Computer Science and Management, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +48-71-3202524 Received: 17 May 2019; Accepted: 9 July 2019; Published: 18 July 2019 Abstract: Both people and things are becoming smarter by the day. Industrial evolution at the peak of the 4.0 phase and indications of 5.0 phase are fascinating. In these circumstances, fulfilling the demand for energy is a challenge faced by countries all over the world. Upgrading the current energy distribution systems with smart grids and smart meters are steps towards facing this challenge, especially for Poland, which is primarily relying on conventional sources of energy. For any innovation or new technology, creating public awareness and consumer acceptance enhances the chance for a fruitful deployment. To achieve this, various communication channels are adopted and social media is found to be one of the most effective tools for it. This study discusses the awareness level and consumer acceptance of social media users in Poland. The source through which they receive information regarding electricity in general and smart meters (SM) in particular and their preferences and willingness about the installation of SM under various conditions are discussed in detail. Findings show that there is low level of public awareness among the respondents which causes them to develop myths, fears and doubts about SM installation in their households.