Power Shift FINAL REPORT February 2020 Power Shift FINAL REPORT February 2020 3 Energy Consumers Australia Power Shift Final Report February 2020 Contents Foreword ..............................................................................................................................................................................6 SECTION ONE: THE POWER SHIFT JOURNEY .................................................................................................8 A. Power Shift transformed our understanding of household decision-making ........................................9 The need for a Power Shift .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Power Shift in a transforming energy market ......................................................................................................... 11 B. Power Shift findings ............................................................................................................................................12 Information should be tailored .................................................................................................................................. 12 Consumers can and do change energy use ............................................................................................................. 12 Use a trusted voice to provide information and tools ............................................................................................ 12 Energy is critical to health and wellbeing ................................................................................................................. 13 There are wider benefits ............................................................................................................................................. 13 C. Power Shift has changed our advocacy .........................................................................................................14 The Power Shift audience ........................................................................................................................................... 15 D. Power Shift activities and outputs ..................................................................................................................16 E. Power Shift outcomes and impacts ................................................................................................................18 Stakeholders actioning Power Shift research ......................................................................................................... 18 Dialogue on the research ............................................................................................................................................ 19 Linking energy, housing and health .......................................................................................................................... 20 Avoiding ‘silent’ hardship .................................................................................................................................... 20 Housing performance is critical ......................................................................................................................... 21 Building health and wellbeing into services design ......................................................................................... 21 SECTION TWO: RESEARCH INTO THE DRIVERS AND BENEFITS OF CHANGING ENERGY USE ...............22 A. Power Shift’s foundations .................................................................................................................................23 A deep dive into the outcomes for low-income households .................................................................................. 23 What helped households save energy ...................................................................................................................... 23 LIEEP insights into household decision-making ..................................................................................................... 25 Understanding the target households ...................................................................................................................... 26 A trusted voice .....................................................................................................................................................27 B. Link between energy, housing and health ....................................................................................................27 C. Household sentiment and behaviour ............................................................................................................28 D. Other behavioural research ..............................................................................................................................30 E. International research ........................................................................................................................................31 International findings .................................................................................................................................................. 31 Implications and recommendations for energy policy .......................................................................................... 32 F. Capturing the wider benefits ............................................................................................................................33 Helping policymakers build a better business case ................................................................................................ 35 G. Energy and housing ............................................................................................................................................37 H. How Power Shift helps navigate market transformation ..........................................................................40 4 SECTION THREE: OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPOWERING CONSUMERS ......................................................42 A. Opportunities for innovation in energy services .........................................................................................43 Barriers to innovation in energy services ................................................................................................................. 43 Building a dialogue around change .......................................................................................................................... 45 Developing an industry guideline for better engaging households in energy management ........................... 45 Improving their relationships with customers ................................................................................................... 46 Information provision ............................................................................................................................................ 46 Avoiding ‘silent hardship’....................................................................................................................................... 47 Make energy management information more accessible ................................................................................. 47 Working together .................................................................................................................................................... 47 B. A framework for targeting energy services and programs .......................................................................48 Demonstrating the value of consumer-led design ................................................................................................. 52 Power Shift workshops ................................................................................................................................................ 52 New resources for consumers .................................................................................................................................... 53 SECTION FOUR: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION ........................................................................54 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................55 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................58 Appendix A Selective bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 59 This work by Energy Consumers Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Where you wish to use the Report in a way that is beyond the scope of the above Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, you must seek permission from Energy Consumers Australia. Requests for permission or any other enquiries relating to this copyright notice must be addressed to [email protected] © Copyright 2020 Energy Consumers Australia 5 Energy Consumers Australia Power Shift Final Report February 2020 Foreword Power Shift is a body of research providing evidence about how to design better targeted, more effective, and innovative energy management services and programs that will enhance the ability of consumers to manage their