Most Texas Customers Unwilling to Pay More than $25 for In-Home Device

April 8, 2011
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Some 60% of Texas customers participating in a trial of in-home electricity usage monitors believe that the devices should not cost in excess of $25, Oncor reported to the PUCT (38036).

Oncor received authority to provide 500 in-home devices to customers with advanced meters on a non-discriminatory basis as part of its outreach plan to build confidence in smart meter accuracy (see 3/23/10). Oncor conducted a survey of customers' experiences with the in-home monitors, and reported the results to the PUCT.

Though customers were generally satisfied with the devices, Oncor reported that 59% of respondents believed that the monitor should cost no more than $25, while 29% believed that it should cost between $26 and $50.

While 80% of customers said that they had changed their usage patterns based on information received from the monitor, 68% said that they had only seen a slight decrease in usage as a result. The biggest behavior change was to turn off lights, followed by adjusting thermostats.

Some 57% of customers said that they used the monitor to check their usage daily; 26% said they checked it hourly; and 11% said they checked it weekly.

Oncor found that many respondents wished for easier set-up of the device, and desired the ability to customize kilowatt-hour price data. Several respondents said that the monitor should allow easier changes to the cost per kWh rate, and noted that the default rate was set to around "one-third" of actual current kWh cost.

Respondents also said that they wished the in-home device could monitor specific devices (e.g. hot water heaters, HVAC).

Most customers were also pleased with the Smart Meter Texas portal, but expressed concern about the data lag time (i.e. customers wanted real-time data). Many respondents noted that the data was two days old. Since the time of the pilot, the SMT portal has been updated to include data that is only one day old.

Some 76% of survey respondents in the pilot were on a fixed rate electric product, while 11% were on a variable rate. About 17% of respondents said that they were on a renewable plan.

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