IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2017 - 58

when hardly anybody else has; they
are usually called innovators or early
Deployment of Smart Electricity Meters in EU Members States by 2020
adopters and are characterized by a
strong sense of innovation. For other
Yes
laggards, a large number of others
Yes, Official Decision Pending
need to have adopted a technolNo Based On Country's Assessment
ogy before they will consider doNo Decision Yet
ing so too.
Selective
FI
That social influence is imporSE
tant for the uptake of new technologies is observed, for example, in the
EE
installation of solar photovoltaic
LV
DK
panels. Solar contagion is a term
IE
LT
that is used for the phenomenon
UK
that, in neighborhoods where soNL
PL
DE
BE
lar panels are visible, more solar
LU
CZ
panels appear. This is probably
SK
FR
because the visibility of solar panAT
HU
els triggers others to adopt them,
SI
RO
HR
which is likely to be connected to
PT
the symbolic functions of technolES
IT
BG
ogy and the desire to express one's
identity, for example as an innoGR
CY
vator or a green consumer.
In the deployment of new techMT
nologies, grants and subsidies are
often proposed as a way to encourage or kick start the market by
figure 5. The EU smart meter rollout in 2020. (Source: Briefing European Parliament,
spreading
the adoption of technoloSmart Electricity Grids and Meters in the EU Member States, Brussels: European Parliagies
through
social networks. Once
ment, Sept. 2015; image reproduced with permission from the European Parliament.)
there is more uptake in the market,
familiarity with the technologies,
and
product
visibility,
these
subsidies should be slowly phased
One possibility is to increase energy prices overall. If
energy use becomes more expensive in general, it will be out. Split incentives can be addressed by ensuring that there
more attractive for consumers to invest in energy-efficient are benefits to the agent investing in energy efficiency or that
technologies due to a higher rate of return or shorter pay- the investment costs can be passed on to the tenant or benefiback time. There may be distribution issues, however, where ciary of the reduced energy bills.
Another way to kick start the market is to encourage
low-income groups are the most adversely affected. As an
alternative to increasing energy prices, incentives or subsi- grass-roots innovations and community initiatives to advance
dies can be provided to encourage investment in technolo- adoption of technologies collectively. Such a bottom-up
approach is more likely to engage and involve consumers,
gies that enhance the flexibility of energy systems.
There are also other barriers to investment in technolo- because the initiative is their own rather than imposed on
gies. For example, the perceived effort to install and use new them via top-down procedures. Moreover, a sense of ownertechnologies influences consumers' investment behavior as ship and contribution is likely to keep consumers interested
well. In addition, consumers tend to be uncertain whether and committed to the project.
Finally, the benefits of community projects may be
their investments will pay off and whether the adoption of
flexibility-enhancing technologies (such as smart meters) larger because, in contrast to individual consumers, the total
energy demand of communities is larger, which makes it
will really reduce their energy bills.
The theory of the diffusion of innovations suggests that more likely that they can negotiate a contract for DR and
social influence is important for the adoption of technol- ToU. This may increase the benefits for the community in
ogies: the more people who have adopted a certain technol- general, as well as for each individual member. Although
ogy, the more likely it is that others will do so as well due to a bottom-up approaches are promising, a well-documented
neighboring effect. The threshold for how large the number of challenge is their upscaling. As in most organizations, they
others must be depends on an individual's personal char- will be more efficient and powerful if they grow. However,
acteristics. Some consumers will adopt new technologies community-based and grass-roots initiatives are always
58

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january/february 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2017