Although implementation of smart grid utility systems is still in its infancy in most of the United States, satisfaction is higher among electric utility customers whose households are equipped with smart meters, compared to customers without them, J.D. Power and Associates announced yesterday at the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) 2011 Annual Convention in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

While only 8 percent of electric utility customers indicate their home has a smart meter, overall satisfaction among these customers averages 667 (on a 1,000-point scale), 43 points higher than among customers whose homes are not equipped with smart meters. Research by J.D. Power also indicates that customers who are aware of smart grids and smart meters, as well as their utility's efforts to implement them, are notably more satisfied than are customers without this awareness.

"While this marks an auspicious beginning for smart meter and smart grid programs, gaining widespread consumer acceptance is incumbent upon successful consumer education, adoption and engagement with the technology," said David Steele, senior director of the smart energy practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "It's imperative for energy providers to understand the actual drivers of effective program design and customer communications that will lead consumers to engage with these new options and services."

To provide systematic, wide-scale Voice-of-the-Customer research to assist utility providers with smart energy planning, the company is launching the J.D. Power Smart Energy Consumer Behavioral Segmentation Study, designed to be the most comprehensive segmentation research yet undertaken on the drivers of smart energy consumer preferences. To be released in October, the inaugural study will begin with a nationwide survey of 40,000 households served by more than 80 of the largest U.S. utility providers. Behavioral-based segmentation will be developed at the national, regional and utility-specific levels. The study will further identify smart energy product and communication channel preferences, by segment.

This consumer behavioral research offering is the first in the J.D. Power Smart Energy Consumer Behavior Research Series. J.D. Power has formed a dedicated smart energy practice to provide utilities and other industry stakeholders with customer satisfaction research and communication advisory services in support of smart energy consumer education and engagement.