Energy efficiency audits for small firms in Mexico

Last registered on March 30, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Energy efficiency audits for small firms in Mexico
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011133
Initial registration date
March 21, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 30, 2023, 2:56 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Hernan Bejarano
Affiliation
Umass Amherst Resource Economics, CIDE Mexico, Economic Science Institute, Chapman University & IADB
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Pedro Hancevic
PI Affiliation
CIDE, Rednie, Universidad Panamericana
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PI Name
Hector Sandoval
PI Affiliation
University of Florida
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-11-11
End date
2024-03-29
Keywords
Behavior, Environment & Energy, Other
Additional Keywords
Firm Behavior
JEL code(s)
D22 Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis, Q4 Energy, Q5 Environmental Economics
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
The industrial and commercial sectors consumed 71.6% of Mexico's total electricity, mostly from fossil fuels (73% of the electricity comes from this source). The current national and international context presents an opportunity for energy efficiency investments to reduce emissions in these sectors while reducing energy costs to firms. However, little is known about businesses' challenges and barriers to adopting energy-saving upgrades. This project aims to conduct a randomized controlled trial with micro and small-sized Mexican firms to determine the effects of providing energy-efficiency information on energy conservation and consumption. Results from the study will contribute to our understanding of the issue and help in formulating more effective policies to promote the adoption of energy-efficient technologies and better energy conservation practices in Mexico and other developing countries.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bejarano, Hernan, Pedro Hancevic and Hector Sandoval. 2023. "Energy efficiency audits for small firms in Mexico." AEA RCT Registry. March 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11133-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We propose a simple intervention that provides free technical audits to a set of small and medium firms in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to assess if providing simplified information regarding their energy usage promotes changes in their energy consumption and/or efficiency.
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-11
Intervention End Date
2024-03-29

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Monthly total billed amount (in Mexican Pesos) for electricity at the establishment
2. Index of energy-saving physical improvements suggested in audit reports
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1. Monthly total billed amount (in Mexican Pesos) for electricity at the establishment
2. Index of energy-saving physical improvements suggested in audit reports

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
A set of self-reported variables such as business working hours and dates previously adopted energy-saving technologies, and environmental attitudes collected at either/or entry survey and exit survey for both treated and control firms
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
A set of self-reported variables collected at any of our surveys for both treated and control firms

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our 1 X 1 simple experimental design selects a a proportion nc(50%) , approximately 400 firms to be assigned to the control group. Similarly, nt50%, approximately 400 firms too, will be assigned to the treatment group. All firms will participate in the three stages of the study: baseline interview, experimental intervention, and exit interview. Firms will have 6 to 30 employees, according to the Mexican National Statistical Directory of Economic Units (DENUE), which is publicly available on the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) Website
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
firm
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1
Sample size: planned number of observations
800
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
400 control, 400 treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Considering that, to some extent, we are planning to incorporate 800 establishments (of course, this depends on the budget), we are confident we can obtain enough power to detect effects that reduce consumption between 10-20% from the current levels. Very few studies allow for estimating "treatment effects of audits" on SMEs' energy consumption; Schleich and Fleiter (2019) found that firms audited in Germany adopted energy-saving advice and reduced consumption by between 10-20 percentage points.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Florida Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2022-09-06
IRB Approval Number
IRB202201065
Analysis Plan