Energy Demand Flexibility at Scale: a mini-RCT involving a higher incentive group of customers

Last registered on February 16, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Energy Demand Flexibility at Scale: a mini-RCT involving a higher incentive group of customers
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013034
Initial registration date
February 13, 2024

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
February 16, 2024, 3:44 PM EST

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
Andrew Schein
Affiliation
Centre for Net Zero
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Louise Bernard
PI Affiliation
Centre for Net Zero
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PI Name
Robert Metcalfe
PI Affiliation
University of Southern California
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-02-08
End date
2024-09-30
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
See analysis plan.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bernard, Louise, Robert Metcalfe and Andrew Schein. 2024. "Energy Demand Flexibility at Scale: a mini-RCT involving a higher incentive group of customers." AEA RCT Registry. February 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13034-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
See analysis plan.
Intervention Start Date
2024-02-08
Intervention End Date
2024-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Opt-In: We will analyze if the customers that received the extra incentive are more likely to opt-in to the Session on 08 February 2024.
We will also examine if these customers are more likely to opt in to subsequent Sessions.

Electricity Consumption in kWh per half-hour: We will analyze the electricity consumption (kWh per half-hour) of participating customers during the 08 February 2024 Saving Session in the control and treatment group (normal incentive, and extra incentive).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We will also examine if these have different opt-in and consumption in subsequent Sessions.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
See analysis plan.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
We used simple randomisation – we did not stratify randomisation on any variables. We used R to do so.
Randomization Unit
Customer
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The treatment group contains 5,000 domestic customers.
The control group contains 591,643 domestic customers.
Sample size: planned number of observations
There are 2 half-hours in the Saving Session. Thus there are 2*(5,000+591,643) = 1,193,286 customer*half-hour observations in the primary analysis of consumption in the Session on 08 February 2024. There are more clusters for the secondary analysis of consumption in subsequent Sessions. The exact number is unknown because it will depend on how many flexibility events Great Britain's Electricity System Operator calls during the rest of 2024.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
See above.
The treatment group contains 5,000 domestic customers.
The control group contains 591,643 domestic customers.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The MDES is approximately 0.014476 kWh per half-hour. Based on an average half-hourly electricity consumption of 0.38 kWh, this is a change of 3.8%.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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