Impact of Cost & Environment information related energy conservation interventions on Household Energy Consumption in a developing country: A Case of Islamabad, Pakistan

Last registered on January 28, 2026

Pre-Trial

General Information

Title

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0017397

Initial registration date

January 22, 2026

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

January 28, 2026, 7:02 AM 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

Muhammad Awais Hashmi

Affiliation

Hiroshima University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Ghulam Dastgir Khan

PI Affiliation

Hiroshima University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2026-01-01

End date

2026-04-05

Keywords

Environment & Energy

Additional Keywords

Energy Conservation, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development Goals, Energy Efficiency, Non-Price Interventions, Energy Consumption

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.

Abstract

Energy conservation is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations, specifically Goal Number 7, which calls for access to reliable, cheap and sustainable energy. A review of the literature tells us that non-price interventions have in a number of cases led to a change in energy consumption and in doing so acted as a somewhat good climate change mitigation measure. For Pakistan, achieving reliable and sustainable energy while also achieving energy conservation holds significance. Non-price interventions such as moral suasion using Randomized Control Trial (RCT) have been applied in developed countries where access to resources and real time energy consumption data is easy. In our research, I shall communicate information using ways suitable with Pakistani population. We shall be using two frames i.e. environment impact of energy usage frame and energy conservation techniques frame to see the impact on energy consumption of households in Islamabad.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Hashmi, Muhammad Awais and Ghulam Dastgir Khan. 2026. "Impact of Cost & Environment information related energy conservation interventions on Household Energy Consumption in a developing country: A Case of Islamabad, Pakistan ." AEA RCT Registry. January 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17397-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

This study tests the impact of three different digital information treatments on household electricity use. The goal is to see which message causes the biggest change in behavior.

T1: A video teaching households practical ways to use appliances more efficiently to save money.
T2: A video using "moral suasion" to explain how saving power helps Pakistan fight national crises like melting glaciers, winter smog, and water scarcity.
T3 (Combined): A group that receives both the technical and climate-based messages.

Intervention Start Date

2026-01-23

Intervention End Date

2026-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Monthly Electricity Consumption kWh.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Electricity Bill in Rupees (PKR)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

This is an individual-level Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). A sample of domestic households will be selected randomly from the overall population of domestic households in Islamabad. The sample will be further split into four groups randomly: three treatment groups and one control group. A paper-based baseline survey will be done to get baseline data. After a gap of a week, the treatments will be given to the assigned groups. At the end comparison will be done for treated groups electricity bills against the control group to find the causal impact.

Experimental Design Details

Not available

Randomization Method

Randomization has been done in office by a computer (R software) to ensure it was fair and unbiased.

Randomization Unit

Households (electricity connection with each household having specific reference number)

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

No Clusters.

Sample size: planned number of observations

3000 (Households).

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Treatment Group 1 (T1) = 250 Households, Treatment Group 2 (T2) = 250 Households, Treatment Group 3 (T3) = 250 Households and Control Group = 2250 Households.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

For monthly household energy consumption (kWh), the minimum detectable effect is approximately 0.09 standard deviations with 80% power at the 5% significance level, comparing each treatment arm (250 households) to the control group (2,250 households) Unit = kWh (The unit is based on official IESCO administrative billing records, measuring the total active energy consumed by the household over a 30-day billing cycle.). Standard Deviation = 0.60 (A reference value of 0.60 is used for the Coefficient of Variation. This accounts for the high load diversity expected in Islamabad during winter months (January–March). In Islamabad in winters, electricity consumption variance is driven by heterogeneous heating habits (Inverter ACs vs. Gas) and the use of electric water geysers.) Percentage = 5.6 % (the study can statistically prove any average saving of 5.6% or greater. Reached by multiplying the adjusted MDE of 0.0935 by the assumed Coefficient of Variation of 0.60, representing the smallest average group-level reduction that can be statistically distinguished from grid noise.)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name

Research Ethics Review Board, Hiroshima University

IRB Approval Date

2025-12-06

IRB Approval Number

HR-LPES-003647

Analysis Plan