Energy Made Easy survey experiments

Last registered on June 27, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Energy Made Easy survey experiments
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0009660
Initial registration date
June 27, 2022

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
June 27, 2022, 4:51 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Australia
Region
NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, ACT

Primary Investigator

Name
BETA Team Registration
Affiliation
Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Laura Bennetts Kneebone
PI Affiliation
BETA - PMC
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Harry Greenwell
PI Affiliation
BETA - PMC
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-06-07
End date
2022-06-29
Keywords
Environment & Energy, Other
Additional Keywords
consumer switching, comparison website
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The Energy Made Easy (EME) website helps consumers compare energy plans currently available in the market. The AER engaged BETA to provide advice on applying behavioural insights to improve the EME website. The aim of the research is to improve the user’s experience and, ultimately, increase the rate of switching to better energy plans.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bennetts Kneebone, Laura, Harry Greenwell and BETA Team Registration. 2022. "Energy Made Easy survey experiments." AEA RCT Registry. June 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9660-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Details of the interventions will be made public after completion of the trial.
Intervention Start Date
2022-06-07
Intervention End Date
2022-06-29

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Details of the outcome measures will be made public after completion of the trial.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Experiment A: This is a 4-arm individually randomised survey experiment testing the impact of pinning the current retailer’s best offer (RBO) to the top of the results page. In all cases, respondents have an option to stick with their existing plan, which is the most expensive plan of all options presented.
Experiment B: This is a 3-arm individually randomised survey experiment testing variations of the results page for plans that have Discounts. All versions of the results page show 3 plans that are sorted by price, and that show details about supply charge and usage charge. One version does not mention the Discount. A second version includes a “Discounts” flag. The third version includes the “Discounts” flag along with a reminder that the Discount is already included in price estimate.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Details of the outcome measures will be made public after completion of the trial.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Details about the experimental design will be made public once the trial is over
Experimental Design Details
This research will involve two survey experiments run as part of the same survey. Both experiments relate to the presentation of the results page of the website, and in both cases, the variations are based on issues raised during user testing.
In both experiments, respondents are asked to choose the best energy plan.
The sample is drawn from a panel (around 1750 responses) and through a link on the EME website

Randomization Method
Participants are randomly assigned to an intervention by the survey software. Randomisation will occur within the Qualtrics survey platform. After demographics are collected, all respondents are individually assigned a random number for each trial indicating treatment arm. Sample size may not be perfectly balanced between groups.
Randomization Unit
The randomization unit is individual participants (one level)
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
3000 individuals (not clustered)
Sample size: planned number of observations
3000 individuals (not clustered)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Experiment 1: approximately 750
Experiment 2: approximately 1000
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
5 percentage points for each.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Macquarie University Human Research Ethics
IRB Approval Date
2022-06-06
IRB Approval Number
11843
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials