Public Acceptance of Smart Meters: Integrating Psychology and Practice

Public acceptance of utility programs and initiatives is vital for efficient deployment. Consumer complaints, protests, and lawsuits, can significantly impede progress and cost utilities, cities, and taxpayers money. One recent area where this has become clear is the deployment of smart meters. While the advantages of smart meters are widely accepted by utilities, academics, and governments, some communities have experienced backlash and disapproval from customers. Many of these concerns have been rebutted by scholars and this backlash seems to vary between regions, suggesting that backlash may be incited by issues related to deployment, rather than the technology itself. It is hypothesized that much of the backlash can be prevented by greater attention to public communication; how to do so is being explored, but is as yet undetermined. This paper presents a model of technology acceptance drawn from psychological theory and a framework of potential strategies for increasing acceptance. Through analysis of 20 U.S. smart meter rollouts, a list of 56 public communication strategies was compiled and subsequently organized into a framework of 24 key strategies based on temporal (upstream, midstream, downstream) and functional (involve, inform) characteristics. This framework, which integrates key psychological theories on technology acceptance, provides utilities with initial guidance on developing successful smart meter communication campaigns.