Liberty Utilities will send some of its customers specialized reports about their natural gas use compared with their neighborhood to see how, and whether, it helps them conserve energy.

The pilot project is part of a trend among utility providers to let customers know more specifics about their energy use with comparisons to similar neighbors. ... Subscribe or log in to read more

Liberty Utilities will send some of its customers specialized reports about their natural gas use compared with their neighborhood to see how, and whether, it helps them conserve energy.

The pilot project is part of a trend among utility providers to let customers know more specifics about their energy use with comparisons to similar neighbors.

We know that saving money and environmental awareness are two things that motivate people to conserve energy, Liberty Utilities spokesman John Shore wrote in an email response to Telegraph questions. However, behavioral science tells us that knowing how we compare to our neighbors in many cases is an even more powerful motivator. Thats the basis of these reports.

The report compares the customers use to what it calls neighbors use.

When I say neighbors, its an average usage of similar homes in the area, Shore wrote. The comparison is anonymous.

Such peer comparison feedback, as the industry calls it, can have a noticeable effect on peoples habits. A 2009 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, for example, found that people in California and Washington cut electricity or natural gas use by up to 2 percent when shown that other homes nearby were more efficient.

Public Service of New Hampshire began a similar project in February with some of its electricity customers, although PSNH is running an experiment that involves sending different types of reports to see which ones cause people to make the biggest change. That study is running for one year, and then PSNH will decide whether to continue.

Liberty Utilities will use the firm Opower, the same company that does PSNHs reports. The firm has specialized in this area, and does home energy reports for scores of utilities around the world.

Original post:

Some Liberty gas customers to get reports comparing use to neighbors