Residential Electricity Demand: An Experimental Study

T HIS paper reports the results of a relatively inexpensive and readily replicable field experiment in the area of household demand for energy. Responses to increased information on energy use patterns in the form of written, government prepared, energy conservation pamphlets and weekly feedback on electricity use levels are investigated, along with short-run responses to increases in the relative price of electricity. The paper presents information of interest in two areas: (1) the methodology, procedures and problems encountered in designing a field experiment in household energy use; and (2) substantive findings concerning responses of households to changes in the price of electricity and information concerning electricity use. The papex has four parts. Section I presents the design of the experiment and is primarily of interest to those readers concerned with experimental methods.' Sections II and III report the empirical results of the study. The concluding section compares the results reported here with other small scale field experiments and reports estimates for price responsiveness in terms of elasticities.

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