Effective communication of time–of–use electricity tariffs: Plain and simple

Highlights

•  Presenting time-of-use (ToU) tariffs in a plain table leads to best comprehension.

•  Clock presentation of ToU tariffs harms understanding and choice quality.

•  Emphasis on environmental benefits makes young people more positive about ToU tariffs.

Abstract

Time-of-use (ToU) tariffs bring important benefits to consumers and society, but some individuals may find it harder to benefit from them than others. Communication around ToU tariffs needs to explain both benefits and challenges successfully. This article presents results from a pre-registered experiment with N = 1300 consumers in Ireland that pre-tested behaviourally-informed communications on ToU tariffs. Consumers were generally positive towards ToU tariffs. Emphasising environmental benefits enhanced positivity among younger participants. Comprehension and choice quality were modest, but improved when tariff examples were presented in a plain table, compared to 24hour clock formats that are commonly used in the market internationally.