The CER initiated the Smart Metering Project in 2007 with the purpose of undertaking trials to assess the performance of Smart Meters, their impact on consumers’ energy consumption and the economic case for a wider national rollout. It is a collaborative energy industry-wide project managed by the CER and actively involving energy industry participants including the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR), ESB Networks, Bord Gáis Networks, Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy and other energy suppliers. The Smart Metering Gas Customer Behaviour Trials (CBTs) took place during 2010 and 2011 with nearly 2,000 Irish homes participating. The purpose of the trials was to assess the impact on consumer’s gas consumption in order to inform the cost-benefit analysis for a national rollout. Bord Gáis Energy residential customers who participated in the trials had a gas smart meter installed in their homes and agreed to take part in research to help establish how smart metering can help shape energy usage behaviours across a variety of demographics, lifestyles and home sizes.
The optimal sample size for the Trial was determined to be 1,927 participants. Allowing for attrition during the Trial, 1,892 were still in the Trial when allocation was completed in April 2010. In order to ensure that the outcome of the Trial would be robust and representative of the national population, the recruitment process was phased. After each phase the respondents who opted in were profiled to confirm that they were representative of the national profile. Once recruitment was completed, the set of consumers who had accepted was compared to the set of those who had not (captured through a non-response survey) in order to check and confirm for representivity. In addition, the profile of those who had accepted the invitation to participate was compared with the sample of Bord Gáis Energy customers of 50,000, from which the invitation list was drawn. Participant selection and recruitment followed a voluntary “opt-in” model using a tear off slip and achieved an average response rate of 25%
Telephone interview: CATI
Measurements and tests
