Consumer needs survey finds customers desire guidance with distributed energy resources

Though consumers are interested in distributed energy resources (DERs), a new survey from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) found that many seek advice from electricity providers on how best to navigate them.

DERs include a variety of technologies and efforts that can help customers cut costs and reduce grid strain: rooftop solar, home battery storage, microgrids, and similar options. They produce electricity and are connected to a local distribution system or host facility within that system.

Of 1,500 Americans and 543 Canadians surveyed, the report concluded that both the top concerns and expected benefits from DERs are distinctly financial. Sixty-seven percent of customers want to know upfront how much money they stand to save through DERs, 73 percent not only want but expect money saving to be a top benefit, and 49 percent expect incentives to get them to participate.

Roughly 44 percent of those surveyed also saw DER as a means to help the environment.

More than two-thirds of participants — 69 percent — also wanted their electricity provider to be the one offering DER services. Twenty-two percent sought such services from private contractors but also wanted their electricity providers to vet those contractors.