Smart grid backlash? Survey finds consumers leery of automated energy management plays

This one crossed my inbox this morning, but my colleague Larry Dignan was quicker on the uptake. He's got an article over at SmartPlanet about a new survey released by Accenture. The high-level results, which represent the opinions of about 9,000 consumers from all over the world, indicate that many people are skeptical of technologies that would automatically adjust their energy usage -- unless there was a demonstrable cost-savings associated with letting this happen. For example, about one-quarter of the respondents said they would be willing to give their electricity provider remote control over their consumption (such as in periods of peak demand) ONLY if they were offered a discount of 10 percent on their energy bill.

In perhaps an even sadder statement on just how much people trust their utility companies: Only 29 percent of the respondents said they trust their energy providers' advice related to energy efficiency best practices.

More details in the SmartPlanet story.