Modeling consumer opinions towards dynamic pricing: An agent-based approach

Using an agent-based modeling approach we show how personal attributes, like conformity or indifference, impact opinions of individual electricity consumers regarding innovative dynamic tariff programs. We also examine the influence of advertising, discomfort of usage and the expectations of financial savings on opinion dynamics. Our main finding is that currently the adoption, understood as a positive opinion or attitude toward the innovation, of dynamic electricity tariffs is virtually impossible due to the high level of indifference in today´s societies. However, if in the future the indifference level is reduced, e.g., through educational programs that would make the customers more engaged in the topic, factors like tariff pricing schemes and intensity of advertising will became the focal point.