Finns level out spikes in electricity usage
Enfo and Kantar TNS have studied the electricity consumption habits of Finnish consumers. Energy companies’ customer information will be centralised in 2019, increasing the competition for consumers.
Only a fraction of all survey respondents have tried solar energy, but 61% of Finnish people are interested in using it. However, only one in three respondents were willing to pay more for renewable energy compared to energy produced by ordinary means.
According to Enfo’s study, only 20% of Finns want to use nuclear energy. Attitudes towards nuclear power vary greatly, both geographically and between the customers of different energy companies. The most positive attitudes towards nuclear power were present in regions with nuclear plants, i.e. Loviisa and Rauma. In these regions, 33% of the population were in favour of nuclear power.
Up to 54% of Finnish people are interested in the fact that energy companies can adjust electricity use on the customer’s behalf.
“For example during the harshest cold periods in winter, companies could lower a property’s electricity consumption,” says Tero Kosunen, EVP, Financial Process Services at Enfo.
“The survey enables us to assess how consumers would like to see energy companies develop. It revealed clear customer groups, such as those who value local production, those who do not care where they buy their electricity, and those interested in new services such as electric cars,” says Satu Yrjänen, CEO of Kantar TNS.
About one in two Finns would like to produce some of their own electricity
Almost one in two Finnish people say they are interested in small-scale energy production. In other words, they would like to use electricity they have produced using solar or wind power. Women mainly favoured small-scale energy production due to its environmental friendliness. Men were motivated by savings in energy consumption costs.
Finnish people living in apartments are particularly interested in electricity price information. They regard energy consumption advice from their own energy company as an interesting service.
“We are expanding Enfo’s service offering to include customer experience consulting. We are now piloting the service by offering it to companies in the energy sector. This is why we investigated the Finnish people’s electricity consumption habits and their attitudes towards energy companies, and the use and offering of different forms of energy,” Kosunen says.
* The survey was commissioned by Enfo Oyj and conducted by Kantar TNS. A total of 2,349 electricity consumers across Finland participated in the survey. The sample is representative in terms of age, region of residence and gender. The survey was conducted from October to December 2016.
More information:
Tero Kosunen, EVP, Financial Process Services, Enfo, tel. +358 50 444 1200, tero.kosunen@enfo.fi
