Overview
To influence energy market decisions, consumer advocates need reliable, timely evidence about what households and small businesses need, believe and do. Without stronger data linking consumer views to real electricity use, there is a risk that policy, programs and market interventions are designed using partial evidence.
The University of Queensland, in collaboration with ECA and Energy Queensland, is using deidentified smart meter data from across Queensland and combining it with regular, voluntary mini-surveys from consumers to better understand consumer behaviour. This unique evidence base connects what consumers say about their consumption patterns with how they actually use electricity.
Energy Consumers Australia is already using data and analysis generated through the project to conduct deep dives into specific consumer issues and develop policy recommendations. By creating clearer consumer personas and enabling market interventions to be tested against real-world behaviour, the database is supporting better-informed decisions about electricity services, pricing, demand management and consumer support. Over time, this will help ensure household and small business consumers are more accurately understood and represented in energy market decision-making.
There is no typical household
Using the data from this grant, we have published a report on the distribution and drivers of Queensland household electricity use. It analyses smart meter data from more than 1.1 million Queensland households (around half of the households in the state). Our report showed the amount of electricity that homes consumer from the grid is changing as technology and household behaviour evolve. Households use electricity in many different ways, shaped by things they often cannot control, like the climate they live in or whether they rent. Vulnerability shows up differently too: some lower‑income households use less electricity than average, while people who rely on life‑support equipment often need more. These differences remind us that every household’s energy needs are unique.
Key findings
- There is no "typical" household. Household grid electricity use is very diverse.
- While many households will increasingly be able to influence how much electricity they consume from the grid, a substantial portion of grid use will continue to be shaped by factors outside an individual household’s control. These include the climate in which a household is located and whether the household rents, limiting agency over some of the largest drivers of electricity use.
- Vulnerability can be associated with both higher and lower grid electricity use. For example, households living in areas of low socioeconomic advantage were found to have lower-than-typical grid use on average, whereas households with life support requirements had slightly higher-than-typical grid use.
