"Help, I need somebody..." - Consequences of a Re-regulated Competitive Electricity Market from the Customer Perspective

In 1996, the Swedish electricity market was re-regulated and if private customers wanted to change their supplier they were forced to invest in a new electricity meter with hourly metering. The cost of such a device was typically around 900 EURO. Very few customers changed their supplier at this stage. On November 1st, 1999, this requirement was abolished and replaced with load profiling allowing the private customers to change their supplier without any cost to themselves.

Since then, the customers has been both subjectively and objectively bombarded with information and advertising from various electricity suppliers and other actors on the market in the form of: personally formulated letters, newsprint advertisements, media headlines as well as counselling and society based programs on television.

This article is performed from an interdisciplinary perspective, with a customer focus. What consequences follow from re-regulation, for private customers? How do they handle their selection possibilities? Do they experience increased freedom and satisfaction, or do they feel confusion, insecurity and necessity to change electricity supplier?

The article and the discussion are viewed from both a socio-cultural and technological viewpoint. It is interesting to gain insight into how the customer reacts and handles the consequences of the re-regulated competitive electricity market.