2. Energy Poll Background
Development
• Developed questionnaire in 2010
• Collaboration with representatives from academic institutions, polling
companies, non-governmental organizations, energy producers, and
energy consumers
• Pre-tested with 100 respondents in December 2010
• Revised and further reviewed with Advisors through summer 2011
• Examined strengths and weaknesses of methodologies
Fielding
• Online survey conducted Sept. 14-25, 2011
• 3,406 qualified respondents
• Sample weighted to reflect U.S. Census demographics
2
3. Only 14% think we are headed in the right
direction
Dealing With Energy Issues That Face Our Nation - Headed In...
Wrong Direction: Right Direction:
43.2% 13.7%
19 25 43 11 2
Definitely the 1 5 Definitely the
2 3 4
Wrong Direction Right Direction
3
4. Expected situation in 25 years
Energy Situation In 25 years (Compared To Now)...
Worse Off: Better Off:
41.3% 22.5%
14% 27% 36% 18% 5%
Definitely Worse 1 2 3 4 5 Definitely Better
4
5. Today’s energy prices
Very/Somewhat High
%
Gasoline 95
Heating Oil 85
Electricity 78
Natural Gas 69
5
6. Energy prices expected to increase in 6 months
Increase Significantly/Somewhat
%
Gasoline 78
Heating Oil 75
Electricity 68
Natural Gas 66
6
7. Household spending on energy expected to
increase
In 12 Months, Portion Of Household Budget Spent On Energy Will...
Decrease: Increase:
5.1% 69.1%
1% 4% 26% 53% 16%
Decrease Decrease Stay The Increase Increase
Significantly Somewhat Same Somewhat Significantly
7
8. Satisfaction with addressing energy issues
Satisfaction With The Job That Each Is Doing To Address Important Energy Issues
(Top 3 Box/Bottom Three Box on 7 Point Scale)
You / Your Household 57 13
Engineers and scientists 41 19
Research institutes 39 20
Wind energy companies 36 24
Solar energy companies 36 26
Colleges and universities 35 22
Small US companies 31 25
Hydroelectric companies 29 22
Energy innovators 27 30
The Nature Conservancy 26 22
Greenpeace 26 27
Your electric utility 26 40
President Barack Obama 26 54
Nuclear energy companies 22 34
Environmental Defense Fund 21 27
Natural Resources Defense Council 20 24
Coal companies 20 35
The Sierra Club 19 23
Your local government 18 51
Your state government 16 56
Oil and gas companies 16 58
Large US companies 15 51
US Department of Energy 15 52
Energy financiers 14 46
8 Business leaders 14 49
71
The US Congress 8
9. Perspectives on government’s role
Feelings With Regard To The U.S. Government’s
Role in Preparing Us For Future Energy Needs
Trying to Do Too
Many Things: Should Do More:
25.2% 56.7%
16% 9% 18% 24% 32%
Definitely Trying To 1 5 Should Do
2 3 4
Do Too Many Things More
9
10. Factors influencing prices
Most Impact/Least Impact On Energy Prices
%
Pricing power of
energy companies Global Government Consumer Supply
and/or electric utilities politics regulation demand constraints
10
11. U.S. budget priorities
U.S. Budget Areas Most Likely To Put More Money
%
Job creation 36
Education 15
Social Security 13
Health care 12
Military and defense 8
Infrastructure development / maintenance 6
Energy security / dependable access to 4
Energy innovation 3
Environmental protection 2
Other most 2
11
12. Economic growth versus harm to the
environment
Environmental Protection Versus Economic Growth
Avoiding Harm to Economic Growth:
Environment: 37.4%
33.3%
18% 15% 29% 19% 19%
Avoiding Permanent Harm Economic Growth
To The Environment 1 2 3 4 5 Should Definitely
Should Be Given Priority Be Given Priority
12
13. What consumers are concerned about
Concerned About… (Top 3 Box on 7 point scale)
%
13
14. Expectations for adopting new technologies
Likelihood To Do In Next 5 Years (Top 3 Box on a 7 Point Scale)
%
14
15. Consumers’ level of knowledge about energy
Self-Reported Level Of Knowledge About
How Energy Is Produced, Delivered & Used
Not
Knowledgeable: Knowledgeable:
33.7% 24.2%
10% 24% 42% 19% 6%
Not At All 1 5 Very
2 3 4
Knowledgeable Knowledgeable
15
17. Sources for energy information
Groups/Organizations Trusted To Provide Information
About Efficient Energy Use
%
17
Editor's Notes
Many faculty at UT and McCombs advisors provided input into the questionnaire Many external eyeballs on the questionnaire Academic advisory panel with representation from five different institutions, including Stanford, Cambridge, Mannheim Academic advisors reviewed a second time after everyone else gave feedback- Strengths and weaknesses…. Took a longterm view of this initiative and the trend is moving to online because of no call lists, and lack of landline use, particularly for younger population- Highlevel summary of the Poll results have three themes: what consumer’s think about 1) the national situation on energy issues; 2) energy prices and 3) satisfaction with leadership in addressing energy issues.
Current situation: only 14% think we are headed in the right direction43% think we are headed in the wrong direction43% are neutralAND….
41% of people expect to be worse off in 25 years 23% expect to be better off
- People think prices today are high
- And majority of population expects prices will increase further in the next 6 months
- People anticipate a personal financial hit in the next year… can’t offset increase in prices with efficiency or behavioral changes and total energy budget will increase
Break this chart into pieces: highest satisfaction ratings include engineers and scientists, research institutes, wind/solar companies and colleges and universities Lowest satisfaction with local/state government, large companies, DOE and business leaders Congress is strikingly low in satisfaction, and strikingly high on dissatisfaction President Obama is mid-range for satisfaction, but high on dissatisfaction
This slide offers a possible explanation for dissatisfaction ratings…. Majority of people think the government should do more to prepare us for future energy needs To recap, only 14% of the population think we are headed in the right direction, the situation will only get worse in the long term, prices are already high and rising, and the government needs to do more That is the situational analysis Now let’s look at some specific findings in five areas: economic, environmental, policy, technological, and consumer knowledge and education
Economic finding… what is driving prices? 36% of people attribute pricing power of energy companies and/or utilities as the greatest factor impacting high energy prices Flipside, only 14% rated pricing power as least impact on pricing 26% rated supply/demand combined as greatest impact on prices, while a combined 49% of respondents rated supply & demand as least important factors influencing prices Approximately equal number of people thought politics and regulations were important/not important Message: people do not think standard economic theory applies to energy prices
Environmental finding… are people concerned? Given today’s economic climate, it isn’t surprising that jobs trump all other budget priorities by a wide margin energy and environment rank fairly low on the list BUT….
- On a more general level, economic growth is fairly balanced with environmental concerns- 37% of respondents thought economic growth should be given priority and 33% thought avoiding permanent harm to the environment deserved priority
Policy finding… specifically on energy issues, where are consumers’ focused? 84% expressed concern on nation’s consumption of oil from foreign sources 76% concerned about development of energy efficiency and renewable sources People were more concerned on a national level than on an individual level, although even the individual areas ranked as important Interesting comparison between 84% concerned about foreign oil, yet only 4% chose this as a budget priority. Again, economic climate clouds the picture for all else.
Technological finding…. Which technologies will people adopt in the next five years? 38% use smart meter, 30% buy hybrid, and 21% install solar panels Higher adoption percentages among younger population
Expect people to rate their knowledge as higher than it is yet 1/3 of the population said they aren’t knowledgeable about energy! And this most likely under-states the true situationHOWEVER….
Consumers are interested in learning more, particularly on issues close to home, but even on global energy issues Families showed greatest interest in learning energy efficiency- It is great that they want to learn more, but where do they turn for information?
Consumers trust consumer groups and reports, followed closely by electric utility companies. Non-profits and environmental groups are trusted sources Government agencies are least trusted
