In the proposed project we plan to systematically compare the effectiveness of standard and behavioral public policy tools used to reduce the negative externalities of electricity consumption. The instruments aim at steering consumers’ electricity demand more towards (new) renewable energies and at reducing consumers’ overall electricity demand. To date, evidence that allows comparing the effectiveness of different policy instruments is scant. Our research has the potential to fill this gap. Moreover, we will focus our research on two different market regimes, monopoly and competition, with the intention to discover differences in instruments’ effectiveness that depend on the market structure. Given the planned liberalization of the electricity market for households in Switzerland, our study will thus provide important knowledge for policy makers who want to foster sustainable electricity consumption in a liberalized market.
