IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v202y2025ics0301421525000953.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Pareto superior incentive scheme for residential electricity conservation

Author

Listed:
  • Woo, C.K.
  • Cao, K.H.
  • Cheng, Y.S.
  • Qi, H.S.

Abstract

Responding to the imminent threat of climate change, the United Nations urges its members to achieve net zero by 2050. China leads the world in energy consumption and CO2 emissions and has committed to carbon neutrality before 2060. As a special administrative region of China, Hong Kong aims to cut 50% of its 2005 level of CO2 emissions by 2035. Decarbonizing Hong Kong's electricity sector entails conservation, energy efficiency improvement, displacing coal-fired generation with natural-gas-fired and renewable generation and increasing import of carbon-free energy from Mainland China. Illustrated through Hong Kong's inclining block rates, this paper proposes an incentive scheme with voluntary participation (“Scheme” for short) to promote residential electricity conservation. The Scheme is Pareto superior because its implementation benefits participating customers without harming the local utilities and non-participating customers. Despite its Hong Kong residential focus, the Scheme's design principle informs all electric utilities worldwide on how to develop Pareto superior per kWh incentives for electricity conservation, notwithstanding that these utilities may have highly nonlinear residential and non-residential tariffs. Hence, the Scheme merits consideration for pilot testing to determine its customer acceptance and conservation effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Woo, C.K. & Cao, K.H. & Cheng, Y.S. & Qi, H.S., 2025. "A Pareto superior incentive scheme for residential electricity conservation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:202:y:2025:i:c:s0301421525000953
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114588
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421525000953
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114588?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chi-Keung Woo & Orans, Ren & Horii, Brian & Peter Chow, 1995. "Pareto-superior time-of-use rate option for industrial firms," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 267-272, September.
    2. Woo, C.K. & Cao, K.H. & Zarnikau, J. & Yip, T.L. & Chow, A., 2021. "What moves Hong Kong's train ridership?," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Seeto, Dewey & Woo, C. K. & Horowitz, Ira, 1997. "Time-of-use rates vs. Hopkinson tariffs redux: An analysis of the choice of rate structures in a regulated electricity distribution company," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 169-185, May.
    4. Woo, C.K. & Sreedharan, P. & Hargreaves, J. & Kahrl, F. & Wang, J. & Horowitz, I., 2014. "A review of electricity product differentiation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 262-272.
    5. Ottavia Valentini & Nikoleta Andreadou & Paolo Bertoldi & Alexandre Lucas & Iolanda Saviuc & Evangelos Kotsakis, 2022. "Demand Response Impact Evaluation: A Review of Methods for Estimating the Customer Baseline Load," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-36, July.
    6. Woo, Chi-Keung & Horowitz, Ira & Tishler, Asher, 2006. "A critical assessment of the Hong Kong Government's proposed post-2008 regulatory regime for local electricity utilities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(13), pages 1451-1456, September.
    7. Raymond S. Hartman & Michael J. Doane & Chi-Keung Woo, 1991. "Consumer Rationality and the Status Quo," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(1), pages 141-162.
    8. Katrina Jessoe & David Rapson, 2014. "Knowledge Is (Less) Power: Experimental Evidence from Residential Energy Use," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1417-1438, April.
    9. Woo, C.K. & Shiu, A. & Liu, Y. & Luo, X. & Zarnikau, J., 2018. "Consumption effects of an electricity decarbonization policy: Hong Kong," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 887-902.
    10. Koichiro Ito, 2014. "Do Consumers Respond to Marginal or Average Price? Evidence from Nonlinear Electricity Pricing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(2), pages 537-563, February.
    11. Horowitz, I. & Woo, C.K., 2006. "Designing Pareto-superior demand-response rate options," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1040-1051.
    12. Mackie-mason, Jeffrey K., 1990. "Optional time-of-use pricing can be pareto superior or pareto inferior," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 363-367, August.
    13. Woo, C.K. & Chen, Y. & Olson, A. & Moore, J. & Schlag, N. & Ong, A. & Ho, T., 2017. "Electricity price behavior and carbon trading: New evidence from California," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 531-543.
    14. Baskette, C. & Horii, B. & Kollman, E. & Price, S., 2006. "Avoided cost estimation and post-reform funding allocation for California's energy efficiency programs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1084-1099.
    15. Woo, C.K. & Milstein, I. & Tishler, A. & Zarnikau, J., 2019. "A wholesale electricity market design sans missing money and price manipulation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    16. Robert D. Willig, 1978. "Pareto-Superior Nonlinear Outlay Schedules," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 9(1), pages 56-69, Spring.
    17. Sreedharan, P. & Miller, D. & Price, S. & Woo, C.K., 2012. "Avoided cost estimation and cost-effectiveness of permanent load shifting in California," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 115-121.
    18. Orans, Ren & Woo, C.K. & Horii, Brian & Chait, Michele & DeBenedictis, Andrew, 2010. "Electricity Pricing for Conservation and Load Shifting," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 7-14, April.
    19. Cheng, Y.S. & Cao, K.H. & Woo, C.K. & Yatchew, A., 2017. "Residential willingness to pay for deep decarbonization of electricity supply: Contingent valuation evidence from Hong Kong," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 218-227.
    20. Woo, C.K. & Kollman, E. & Orans, R. & Price, S. & Horii, B., 2008. "Now that California has AMI, what can the state do with it?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1366-1374, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moore, J. & Woo, C.K. & Horii, B. & Price, S. & Olson, A., 2010. "Estimating the option value of a non-firm electricity tariff," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 1609-1614.
    2. Woo, C.K. & Sreedharan, P. & Hargreaves, J. & Kahrl, F. & Wang, J. & Horowitz, I., 2014. "A review of electricity product differentiation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 262-272.
    3. Li, Raymond & Woo, Chi-Keung & Tishler, Asher & Zarnikau, Jay, 2022. "How price responsive is industrial demand for natural gas in the United States?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Woo, C.K. & Shiu, A. & Liu, Y. & Luo, X. & Zarnikau, J., 2018. "Consumption effects of an electricity decarbonization policy: Hong Kong," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 887-902.
    5. Cao, K.H. & Qi, H.S. & Tsai, C.H. & Woo, C.K. & Zarnikau, J., 2021. "Energy trading efficiency in the US Midcontinent electricity markets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    6. Woo, C.K. & Milstein, I. & Tishler, A. & Zarnikau, J., 2019. "A wholesale electricity market design sans missing money and price manipulation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. Li, Raymond & Woo, Chi-Keung & Cox, Kevin, 2021. "How price-responsive is residential retail electricity demand in the US?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    8. Woo, C.K. & Ho, T. & Shiu, A. & Cheng, Y.S. & Horowitz, I. & Wang, J., 2014. "Residential outage cost estimation: Hong Kong," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 204-210.
    9. Brown, D.P. & Tsai, C.H. & Woo, C.K. & Zarnikau, J. & Zhu, S., 2020. "Residential electricity pricing in Texas's competitive retail market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    10. David P. Brown & Jay Zarnikau & Chi-Keung Woo, 2020. "Does locational marginal pricing impact generation investment location decisions? An analysis of Texas’s wholesale electricity market," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 99-140, December.
    11. Woo, C.K. & Kollman, E. & Orans, R. & Price, S. & Horii, B., 2008. "Now that California has AMI, what can the state do with it?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1366-1374, April.
    12. Woo, C.K. & Tishler, A. & Zarnikau, J. & Chen, Y., 2021. "Average residential outage cost estimates for the lower 48 states in the US," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Yushchenko, Alisa & Patel, Martin Kumar, 2017. "Cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency programs: How to better understand and improve from multiple stakeholder perspectives?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 538-550.
    14. Laura Abrardi, 2019. "Behavioral barriers and the energy efficiency gap: a survey of the literature," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(1), pages 25-43, March.
    15. Woo, C.K. & Chen, Y. & Olson, A. & Moore, J. & Schlag, N. & Ong, A. & Ho, T., 2017. "Electricity price behavior and carbon trading: New evidence from California," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 531-543.
    16. Horowitz, I. & Woo, C.K., 2006. "Designing Pareto-superior demand-response rate options," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1040-1051.
    17. Woo, C.K. & Ho, T. & Zarnikau, J. & Olson, A. & Jones, R. & Chait, M. & Horowitz, I. & Wang, J., 2014. "Electricity-market price and nuclear power plant shutdown: Evidence from California," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 234-244.
    18. Sreedharan, P. & Farbes, J. & Cutter, E. & Woo, C.K. & Wang, J., 2016. "Microgrid and renewable generation integration: University of California, San Diego," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 709-720.
    19. Cao, K.H. & Qi, H.S. & Li, R. & Woo, C.K. & Tishler, A. & Zarnikau, J., 2023. "An experiment in own-price elasticity estimation for non-residential electricity demand in the U.S," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Woo, C.K. & Chen, Y. & Zarnikau, J. & Olson, A. & Moore, J. & Ho, T., 2018. "Carbon trading’s impact on California’s real-time electricity market prices," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 579-587.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:202:y:2025:i:c:s0301421525000953. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.