Securing the grid or preserving the planet? The impact of dynamic norms on electricity sufficiency

Dynamic social norms have been recognized as a promising approach to promote energy sufficiency. By highlighting trends and future shifts rather than current states, dynamic norms allow for a better focus on emerging norms that are not widely adopted. While existing studies predominantly examine behavioral outcomes, the underlying processes and trade-offs remain to be explored. This paper uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) combined with a randomized controlled trial to study electricity saving preferences under various dynamic norms. An emphasis is placed on the rationale for the norm changes. The results show that dynamic norms framed in terms of growing concerns about energy supply security positively affect electricity saving goal, whereas those framed around climate change do not. The heterogeneity analyses suggest that dynamic norms shape behavior through two complementary mechanisms: they generate new preferences while simultaneously reinforcing existing ones. The concluding analysis identifies four distinct groups that vary systematically in their preferences for electricity sufficiency.