Descriptive Social Norms and Energy Conservation Behavior: A Field Experiment in Islamabad City, Pakistan

This study examines the impact of non-price interventions on the energy conservation behavior of residential consumers in Pakistan. Building upon research on descriptive social norms, we hypothesized that individuals would reduce their electricity use when informed that many others were doing so. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a randomized experiment with 128 participants in Islamabad City. In the first phase, participants completed an online survey and were randomly assigned to receive one of two messages in the survey: one indicating that many residents were increasing electricity use, and the other suggesting that many were conserving. Participants were then asked to report their intention to save electricity. In the second phase, we collected actual electricity usage and billing data. Contrary to our expectation, the group informed that others were increasing their electricity reduced their own consumption by 14%, and paid 18% less in bills, compared to the other group. While inconsistent with previous experimental studies of descriptive social norms, our findings suggest that non-price interventions can promote energy conservation.