Attitudes and Opinions of Social Media Users Towards Smart Meters’ Rollout in Turkey

Abstract

Increasing the efficiency of electricity transmission is nearing the top of the agenda in many countries around the world. Turkey, the world’s most newly industrialized country, is no different. Modernizing the current transmission grids to smart grids (SG) and the national rollout of smart meters (SM), are some of the measures taken by the government to meet the growing demand for electricity. Consumer acceptance and engagement are among the most important elements for the success of SG and SM, however, there have not been much studies done among Turkish electricity consumers. This purpose of this study is to fill this void, by detailing the attitudes, awareness and expectations among Turkish citizens regarding SM and listing recommendations for energy companies based on the findings. Through an online questionnaire, responses from 504 social media users were collected and analyzed. Results show that the consumers are open towards the acceptance of SM, but there is a need to raise awareness and knowledge through proper communication channels. The study has also revealed that a range of conventional and digital channels need to be actively used in order to enhance consumer willingness to accept SM. Increasing social interactions regarding SM is one of the key recommendations detailed by the authors.

Keywords

• smart meters
• consumer knowledge
• turkish electricity market
• social acceptance
• social media