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Public Utilities Commission of Texas
Deregulation or competition in the electric and natural gas sectors began about a decade ago. Customers, in most states, would now be able to select their energy suppliers while keeping their local utilities who maintain the delivery infrastructure.
In Texas, CRPP research on behalf of the PUC of Texas was designed to provide public input on electric competition in Texas and to help “Texas Electric Choice” design/adjust the consumer education campaign to provide the greatest impact on consumer knowledge about electric choice.
The research was designed to help measure success and progress of the campaign to inform Texas electric customers of competition as well as measure movement in awareness and knowledge levels.
Areas for investigation in the surveys included: awareness of competition in Texas; perception of competition in Texas; interest in the ability to choose a retail electric provider; motivation for market participation; tracking knowledge levels among consumers; enrollment process awareness; perception of service reliability; environmental impact; marketing development; information access, recall, and needs; public views on related issues; demographics.
CRPP provided monthly tracking studies among 14 target opinion leader/consumer segments, a post-wave evaluation study of campaign advertising material, provided “turnkey” market research services to the PUC and provided on-going advice, consultation, and recommendations to the PUC regarding Campaign efficacy.
CRPP has worked with the Public Utility Control Commissions of Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, New York, and Vermont on their implementation of competition. In states such as New Jersey, utilities were only allowed ratepayer reimbursement for the education campaign if CRPP devised metrics were met.
Other CRPP Public Policy clients include: The Nature Conservancy, Girl Scouts of America, Red Cross, Houston Independent School District, Connecticut Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, U.S. Department of Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Collaborative for Education Against Gun Violence, and Mesquite, Texas.
