How do we want to buy and sell electricity? Contrasting preferences from the United Kingdom and South Korea

Abstract

Electricity end-users play a crucial role in the energy transition. Their preferences shape the adoption of new electricity supply models, such as local energy markets and aggregator models. Whilst previous studies have explored end-user preferences, most have been conducted in liberalised electricity markets, and research on prosumer-specific preferences remains limited. To address these gaps, this study compares preferences of prosumers and consumers in two contrasting electricity market contexts: the liberalised United Kingdom (UK) and centralised South Korea (Korea). With a total sample of 536 respondents from the UK and 392 from Korea, discrete choice experiments were conducted to examine preferences for: (1) consumers buying electricity; (2) prosumers buying electricity; and (3) prosumers selling electricity. Findings indicate that end-user preferences in the UK and Korea differ, reflecting their distinct market structures. Korean end-users strongly prefer national and local governments as electricity generators or providers, whilst UK end-users favour non-profit organisations over private companies. Price emerged as the most important factor for buying and selling electricity, especially in the UK. Interestingly, when selling electricity, Korean prosumers preferred lower prices, suggesting avenues for further research into altruistic or collective motivations. Location factors, such as locally generated electricity, had minimal importance in both countries. Moreover, compared to the fixed-price option, end-users in both countries have yet to embrace alternative attributes, such as direct load control and peer-to-peer trading. Our study highlights the importance of socio-technical contexts in understanding end-user preferences for shaping energy transition policies.