Evaluation of energy saving effects of tiered electricity pricing and investigation of the energy saving willingness of residents

The effects of tiered electricity pricing (TEP) on the energy saving willingness of residents and household electricity consumption behaviour are qualitatively studied through a social investigation in Guangdong, China. Furthermore, an autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA model) is constructed using monthly electricity consumption data of residents in Guangdong to quantify the effects of implementing a TEP policy on energy saving. Meanwhile, to explore the opportunities for improving the policy, this research uses an ordered probit model to study the factors influencing the energy saving willingness of residents based on explanatory variables, such as personal characteristics, living conditions, etc. The empirical results demonstrate that, after the implementation of TEP, energy saving awareness among women is higher than that among men. With increasing levels of educational attainment, or having a family, energy saving awareness gradually increases. In addition, there is a U-type relationship between age and energy saving awareness, while a reciprocal U-type is present between income and energy saving awareness. Meanwhile, the housing ownership type (self-occupation or rental) is also closely related to the energy saving awareness of residents. Finally, according to the above research results, suggestions are put forward to improve the TEP policy.