Heterogeneous Effects of Real-time Consumption Analytics on Residential Water Consumption
47 Pages Posted: 1 Dec 2016 Last revised: 18 Jul 2019
Date Written: December 2, 2016
Abstract
In this paper, the effects of Dropcountr on water usage were examined using household- level panel data for the City of Folsom water service area from January-2013 to September-2016. Results suggest that the introduction of the Dropcountr services for the population of households participating in Dropcountr causes a aggregate treatment effect of 7% reduction in water usage with a significant variation in the effect across households dependent on baseline consumption quintile. Households in the highest quintile of baseline consumption reduce consumption by an estimated 13% in response to the Dropcountr service.
Keywords: Automated meters, Non-price conservation, California water, Urban water demand
JEL Classification: Q250, D12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation