From rational to relational: How energy poor households engage with the British retail energy market

Carolyn Jane Snell; Ross Gillard; Lucie Middlemiss; Anne Owen; Pepa Ambrosio-Albala; Caroline Mullen; Tom Hargreaves; Jan  Gilbertson; Angela Tod; Noel  Longhurst; Nick  Emmel

From rational to relational: How energy poor households engage with the British retail energy market

Carolyn Jane Snell, Ross Gillard, Lucie Middlemiss, Anne Owen, Pepa Ambrosio-Albala, Caroline Mullen, Tom Hargreaves, Jan Gilbertson, Angela Tod, Noel Longhurst, Nick Emmel

Social Policy and Social Work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In the sociological tradition, markets are understood to be constituted of social relations: relations of trust, friendship, power and dependence, which have moral and emotional qualities. In this paper, we explore how people in energy poor households construct the energy market and its impact on energy policy. Drawing on secondary analysis of a large collection of qualitative interviews on the lived experience of energy poverty carried out from 2003 to 2018 (n = 197 interviews and 20 selected), and the results of an OFGEM quantitative survey on consumer engagement released in 2018, we document the experience of the energy poor as actors in the British retail energy market. We uncover a number of challenges and opportunities facing energy poor participants in the market: having access to good quality information about suppliers, energy tariffs and grants, and having the skills and resources to act on this is important, without these it can be difficult for people to take action. In explaining people’s engagement with the market, we draw on the concept of ‘socio-economic attachments’, showing how a supportive network of family and friends, and people’s trust of and resulting loyalty to their energy supplier mediate their engagement. These findings lead us to relational explanations of the retail energy market, with related policy recommendations: if we are to aim for people to act ‘rationally’, they will need support to navigate the market from intermediaries.

Original language	English
Number of pages	10
Journal	Energy Research and Social Science
Volume	70
Early online date	1 Dec 2020
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2020

Keywords

Intermediaries
Market Devices
Secondary qualitative data analysis
Social Relations
Socio-econommic attachments
sociology of markets

Cite this

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title = "From rational to relational: How energy poor households engage with the British retail energy market",

abstract = "In the sociological tradition, markets are understood to be constituted of social relations: relations of trust, friendship, power and dependence, which have moral and emotional qualities. In this paper, we explore how people in energy poor households construct the energy market and its impact on energy policy. Drawing on secondary analysis of a large collection of qualitative interviews on the lived experience of energy poverty carried out from 2003 to 2018 (n = 197 interviews and 20 selected), and the results of an OFGEM quantitative survey on consumer engagement released in 2018, we document the experience of the energy poor as actors in the British retail energy market. We uncover a number of challenges and opportunities facing energy poor participants in the market: having access to good quality information about suppliers, energy tariffs and grants, and having the skills and resources to act on this is important, without these it can be difficult for people to take action. In explaining people{\textquoteright}s engagement with the market, we draw on the concept of {\textquoteleft}socio-economic attachments{\textquoteright}, showing how a supportive network of family and friends, and people{\textquoteright}s trust of and resulting loyalty to their energy supplier mediate their engagement. These findings lead us to relational explanations of the retail energy market, with related policy recommendations: if we are to aim for people to act {\textquoteleft}rationally{\textquoteright}, they will need support to navigate the market from intermediaries.",

keywords = "Intermediaries, Market Devices, Secondary qualitative data analysis, Social Relations, Socio-econommic attachments, sociology of markets",

author = "Snell, {Carolyn Jane} and Ross Gillard and Lucie Middlemiss and Anne Owen and Pepa Ambrosio-Albala and Caroline Mullen and Tom Hargreaves and Jan Gilbertson and Angela Tod and Noel Longhurst and Nick Emmel",

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T1 - From rational to relational: How energy poor households engage with the British retail energy market

AU - Snell, Carolyn Jane

AU - Gillard, Ross

AU - Middlemiss, Lucie

AU - Owen, Anne

AU - Ambrosio-Albala, Pepa

AU - Mullen, Caroline

AU - Hargreaves, Tom

AU - Gilbertson, Jan

AU - Tod, Angela

AU - Longhurst, Noel

AU - Emmel, Nick

PY - 2020/12/1

Y1 - 2020/12/1

N2 - In the sociological tradition, markets are understood to be constituted of social relations: relations of trust, friendship, power and dependence, which have moral and emotional qualities. In this paper, we explore how people in energy poor households construct the energy market and its impact on energy policy. Drawing on secondary analysis of a large collection of qualitative interviews on the lived experience of energy poverty carried out from 2003 to 2018 (n = 197 interviews and 20 selected), and the results of an OFGEM quantitative survey on consumer engagement released in 2018, we document the experience of the energy poor as actors in the British retail energy market. We uncover a number of challenges and opportunities facing energy poor participants in the market: having access to good quality information about suppliers, energy tariffs and grants, and having the skills and resources to act on this is important, without these it can be difficult for people to take action. In explaining people’s engagement with the market, we draw on the concept of ‘socio-economic attachments’, showing how a supportive network of family and friends, and people’s trust of and resulting loyalty to their energy supplier mediate their engagement. These findings lead us to relational explanations of the retail energy market, with related policy recommendations: if we are to aim for people to act ‘rationally’, they will need support to navigate the market from intermediaries.

AB - In the sociological tradition, markets are understood to be constituted of social relations: relations of trust, friendship, power and dependence, which have moral and emotional qualities. In this paper, we explore how people in energy poor households construct the energy market and its impact on energy policy. Drawing on secondary analysis of a large collection of qualitative interviews on the lived experience of energy poverty carried out from 2003 to 2018 (n = 197 interviews and 20 selected), and the results of an OFGEM quantitative survey on consumer engagement released in 2018, we document the experience of the energy poor as actors in the British retail energy market. We uncover a number of challenges and opportunities facing energy poor participants in the market: having access to good quality information about suppliers, energy tariffs and grants, and having the skills and resources to act on this is important, without these it can be difficult for people to take action. In explaining people’s engagement with the market, we draw on the concept of ‘socio-economic attachments’, showing how a supportive network of family and friends, and people’s trust of and resulting loyalty to their energy supplier mediate their engagement. These findings lead us to relational explanations of the retail energy market, with related policy recommendations: if we are to aim for people to act ‘rationally’, they will need support to navigate the market from intermediaries.

KW - Intermediaries

KW - Market Devices

KW - Secondary qualitative data analysis

KW - Social Relations

KW - Socio-econommic attachments

KW - sociology of markets

M3 - Article

SN - 2214-6296

VL - 70

JO - Energy Research and Social Science

JF - Energy Research and Social Science

ER -