The Challenge
Demand response is critical to our energy transition—it enables greater integration of renewables, reduces pressure on the grid, and lowers the need for costly infrastructure by matching energy use to clean energy availability. To realise the promise of demand response, consumers must shift from passive energy users to active participants—willing to flex when and how they use electricity to support a stable, sustainable grid. This behavioural shift has been the focus of targeted investment by the Australian Government, aimed at stimulating innovation across industry and encouraging households to engage with smarter, more responsive energy use. The opportunity to better understand the household or energy customer experience was commissioned by ARENA
Our Response
ThinkPlaceX was engaged to conduct customer research for three energy retailers participating in the demand response program. Each retailer had designed their trial differently and saw value in sharing insights more broadly to support sector-wide learning and program evolution.
A critical success factor for the project was securing retailer participation, as access to customer data was essential for the research. We successfully negotiated contracts with all three retailers in a short timeframe—helped by our independence from government, which enabled a higher level of trust and agility.
To shape the research, ThinkPlaceX designed a mixed-methods approach. We began with a rapid literature review to identify existing knowledge on customer behaviours in demand response, which informed the design of our methodology.
The research included one-hour phone interviews with selected customers, followed by in-home visits to explore behaviours and experiences in greater depth. Participants were then invited to co-design workshops to reflect on their experience, test early-stage concepts, and contribute ideas for future program design that could encourage broader participation.
These qualitative insights were then complemented by a wider survey, designed to test key questions that emerged from the in-home research. The survey enabled us to generate more statistically robust insights and strengthen the evidence base for future iterations of the program
The Impact
Upon completion of the project, all three retailers used the insights to make changes to the design of their demand response initiatives. The insights provided by ThinkPlaceX offered clear evidence of what changes were needed in each program—highlighting customer preferences, barriers to participation, and opportunities to improve engagement and effectiveness. This customer-led research directly informed more targeted, inclusive, and scalable demand response strategies
Case studies
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