Material participation and the smart grid: Exploring different modes of articulation

Abstract

Many experts are worried about the would-be character of smart grid users, and that they will not engage with smart grid technologies out of disinterest or lack of knowledge. This has been held as problematic as users are conceived as a fundamental key to unlocking the full potential of the smart grid. This paper engaged smart grid users from the Norwegian demo Steinkjer pilot, and through focus group interviews, articulations of every day smart grid enactments were collected. Eliciting little lack in either knowledge or interest, informants were able to articulate relevant smart grid enactments through a spectrum of skepticism, pragmatism and enthusiasm. Mobilising the concept of material publics (Marres 2012) this paper argues that smart meters bridge the green political economy of climate challenge issues and the user's context of everyday energy consumption. The paper found evidence that user articulations, whether skeptical or enthusiastic, are firmly rooted in a political engagement. This suggests a strong case for material publics of the smart grid, indicating that explanations for user disengagement likely can be found in subversive co-articulations among users, rather than disinterest or lack of knowledge. This paper suggests acknowledging smart grid users as politically engaged, material publics.

Assembling the Smart Grid: On the Mobilization of Imaginaries, Users and Materialities in a Swedish Demonstration Project

“…This finding resonates with Throndsen and Ryghaug (2015), that also found articulations of "involvement made easy" among electricity users discussing smart meter installations and automatic solutions.…”

“…These visions thus include the idea of a neoliberal individual who is primarily motivated by economic motives. Within such assumptions, electricity is primarily presented as an economic issue -at the expense of other matters that could be of importance for people (Throndsen & Ryghaug, 2015). In this way, people are predominantly referred to as "consumers" or "customers" in energy policies and research literature, rather than as "citizens" or "the public".…”

“…From the angle of material participation (Marres, 2012b), I conceptualize these individuals as being able to express how their engagement with smart grids relates to larger societal issues (cf. Throndsen & Ryghaug, 2015). I will shed light on how their conceptualizations resonate with the project's smart grid and with the sociotechnical smart grid imaginaries.…”

“…They concluded that these devices are not simply technical, but can also be conceptualized as "socially invested objects" and "public policy tools". Throndsen and Ryghaug (2015) attended to users who participated in a Norwegian smart grid project. Through focus group interviews, that study illustrate how the users articulated different modes of material engagement.…”

What do experts talk about when they talk about users? Expectations and imagined users in the smart grid

“…Additionally, the most unhelpful user imaginaries for constructive pilot activity can very well be the one which is thought to be reluctant and resistant to change, and thus needs to be met with what sometimes simply comes off as a sales pitch. Separating out techno-ideological jargon and other sales pitches from actually progressive programs that do enroll end users thus seems to be an important task, as there is evidence of these demo sites having potential for gathering deliberative publics in larger discussions on energy policy and climate issues (Throndsen and Ryghaug 2015).…”