A secret success? Reduced electricity consumption in Norwegian households: a search for institutional and individual explanantions.

Our point of departure is the fact that we have witnessed a significant decline in the avarge electricity consump in Norwegian household during the last decades, Electricity consumption increased from 7000 kWh per households in 1960 to18000 kWh in 1985, a nd then it peaked. Since 1995 we have even seen a decline to around 16000 in 2004-2006. Our research units are households and consumers. We will argue that we need to combine individual and institutional perspectives to grasp the change that have taken place from 1995 to 2006. We have invited ENOVA and NVE to join the project as partners in order to validate the existing statistics, to provide the project with relevant data and to open effective dissemination channels. At last we will link our project to an ongoing EU-project on: Barriers for change in energy consumption among individual and households; BARENERGY (2008-2010) is coordinated by SIFO and have partners from 6 European countries. The project will use a model developed by Grønmo, Ölander an d Danielsen (1999). The main concept in model is the relationship between Problem articulation and Results. Explaining factors are the Process, the Interests of Actors and the Cultural Context. The project will be organised in 5 work-packages, following t he structure in this model To answer our research question we have developed the following methodological triangulation. -Validating statistical material, -Historical data of campaigns, price development and technological innovations -Interviews with stakeholders -Representative consumer survey -Qualitative consumer focus groups There will be a close dialog between SIFO and NVE and ENOVA during the reseach process. The BARENERGY consortium will function as a scientific board, and the reseults from this EU project will be inputs into our empirical reseach. Together with primary and secondary stakeholders they will be invited to the kick-off meeting and to the closing symposium.