Demand-side response (DSR) measures are critical to integrating variable renewable generation into electric grids. Time-of-use rates (TOU) are a common DSR mechanism that seeks to shift electricity use to low-demand times using financial instruments. However, consumers generally have a poor understanding of their electricity use and bills, raising questions about the extent to which TOU participation is driven by perceptions of savings versus actual savings. We find that among 8,702 residents who opted into a pilot TOU programme, the TOU treatment decreases on-peak use compared to a control group, but this effect is small. Perceived savings is the strongest predictor of intent to remain on TOU, over and above actual savings, even though it is only weakly related to actual changes in bills and usage. Residents may thus join DSR programmes based on perceived savings without achieving actual monetary or energy use savings, which may undermine the goals of these programmes.

需求方响应（DSR）措施对于将可变的可再生能源发电并入电网至关重要。使用时间费率（TOU）是一种常见的DSR机制，旨在通过金融工具将用电量转移到需求量低的时间。但是，消费者通常对用电量和账单了解不多，这引发了人们对节电与实际节电的看法所驱动的TOU参与程度的疑问。我们发现，在选择参加试点TOU计划的8,702名居民中，与对照组相比，TOU治疗可减少高峰使用量，但这种效果很小。尽管实际节省的金额与账单和用法的实际变化之间的关系不大，但可以预见的节省是最有可能保留在TOU上的意愿的指标，高于实际节省的金额。