In order to achieve an environmentally friendly and sustainable energy supply, it is necessary that this goal is supported by society. In different countries worldwide it has been shown that one way consumers want to support the energy transition is by switching to green electricity. However, few people make the leap from their intention to a buying decision. This study explores parameters that influence whether German consumers would hypothetically decide to switch to a green electricity tariff. A quota-representative online survey including a discrete choice experiment with 371 German private households was conducted in 2016. For the econometric analysis, a generalized multinomial logit model in willingness-to-pay space was employed, enabling the estimation of WTP values to be as realistic as possible. The results show that consumers’ decision whether or not to make the switch to green energy is mainly influenced by the source of green energy, whether a person can outsource the switching process, and a person’s attitude towards the renewable energy sources levy that currently exist in Germany. The findings indicate that politics should focus on supporting wind and solar energy as German consumers prefer these sources over biogas. As the results suggest, the EEG levy is a reason why consumers have lower WTP for switching to a green tariff. Therefore, a switching bonus with a specifically “framed” bonus in the amount of the current EEG levy could be a promising strategy for the increase of green energy tariff acceptance. Furthermore, attention should be given to psychological and behavioral aspects, as the results indicate that these factors influence the consumer’s choice for a green electricity tariff.

中文翻译：

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分析德国消费者支付绿色电价属性的意愿：一项离散选择实验

为了实现环境友好和可持续的能源供应，这个目标必须得到社会的支持。在世界各地的不同国家，已经显示出消费者希望支持能源转型的一种方法是切换到绿色电力。但是，很少有人能够从他们的意图转向购买决定。这项研究探索了一些参数，这些参数会影响德国消费者是否会假想地决定改用绿色电价。2016年进行了一项具有配额代表的在线调查，其中包括371个德国私人家庭的离散选择实验。对于计量经济学分析，采用了支付意愿空间中的广义多项式logit模型，使得WTP值的估计为尽可能现实。结果表明，消费者是否决定转换为绿色能源的决定主要受绿色能源的来源，一个人是否可以将转换过程外包的影响以及一个人对目前可再生能源征费的态度所影响。德国。调查结果表明，政治应该集中在支持风能和太阳能上，因为德国消费者更喜欢这些来源而不是沼气。结果表明，EEG征费是消费者因采用绿色关税而降低WTP的原因。因此，以目前的EEG征费额度为具体的“框架式”奖金来换取奖金可能是增加绿色能源关税接受度的有前途的策略。此外，应注意心理和行为方面，