From the CEO
Have you ever heard of ‘the curse of knowledge’?
No, it’s not a gothic novel. It’s where experts can’t ‘unknow’ their expertise and thus can’t properly respond to – or anticipate the needs of – those without it.
I don’t know any other essential services sector where this form of cognitive bias flourishes as abundantly as it does in energy. Sure, it exists elsewhere but you tend to see active steps to nullify it. Not so much here.
I was reminded of this recently when a friend underwent neurosurgery. While we thoroughly welcomed the surgeon’s expertise(!), it was remarkable to see the steps taken to demystify the process, provide us sufficient goldilocks information (not too much, not too little), and clear guidance on risks and rewards.
It seems to me that important figures in the energy sector may have succumbed to the curse of knowledge. They are too close, too consumed, by the technical detail and have failed a fundamental design principle: start with the consumer and work back. Let me give you an example.
As I mentioned last month, more than a third of consumers can’t understand energy pricing, and thus their bill. In other sectors, this would set off major alarm bells for all manner of reasons. Here, though, everyone seems to just shake their heads and say, “well, energy is complex”. But does it need to be?
I’m sure that some of you may disagree, but do we really need tariffs that run to 5 decimal points, or bills that disaggregate and itemise every aspect of the supply chain? Is there a discernible advantage in listing out usage charges, network supply charges and network demand charges, to say nothing of environmental certificate cost, carbon neutral offset, market charges and price protection hedging (all of which, by the way, are from my bill)? Does this really achieve anything other than making it almost impossible for people to compare market contracts?
I know some will say transparency is a good thing, but I would argue that this level of detail occludes rather than illuminates.
Some clearly believe that it’s impossible to fix this problem, but I think that is just ‘the curse of knowledge’ speaking. Remember the days of impossibly complex telco contracts? They’re radically simpler and more comparable now.
So, it can be done but it takes legislators, regulators and industry to agree on who they’re designing for.
Brendan
Join our newsletter community
Not a member of our newsletter community? Want to stay up to date on the latest news and research on energy issues that impact consumers? Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter today.
