There are labels for everything we buy, from clothes to long-distance telephone service. To help them decide, Mario Teisl, of the UMaine Department of Resource Economics and Policy , and two graduate students have been testing consumer reactions to different types of labels that bear information about sources of power. The results of their research are providing the basis for label information that will become standard for all New England Power Pool states, including Maine. The labels will enable consumers to see at a glance what fuels are used by generators to produce electricity and what portion of their fuels comes from renewable sources. Maine law requires electricity providers doing business in the state to generate at least 30 percent of their power from renewable sources.
Labels are like waving a flag.
What researchers have found is that labels have different impacts depending on what consumers already know. If you know nothing about the information on the label or if it's not important to you, you tend to ignore it. For labels to have their desired effect, education has to come first. Working with Teisl on his electricity labeling studies are two master's degree students, Jason Weiss of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, and Huaping Rong of Shanghai, China. Teisl specializes in the impact of health and environmental information on consumer behavior.