Today, European households enjoy a high quality of electricity supply. However, to maintain this level, significant investments will be required especially over the next two decades, the costs of which will be passed on to the end consumers. Thus, a deeper understanding of society's appreciation of security of supply is essential, that is, to assess if consumers are willing-to-pay for preserving the existing supply standards, or if they would prefer a lower quality for the same or a lower price.

In this context, a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) was designed and conducted. This is a survey-based technique used to investigate the trade-offs that people are prepared to make between different goods or policies. It is a stated-preference technique, in that it relies on individuals declaring what they would do under hypothetical circumstances, rather than observing actual behaviors in marketplaces.

Households were presented with alternative scenarios of electricity interruptions arranged according to the principles of experimental design and asked to choose their preferred scenario from the available set.

The surveys were conducted in Estonia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Portugal. About 1000 households were surveyed in each country, using a mix of telephone and online interviews. The average time per survey was about 20 minutes.

The initial results indicate a large discrepancy between willingness-to-pay and willingness-to-accept, as well as significant differences between residents of rural and urban areas, those belonging to different age groups, and among countries.

The results can inform policy-makers in designing support schemes for large-scale energy infrastructure projects, in the context of implementing the European Energy Union strategy.