Smart use of electricity - How to get consumers involved?

More active demand side participation is promoted as a solution to various problems in the electricity markets and networks. Perhaps the most discussed option of increasing consumer participation is demand response. However, getting consumers to join programs that involve variable prices and/or direct control of consumer appliances may prove challenging. Consumers have doubts about how much of their consumption they can shift and direct control of appliances also raises many concerns (e.g. how the control system adapts to changes in consumer's own needs). Microgeneration can target many of the same problems as demand response and it may also give clearer signals to change consumption patterns.