Stability of green default adherence in a costly moment of change

Green energy defaults in tariff choices have received substantial research and practical attention. In this longitudinal field study, we examine their effectiveness in a potential moment of change that can disrupt routine decision-making. Exploiting a merger in the Swiss energy landscape, we test how a novel branding and a price change affect people’s adherence to a green energy default.

Our central result – based on 143,313 meters (data 2019-2022) – is that defaults are very stable. Of those 120,150 with strict default adherence 2019-2021, 99.4% also stick with the green energy default after the merger. The minority who change largely move to cheaper, more conventional energy tariffs.

The findings provide a novel perspective on energy tariff defaults and offer more evidence for their effectiveness. Our results indicate that while percentage-wise large, objectively moderate price changes do not meaningfully impact the effectiveness of defaults.