This thesis examines nudges that via peer comparisons of domestic electricity use aims at motivating households to conserve energy. Nudges are generally acknowledged to be cost effective and able to induce a positive behavioral change. However, some researchers argue that there is an often overlooked cost associated with nudges in terms of psychological benefits or costs for the individual. The main objective is to study if the potential utility loss, or discomfort, associated with sharing information about household consumption of electricity varies within the population. Statistical methods make it possible to explicitly estimate the compensations needed for households to provide private information regarding their energy use. A latent class analysis is used to examine taste heterogeneity, whether preferences differ between different groups of electricity consumers and how socioeconomic factors relate to possible taste heterogeneity.

In general, the results are expected and overall predict that sharing information is associated with a cost for the consumer. Turning to the distribution of preferences, the results predict that there are groups within the population that are affected differently by nudges. These results pinpoint the importance of taking the cost incurred on the individual, by the nudge itself, into account and provide a key aspect for policy makers to consider when implementing nudge programs.