Does the knowledge and acceptance of an increasing block tariffs policy strengthen residents' gas-saving intention? Evidence from household-level survey data

Residents' gas-saving intention is of great significance to energy conservation, environmental protection, and sustainable development of clean energy. Based on micro household-level survey data from the city of Hefei, this paper uses logit and probit models to examine the relationship among residents' knowledge, acceptance of the increasing block tariffs policy for household gas (IBTsPHG), and their gas-saving intention; the consumption characteristics of residents were discussed. The results show that residents' knowledge of the IBTsPHG has a significant positive impact on its acceptance, which has a significant positive impact on residents' gas-saving intention; the higher the average gas price, the lower the willingness of residents to accept the IBTsPHG; compared with low-income households, high-income households have a lower willingness to accept the IBTsPHG; and households using wall-mounted gas boilers have a lower willingness to accept the IBTsPHG and stronger gas-saving intention but higher gas consumption. In addition, household characteristics, such as dwelling area, education, and occupation significantly affect residents' saving intention. Policy implications are derived from the analysis. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.