Energy flexibility in the residential sector
The Research Institute of Management and Economics (EA 2426) in collaboration with the GAEL (UGA) is offering a research internship lasting 4 to 6 months to a second-year master’s student in Economic Sciences or Data Analysis.
Context
The University of Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB) is a strategic university hub located at the crossroads of France, Switzerland, and Italy. With over 15,000 students spread across three campuses (Annecy, Le Bourget-du-Lac, and Jacob-Bellecombette), it is recognized for the excellence of its education and research. Supported by public institutions and numerous industrial partners, USMB actively contributes to the economic, social, and cultural development of the region.
This internship will be supervised by the Research Institute of Management and Economics (IREGE), known for its work on energy consumption and health, in partnership with the Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL) at the University of Grenoble Alpes (UGA), a laboratory renowned for its expertise in energy economics and consumption behavior studies. This partnership allows for the mobilization of complementary skills from GAEL and IREGE researchers within the PEPR FlexTase project, to offer an interdisciplinary and regional approach aimed at a better understanding of energy behaviors and flexibility policies in the residential sector.
The project will also be linked with the LOCIE laboratory (Laboratory for the Optimization of Design and Engineering of the Environment), specialized in sustainable design and energy efficiency solutions. By working closely with IREGE, LOCIE creates a unique synergy between economic management research and technological innovation in the energy field, particularly in terms of residential consumption flexibility. These institutional links will provide the intern with multidisciplinary supervision and a dynamic, collaborative research environment.
The PEPR FlexTase Project
PEPR FlexTase is a major national research project supported by the Priority Research Program and Equipment (PEPR). This program aims to study and promote energy flexibility solutions to support the energy transition in France, in line with the goals of decarbonizing energy systems and integrating renewable energies. In the context of FlexTase, energy flexibility is analyzed as a crucial lever to adapt energy demand to supply variations and to mitigate consumption peaks during high demand periods.
The PEPR FlexTase project aims to explore and promote energy flexibility in the residential sector, encompassing both direct and indirect flexibility. Direct flexibility is based on immediate adjustments of household consumption in response to dynamic pricing signals or demand reduction incentives. It allows households to modulate their energy consumption in real time, for example, by using devices such as smart meters and energy managers. These instant adjustments contribute to the stability of the electrical grid while providing financial and environmental benefits for consumers and suppliers.
Additionally, indirect flexibility relies on long-term strategies to optimize energy use. It includes improvements in energy efficiency, the adoption of innovative technologies, and the use of storage solutions, thus allowing households to reduce their overall demand and adjust their consumption over the long term. This approach includes home insulation, the installation of high-efficiency appliances, and the use of energy storage systems to smooth demand during peak periods.
FlexTase thus focuses on household consumption behaviors to better understand and quantify the mechanisms that encourage households to adopt practices of flexibility, both direct and indirect, to meet the needs of the network. This project hopes to demonstrate that optimizing residential flexibility can generate significant economic and ecological benefits, facilitating the integration of renewable energies and strengthening the resilience of the electrical system.
Internship Objective
The main objective of this research internship is to contribute to the development of direct flexibility within the PEPR FlexTase project, through a comprehensive literature review, the design of a data collection questionnaire, and the analysis of consumption data from the ADEME ElecDom panel. These contributions will improve the understanding of behavioral and technological levers to strengthen flexibility in residential consumption, laying the groundwork for public policy recommendations and doctoral research proposals.
Internship Details
1. Literature Review on Direct Energy Flexibility
o Description: The intern will be responsible for a literature review on direct flexibility strategies in the residential sector. This review will identify the main concepts and empirical studies addressing demand management, economic incentives, and technologies for measuring and controlling residential consumption.
o Methodology: The documentary research will include academic publications, ADEME reports, and studies conducted by other organizations involved in the energy transition. This task requires a critical analysis of the methods and results of previous studies to better understand the challenges and opportunities of direct and indirect energy flexibility.
o Objectives: Highlight the findings of current research, identify gaps and research directions to guide the analysis of ElecDom data and define working hypotheses related to the FlexTase project.
2. Design of a Questionnaire on Direct and Indirect Energy Flexibility
o Description: The design of this questionnaire is a central step of the internship, aiming to collect precise information on households’ energy flexibility behaviors, both direct and indirect. This survey will explore how households adjust their consumption in response to short-term signals (direct flexibility) and long-term energy efficiency strategies (indirect flexibility).
o Content: The questionnaire will cover several dimensions of residential energy consumption, including appliance usage habits, sensitivity to dynamic pricing signals, and opinions on the effectiveness of financial incentives to adjust consumption. It will also include specific questions on energy management technologies (such as smart thermostats and energy storage systems) and energy efficiency improvement strategies (such as insulation and energy-saving appliances). The goal is to identify factors that influence both immediate reactions to direct flexibility signals and engagement in indirect flexibility practices.
o Methodology: The intern will work closely with the supervisors to develop the questionnaire, drawing on approaches from behavioral psychology, energy economics, and demand management. The questionnaire will be designed to capture various aspects of flexibility, from consumption preferences and price reactions to perceived barriers to adopting energy efficiency technologies. The finalized tool will be validated for its relevance and could be used in future surveys or in addition to ElecDom panel data.
3. Processing and Analysis of ElecDom Consumption Data
o Description: The ADEME ElecDom panel provides detailed consumption data, measured every ten minutes in several representative households. These data will allow for the study of household behaviors in response to flexibility signals and the identification of determinants of household adaptability to demand peaks.
o Objectives: Identify flexibility behaviors in household consumption, assess their responsiveness to price variations, and quantify the potential impact of demand management programs based on household characteristics.
o Methodology: Analyzing these data will require econometrics and data analysis skills, particularly using software like Stata.
o Expected Results: The results will identify household profiles most likely to adopt flexibility practices, measure the effectiveness of dynamic signals on reducing consumption, and provide recommendations for improving pricing programs and demand response.
Required Skills
• Expertise in economic sciences
• Excellent proficiency in quantitative data analysis methods or tools (Advanced statistics and econometrics, proficiency in Excel and Stata or R)
• Strong ability to write synthesis documents
• Ability to exchange and communicate
• Good command of English, especially in writing
Duration: 4 to 6 months, starting February 1, 2025
Compensation: Minimum legal stipend in effect
Workplace: IREGE, University of Savoie Mont Blanc, Annecy campus OR GAEL, University of Grenoble Alpes with the possibility of interactions with the LOCIE laboratory.
Supervision and Contacts
The internship will be conducted under the direction of Dorothée CHARLIER, Professor of Economic Sciences at the IREGE laboratory, and Anna Risch, Lecturer at the GAEL laboratory.
Please send your cover letter, CV, and a copy of your master’s transcripts to and .