Community DSO Survey

July 2026

This Community DSO trial survey contains questions about your experience using the Community DSO trial over the last month (July). There are no right or wrong answers. We are interested in your honest impressions at this stage, which will help us improve how the trial is designed and support the community. Your responses will be treated confidentially and used only for learning and improvement purposes.

If you would like a paper version of this survey or have any questions, you can contact us by email at energy-community@whitleybaybiglocal.org

We value your time, and as a thank you for completing the survey before 9th August 2026, if you enter your name and email, you will be entered in a prize draw for a £20 voucher for Whitley Bay Big Local cafe.

The first questions are about upcoming trial events.

First name

Last name

On September 24th there will be an end of trial celebration which Northern Powergrid will attend. What time do you prefer?

4pm - 6pm

5pm - 7pm

6pm - 8pm

I cannot attend on 24th September

Participants in the August survey and the wider community at the Green Beans Market on 30th August will be asked to vote on how the Community Pot should be used. Some ideas were proposed in our recent workshop. Please pick up to three.

Energy awareness workshops for schools and students

Provide small energy saving devices (electric blankets etc) for residents struggling with energy costs

Financial support for the Welcome Kitchen community meals. See https://www.facebook.com/TheWelcomeKitchenWhitleyBay/

Financial support to develop the Station Master’s community garden

Financial support to develop the Whitley Bay Big Local community garden

Other suggestions for using the Community Pot:

In July there was a maximum £2.50 incentive for adhering to the test event requests (sometimes turning up your energy use, sometimes turning it down) Were you aware of the £2.50 incentive in July?

Yes

If you knew about the £2.50 incentive, where did you hear about it (tick all that apply)

I saw it in the email at the beginning of the month.

Yes, I saw it regularly in the app

Yes, I heard about it from the community energy team (Janine and Anne)

I was not aware of the incentive

If you heard about the £2.50 incentive from somewhere else (please specify):

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement: The £2.50 incentive helped motivate me to look out for events and adhere to them?

Before you first heard about this trial, how familiar were you with the idea of local energy sharing communities in general, where people in an area work together to generate, share or manage energy?

Thinking beyond this trial, how likely would you be to take part in another local community energy project in future - such as one that helps people generate, share or manage energy locally and create benefits for households or the wider community?

When deciding whether to take part in a future local energy project, which type of financial benefit would matter more to you?

1 - Only financial benefit to my own household

2 - Mainly financial benefit to my own household

3 - Both would matter equally

4 - Mainly financial benefit to the wider local community

5 - Only financial benefit to the wider local community

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “I would support a local energy project that benefited my community, even if the direct financial benefit to my household was quite small.”

How actively would you be willing to become involved in a future local energy project in your area?

1 - I would not want to take part

2 - I would probably take part

3 - I would definitely take part

4 - I would take part and help promote it too

5 - I would take part, promote it and help organise or lead the project too

Which of the following descriptions comes closest to how you feel about taking part in local energy projects?

1 - I am very interested in local energy and environmental issues. I would be keen to take part actively in local energy projects and could see myself helping to organise, promote or lead a local energy project.

2 - I am positive about local energy projects and would be keen to participate regularly. I care about environmental and community benefits, although I would prefer someone else to lead and organise the project.

3 - I would be interested in a local energy project if it delivered clear financial benefits for the wider community. I am practical about taking part and would want the savings and benefits to be fair and transparent.

4 - I would consider taking part if it could reduce my household energy costs or provide a worthwhile personal reward. It would need to be straightforward, convenient and low risk.

5 - None of these describes me particularly

If you selected “None of these describes me particularly well”, please tell us what would describe your views or likely involvement more accurately.

Have you received any push nofications from the App during the last month?

Yes

If any of the app details aren’t working as you would expect, please explain (and if possible please also email screenshots to energy-community@whitleybaybiglocal.org as evidence)

How much have you changed when or how you use electricity because of the trial events?

Is there anything else you would like to say about your experience with the app (if you use it)?

What has gone well so far, and how could your trial experience be improved?

Your views about the trial

The following questions ask about your views and expectations of the Community DSO trial.

Some of these questions will be asked at several points during the trial. Repeating them helps us understand how participants’ experiences and views may change over time as the project develops.

I am taking part to connect to my local community and help it to become more resilient

I am taking part to do something positive for the environment

I expect taking part in this project will fit easily into my daily routine.

I trust the organisations involved to run this project in residents’ interests.

I trust the organisations to run this project efficiently and effectively

I expect the project will be fair in how benefits and rewards are shared

I feel I understand what the project is about and what may be expected of me

I am comfortable using digital technology and understand what I need to do to take part

I value the financial reward for engaging with and taking part in the trial

I expect taking part in this project will be worthwhile for me

And why?

To what extent would you recommend a trial like this to a friend or family member if it is available in their area? (where 1 = not at all likely and 10 = extremely likely)

Thank you very much for completing this survey.

If you want to be entered in the prize draw for a £20 voucher for the Whitley Bay Big Local cafe, do not forget to enter your name and email at the top of the page.

Bringing People Together to Take Action

Community DSO Survey

July 2026