Over the past decade, the number of smart meters in the United States has grown from less than 60 million to roughly 130 million, representing an 80% penetration rate. At the same time, smart home devices—particularly smart thermostats—have gone from a nascent industry to commonplace in American households.

One result of this transformation has been the expansion in the amount of energy usage data now available to American consumers via online portals, mobile apps and other channels. To assess whether consumers are engaging with this data – and whether they’re finding it useful in meeting their energy goals – the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) recently conducted a nationally representative online survey with 1,500 respondents.

Understanding consumers’ preferences around their usage data can be a key to unlocking participation in programs, such as behavioral demand response, that can be beneficial for the power grid, help meet decarbonization goals and provide other benefits. In addition, many of today’s consumers want more transparency from their electricity providers, and providing access to usage data – in a way that’s understandable and actionable – can build rapport between consumers and providers and potentially increase overall customer satisfaction.

Here are three notable findings from SECC’s recent survey that can help electricity providers better understand consumers’ needs and wants around their energy usage data.