Understanding undergraduate students’ perceptions of dynamic pricing policies: An exploratory study of two pilot deliberative pollings (DPs) in Guangzhou, China and Kyoto, Japan Daphne Ngar-yin Mah a, b, * , Victor Lam a, b , Alice Siu c , Hua Ye d , Seiichi Ogata e , Yun-Ying Wu f a Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong b Asian Energy Studies Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong c Center of Deliberative Democracy, Stanford University, USA d Department of Sociology and Social Work, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China e Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Japan f School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanshan Normal University, China article info Article history: Received 6 March 2018 Received in revised form 17 July 2018 Accepted 26 July 2018 Available online 1 August 2018 Keywords: Smart grids Dynamic pricing Public perception Deliberative participation Undergraduate students Asia abstract Smart grids (SGs) are being deployed as a transformational technology in energy transitions. However, negative consumer responses to both smart meters and new pricing systems indicate that building public acceptance of these transitions is critically important. Deliberative Pollings (DPs) offer the potential to effectively integrate public perceptions into energy transition decision-making. Most deliberative governance studies focus on western countries and very few examine the Asian context. This paper presents an exploratory study of undergraduate students' perceptions of dynamic pricing options in two pilot DPs conducted in the cities of Guangzhou and Kyoto. The study indicates that deliberative processes yield mixed outcomes in changing participants' choice of pricing options. While many welcomed new pricing options, a significant number supported status quo options. Second, the normative mechanisms and outcomes of deliberative participation seem to apply in the Asian context. DP appears to enhance participants' acceptance of complex and sophisticated pricing options. Dialogic processes enhanced the participants’ ability to understand complex issues and weigh up trade-offs when comparing options. Third, national level contextual differences associated with public distrust and familiarity with market logic may explain the differences in responses between Chinese and Japanese participants. We argue that complex and controversial energy decision-making needs to be supported by deliberative participatory processes to enable citizens to make informed and considered choices. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Climate change concerns, rising energy costs, and the risks associated with nuclear power have heightened the urgency of a transition to a low-carbon future. By applying advanced informa- tion technology to modernise existing electricity networks, smart grids (SGs) are seen as an enabling technology to realise energy transitions through extending the choice of energy options on both the supply-side (e.g. major uptake of renewable energy sources) and demand-side (e.g., demand-side management (DSM)). They are increasingly being adopted and implemented in both developed and developing economies (e.g. the US, South Korea, Japan, and China). These trends have become even more pronounced in recent years since the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011. In this context the role of residential electricity consumers has become increasingly significant. In the literature on energy tran- sitions, dynamic pricing systems are attracting growing attention as mechanisms to realise the vast untapped potential of DSM (Barton et al., 2013). In contrast to traditional flat-rate systems, in dynamic pricing systems electricity prices vary across time. Dy- namic pricing may therefore induce consumers to reschedule their * Corresponding author. Department of Geography, Director, Asian Energy Studies Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University, 12/F, Academic and Administration Building, 15 Baptist University Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. E-mail address: daphnemah@hkbu.edu.hk (D.N.-y. Mah). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Cleaner Production journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.255 0959-6526/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Cleaner Production 202 (2018) 160e173