Protecting and empowering energy consumers

In 2023, around 10.6% of Europeans were unable to keep their homes adequately warm. This represents an increase of 1.3% compared to 2022, an increase that highlights the impact of the cost of living crisis, including higher energy bills, on consumers.

In recent years, EU countries have sought to support people suffering from fuel poverty with emergency measures such as support programs, energy vouchers and heating allowances. While these immediate intervention measures provide important help to the most affected consumers, they do not aim to address the root causes of fuel poverty.

For this to happen, we need lasting structural solutions that protect and empower consumers. This is exactly what the European Commission sought to do when it overhauled much of the European Green Deal legislation

• changed Energy efficiency AND Energy performance of buildings The directives set ambitious targets for the most vulnerable households facing energy poverty.
• new rules have recently been adopted regarding Electricity market projectbut also decarbonized gases and hydrogenthat will improve consumers’ rights and protection in their electricity and gas supply and enable them to participate in and benefit from the clean energy transition

New rights and stronger protection

Reforming the structure of the EU electricity market will make the energy bills of EU citizens and businesses more independent of short-term market prices for electricity, often driven by high and volatile fossil fuel prices.

While consumer legal protection is undeniably important, empowered and informed consumers are better equipped to manage their individual energy consumption and bills.

The new rules will give consumers the right to choose from a variety of contracts, with the ability to simultaneously enter into multiple types of electricity contracts to best suit their different energy needs. This means, for example, that a consumer could enter into a ‘fixed price contract’ ensuring predictable costs for the main energy needs of his household, and at the same time have a ‘dynamic pricing contract’ to charge a heat pump or electric car at any time of the day, day or night. night is the cheapest. At the same time, EU countries will have to use all available means to better protect vulnerable and energy-poor customers against disconnection of electricity or gas.

“Stable prices and clean energy are crucial for our citizens to live better and for our businesses to thrive in Europe while competing fairly in the global market. Under this updated framework, European households and businesses will benefit from greater security, affordability and transparency in European energy markets. It’s good for the clean energy transition and it’s good for the economy.”

Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Inter-institutional Relations and Foresight

In parallel, consumer rights and protections in the gas market are also being strengthened to ensure consumers have a consistent, safe and user-friendly experience with both gas and electricity suppliers.

Sharing energy and community

A study by CE Delft shows that by 2050, around half of EU households (around 113 million) will have the potential to produce energy.

Citizens – in their role as consumers – are and should remain the driving force behind a clean and fair energy transition in Europe. For this reason, the Commission actively supports the empowerment of citizens and communities towards achieving Europe’s energy and climate goals.

Energy sharing offers a novel approach to the energy transition. It enables citizens, communities, small and medium-sized enterprises and public authorities to self-consume off-site electricity based on peer-to-peer or collective power-sharing arrangements. By sharing electricity directly with each other, consumers can better cope with price fluctuations in the energy market, making them more resilient to price shocks.

In this context, energy communities bring together citizens and local actors in one legal entity – often a cooperative – to develop sustainable energy projects such as building renovations, district heating and cooling, or renewable gas and electricity production. Such energy communities can provide significant benefits to the community, including reduced energy costs and green jobs.

The REPowerEU plan sets out a common policy goal to create 1 energy community per municipality with more than 10,000 inhabitants by 2025, based on a strengthened legal framework and a series of initiatives to support the development of energy communities across the European Union. Moreover, the recent reform of the electricity market structure has defined, enabled and expanded the right to share energy among active customers.

The Commission’s Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) is the main source for presenting the results of projects funded under the EU’s research and innovation framework programs. It recently published a results package on an inclusive energy transition and a local clean energy transition, highlighting EU-funded projects supporting citizens and communities to take the lead in the energy transition.

Citizens’ Energy Forum

To express citizens’ perspective and role in building a cleaner, affordable and safer energy system, the Commission organizes the Citizens’ Energy Forum every year. It brings together a broad range of local stakeholders, including citizens, civic interest groups, non-governmental organizations, cities, communities and businesses, as well as national decision-makers, to showcase good practice and exchange experiences and issues to help better protect and empower citizens.

The next forum will be held on December 5, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary, and will be held online via live webcast. It will focus on how to effectively empower citizens to ensure a just energy transition.

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