The ongoing energy transition is driving up electricity demand, as sectors like transportation and industry are becoming increasingly electrified. The energy transition is not just the responsibility of industry, businesses, and policymakers. Everyone is being encouraged to take part more actively in how the energy system works.
Active energy citizenship means that end users – that is, electricity customers – participate in energy production, consumption, and decision-making rather than simply consuming passively.
Energy citizens can take on various roles, including the following:
- Producer-consumer (prosumer): Generates some or all of the electricity they use and sells any surplus back to the grid.
- Flexible consumer (flexumer): Follows fluctuations in electricity prices and shifts consumption to cheaper hours. This is a practice known as demand response.
- Energy community member: Belongs to a collective consisting of households, housing companies, businesses, or other organisations. An energy community is either fully or partly self-sufficient, and the electricity it produces is distributed to the members of the community.
- Active advocate: Takes part in energy policy decision-making by voting, signing citizen initiatives, or joining a civic organisation.
Active energy citizenship reduces energy costs, increases self-sufficiency, and strengthens energy democracy. In addition, it can reduce energy poverty and alleviate eco-anxiety.
Be an active energy citizen in a way that suits you
Household electricity consumption is an important part of the activity of the energy system, because households consume roughly 27 per cent of energy produced in the EU. Being an active energy citizen does not necessarily require large investments. Even smaller practical measures can benefit consumers financially and socially.
You can become an active energy citizen by, for example,
- choosing an electricity contract based on renewable energy;
- tracking your energy consumption with an app or smart meter;
- saving energy and shifting consumption to cheaper hours;
- switching to an electric vehicle and favouring public transportation and other low-emission forms of transportation, such as cycling;
- improving your household's energy efficiency with solutions like solar panels, air-source heat pumps, weather strips, and smart home systems.
Flexibility and fairness as cornerstones of the energy transition
Renewable energy production, such as wind and solar power, reduces climate emissions. At the same time, however, it increases production’s dependence on weather conditions, electricity price fluctuations, and concerns about the sufficient availability of energy. That is why it is important for everyone to be able to take an increasingly active role in how the energy system works.
It is also important to remember that energy-vulnerable groups, such as low-income households, invest less often than others in their own energy production, flexibility solutions, or smart home automation. For the energy transition to be fair, also those in more vulnerable positions must be taken into account.
Local residents are increasingly being invited to take part in the planning and development of new energy infrastructure, such as wind power projects. Trust in project actors is built by taking residents’ wishes genuinely into consideration in both decision-making and final project plans.
The energy transition is an extensive societal shift, and how quickly and successfully it takes place ultimately depends on its social acceptability.
LUT University provides research-based information on energy
- LUT is a leading university in energy research. Every other year, it publishes a report called the LUT Energy Outlook.
- The LUT Energy Outlook is based on scientific research and provides reliable information on the state and development trends of the energy system. In addition, the report describes different energy production methods.
- The authors are energy system researchers at LUT University.
- The LUT Energy Outlook is targeted for experts and decision-makers as well as regular citizens.
- Read all the reports here.
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