Democratise Energy Through Energy Activated Citizens and Data-Driven Communities: The ENPOWER Approach

The need to ensure a just energy transition and shift towards decentralised energy systems is becoming crucial. The European Commission outlines the need for energy independence, based on two key pillars: (a) diversifying gas supplies; (b) reducing faster the use of fossil fuels in homes, buildings, industry, and power system, by increasing energy efficiency gains and renewables. Energy communities can be a pivotal mechanism in achieving this transition. However, the current social practices, technologies adoption and business models are not sufficiently mature to enable energy citizenship's practices scaling up and replication. There is a need to transform traditional passive energy consumers into active energy citizens enabling them to take full control of their energy usage. To do so engaging with all the principal actors of the energy value chain, and allowing them to achieve energy savings is needed, while increasing their energy efficiency and self-consumption optimisation and transforming energy consumers and communities to digitally enhanced and grid-friendly ones.