Eurelectric seeks formula for accelerated consumer engagement

News Article
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The power sector plays a pivotal role in Europe’s decarbonisation. Increasing the shares of electricity to 60% of the final energy consumption will lead to deep, 80% - 95% reductions of CO2 emissions. However, scaling up the electrification rates relies heavily on the interaction and active engagement of households. Among them, consumers’ adoption of electric means of transport, or heating and cooling, will be decisive for the success of the transformation process.

Consumers’ engagement is essential for innovative, decentralised and decarbonised electricity system. And the electricity suppliers, represented at the European level by Eurelectric, are in a distinct position to enable consumers to be truly engaged in the energy transition and become fully fledged market players.

During the past years the EU has taken steps towards a decarbonised energy system, with higher shares of renewable generation and increased energy efficiency targets. Yet, the reality on the ground is far from showing a sufficient degree of involvement of consumers. To reach them, efforts must be scaled up at an accelerated pace. 

In this context, Eurelectric decided to launch a series of on-the-ground, national workshops to deep dive into the current obstacles for consumers and citizens’ engagement in the energy transition across Europe. Until the end of the year, eight multi-stakeholders discussions will bring around the table representatives of European electricity suppliers, automotive industry, technology companies, policymakers, academics, NGOs and consumer associations. The aim is to capture the specificities of various markets and facilitate the design of appropriate solutions for lifting the barriers to customers’ uptake of clean electric technologies. The discussions will set the foundation of a wider analytical paper on best practices across Europe and a series of policy recommendations that will be revealed at the end of the year.  

The tour includes:

  • Ireland, March 2019
  • Norway, May 2019
  • The Netherlands, June 2019
  • Italy, July 2019
  • Spain & Portugal, July 2019
  • Czech Republic, September 2019
  • Germany, October 2019
  • Poland, November 2019