Affordable electricity is a growing concern for households across Europe. With our survey showing that consumers are increasingly interested in switching suppliers for better rates and more information, how do you see affordability influencing customer behaviour and engagement in Europe?
Affordability consistently tops the list of challenges facing customers in engaging with the energy transition. And they’re voting with their feet – in the past year, almost a third of European households (31%) switched energy providers, with the majority being driven by cost savings.
However, when energy providers clearly communicate the cost-savings and make the steps easy to follow, even fun, the results are overwhelmingly positive. For example, in the UK, OVO’s “Power Move” demand‑response scheme which was rolled out to 100,000+ households in just eight months, driving £1.5m in savings and avoiding over 200 tonnes of carbon emissions by shifting power usage to greener periods. This is a prime example of how affordability can align with sustainability to drive consumer engagement – unlocking both short‑term cost reductions and long‑term system resilience.
What role can digital platforms like Kaluza play in helping energy providers build trust and confidence with consumers – particularly when affordability is front of mind?
Digital platforms like Kaluza can help energy providers give people more control and confidence in how they use energy, which really matters when affordability is such a big concern. Most energy apps today feel basic and reactive. People want more than just a bill. They want to know what they’re using, where they can save and how to make smarter choices.
Kaluza helps providers do exactly that by turning complex, messy data – from smart meters, tariffs, thermostats and more – into a clear, personalised experience. Consumers get real-time insights, live balances, alerts about better tariffs and a breakdown of where energy is being used. That kind of visibility builds trust and helps people take action.
But it is not just about serving the early adopters. While multi-device users report 86% satisfaction, that drops to 65% for those with just one device, and only 57% for those without any. If we are going to engage everyone, energy companies have to provide for all customers, not just the tech-savvy few.
Australia shows how strong scale is possible. When the government started covering around 30%of upfront solar PV costs, adoption more than doubled since 2021, saving some households up to $1,500 a year. Digital platforms complement subsidies with easy-to-use customer experiences that clearly present the rewards and increase engagement in the transition.
Encouraging flexible consumption (demand flexibility) is one of the five commitments the power sector is making to household consumers in the Power2People initiative. How do you see this behavioral shift becoming mainstream on the consumer side?
Flexible consumption is a critical part of the energy transition. As we bring more renewables onto the grid, we need consumers to shift their usage to times when energy is cleaner and more abundant. And for households, it means lower bills and a smarter way to use energy without changing their routines.
The good news is, when flexibility is presented in a way that fits into people’s daily routines, they’re open to it. Smart charging for electric vehicles or optimising home heating and cooling are already gaining traction. OVO’s Charge Anytime tariff is a great example. By clearly communicating the benefits, offering strong incentives and making the experience easy to use, they’ve shifted over 100 GWh of residential load in the UK.
To make this behaviour mainstream, the experience has to be simple and automatic. Most people won’t engage with something that feels like extra work. That means energy providers, device makers and software platforms all need to work together to create seamless solutions, from intuitive apps and innovative tariffs to smooth device installation. When the financial and environmental benefits are clear and the process is effortless, more households will get on board.
Not all household consumers can easily participate in the transition due to personal or external circumstances such as financial or housing situation or digital illiteracy that prevent them from making independent decisions. How can energy providers ensure that these ‘constrained consumers’ – as we call them in our report – aren’t left behind in the transition?
At Kaluza, we believe no one should be left behind in the energy transition, especially those who face the greatest barriers to participation. Energy poverty remains a growing challenge in Europe with over 9.3% of EU households still unable to keep their homes adequately warm in 2023, according to Eurostat, and we know that these difficulties disproportionately affect low-income, elderly, and digitally underserved populations. These “constrained consumers” often lack the means, information, or infrastructure to participate in the energy transition, making inclusion not just a social imperative, but a systemic necessity. The better news is that once engaged, uptake is high with up to 58% of consumers aware of new energy products adopting them. This shows latent potential among constrained groups, if suppliers can meet them where they are.
Kaluza’s experience shows the impact of targeted inclusion. In California, our EV smart charging pilot developed with PG&E and partly funded by the California Energy Commission specifically includes 50% low-income households, opening access to savings and flexibility tools otherwise limited to high-income early adopters.. Beyond tech, energy providers can partner with community organisations, housing associations, and local authorities to co-create trust-based programs, such as tailored tariffs, bill support schemes, or subsidised installations. Inclusivity doesn’t dilute innovation; it unlocks its full impact.
Consumers face different challenges when it comes to electrifying their homes. How can the energy sector move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and offer truly personalised, relevant solutions for different household needs?
Household energy journeys vary widely: from renters in dense urban apartments with no control over appliances, to rural homeowners with ample rooftop space and high energy demands. Recognising this, the energy sector must move away from standardised offerings and embrace personalisation at scale. Your recently released report shows that awareness remains the critical gap: 76% of suppliers offer clean energy solutions, but only 14–23% of consumers are aware of them. Yet when informed, up to half of consumers adopt the technology, which highlights the missed opportunity of not tailoring outreach and offers to the specific context of each consumer.
Data-driven insight is the foundation of a tailored energy experience. By leveraging smart meter data, housing characteristics, usage patterns, and even weather forecasts, suppliers can present modular, affordable, and highly relevant solutions, such as solar and storage bundles or EV charging tailored to off-peak behavior. For example, a household that charges their EV overnight or works from home can benefit more from a dynamic tariff tailored to their actual usage, rather than a one-size-fits-all “green” deal. At Kaluza, we’ve seen that leveraging data to build this kind of context-aware ecosystem doesn’t just improve uptake, it also boosts customer retention and satisfaction. In an increasingly competitive market with rising expectations, mass personalisation is not a trend, it’s a competitive imperative for energy providers.
Based on your experience, what are the three things consumers care most about when it comes to new energy products and services, especially those powered by automation or AI?
From our experience working with leading energy providers, consumers consistently prioritise three key aspects of their experience with energy products and services: simplicity, trust and clear value. Energy optimisation tools must be easy to use and fit into customers’ daily life with minimal effort. Trust is built through secure, transparent systems that keep data privacy concerns at bay and respect user preferences. Finally, but equally important, solutions must deliver measurable financial and/or environmental benefits.
To deliver all three energy providers must rely on strong, unified data to enable smarter, more personalised services that help consumers feel informed, in control, and part of the energy transition.