Europe’s energy transition depends not only on renewable technologies, but also on empowering citizens to become active participants in the energy system. Energy communities, energy sharing schemes and peer-to-peer energy trading are increasingly recognised as powerful tools to make the energy transition more democratic, local and inclusive. To help create the right regulatory conditions for these initiatives to thrive, six Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects joined forces to develop a new policy brief within the European Commission’s BRIDGE initiative.
The resulting publication, Recommendations to Empower Citizens in the Energy Transition Thanks to Energy Communities and Energy Sharing, brings together the experience of LocalRES, FEDECOM, Masterpiece, STUNNED, INTELLIGENT and U2Demo. The brief presents eleven recommendations for European, national and local policymakers aimed at removing barriers and accelerating citizen participation in energy markets.
For U2Demo, this contribution represents an important step in transforming practical experiences from pilot communities into concrete policy recommendations that can support the wider rollout of citizen-centred energy systems across Europe.
Why energy sharing needs better regulation
Recent European legislation has strengthened the rights of citizens to participate in energy sharing. Nevertheless, many obstacles remain. Across Europe, communities still face complex administrative procedures, inconsistent national rules, limited access to electricity markets, insufficient consumer protection and regulatory uncertainty regarding innovative energy-sharing models.
The BRIDGE policy brief argues that overcoming these challenges is essential if Europe wants to fully realise the potential of citizen-led energy initiatives. According to the document, energy communities and energy sharing can contribute to a more decentralized, resilient and affordable energy system while helping citizens directly benefit from renewable energy production.
U2Demo’s policy contributions
Several recommendations within the policy brief were drafted or co-developed by U2Demo partners, reflecting issues that emerged from both regulatory research and practical experiences in energy communities.
Protecting consumers in energy sharing arrangements
One of U2Demo’s most significant contributions concerns consumer rights in energy sharing schemes.
As energy sharing becomes more widespread, citizens increasingly enter contractual arrangements with other consumers, community organisations or energy-sharing organisers. While these new models offer opportunities, they also raise questions about transparency, dispute resolution, data access and consumer protection.
The policy brief therefore recommends:
- guaranteeing freedom of supplier choice for all participants;
- enabling real-time or near real-time data sharing;
- ensuring adequate protection of vulnerable consumers;
- providing clear contractual templates and dispute resolution mechanisms;
- ensuring that the emerging role of Energy Sharing Organizers properly addresses consumer rights.
These recommendations closely align with U2Demo’s broader objective of ensuring that energy democracy is not only efficient, but also fair, transparent and accessible.
Opening electricity markets to energy communities
While European legislation allows energy communities to participate in wholesale electricity markets, practical barriers often prevent them from doing so. Many communities face significant challenges related to market registration, financial guarantees, technical requirements, forecasting capabilities and balance responsibility obligations.
The policy brief calls for reforms that reduce these barriers and allow energy communities to participate more effectively in energy markets.
Such changes would help communities move beyond simple energy-sharing arrangements and unlock additional value through flexibility services, wholesale market participation and local renewable energy optimization.
Supporting more advanced energy sharing models
The policy brief highlights the importance of dynamic sharing coefficients, ex-post allocation mechanisms and regulatory frameworks that support innovative forms of energy trading within and between communities. These approaches can better match renewable generation with local consumption and increase the overall benefits for participants.
By contributing to these recommendations, U2Demo helped advocate for regulatory innovation that can support next-generation community energy models.
Bringing citizen perspectives into policy
Beyond its legal and regulatory contributions, U2Demo brought an important citizen-centred perspective to the policy development process.
One of the project’s defining characteristics is its focus on how citizens engage with energy communities, participate in decision-making and help shape collective energy governance. Through its pilot activities and ongoing research, U2Demo explores questions that go beyond technology and economics, including trust, participation, inclusion, fairness and democratic governance.
These themes are increasingly relevant as Europe seeks to scale up energy-sharing initiatives. Technical solutions alone are not enough. Citizens must also feel confident that these systems are fair, understandable and aligned with their interests.
The BRIDGE policy brief reflects this understanding by combining recommendations on market design and technical implementation with recommendations that strengthen consumer protection, administrative simplicity and stakeholder engagement.
From community experience to European impact
The publication demonstrates how lessons learned within EU-funded projects can contribute directly to policy discussions at national and European level.
Throughout the drafting process, U2Demo reviewed and validated recommendations, contributed expertise on key regulatory topics and worked alongside other projects to build a common vision for citizen-led energy sharing in Europe. Internal project discussions show that U2Demo partners were involved from the early stages of defining recommendations through to the final review and publication process.
As Europe continues implementing the Electricity Market Design reform and expanding opportunities for energy sharing, these recommendations provide policymakers with practical guidance grounded in real-world experience.
For U2Demo, the policy brief is an important example of how pilot communities and research activities can help shape future legislation. By bringing citizens’ experiences into regulatory discussions, the project contributes to creating an energy system that is not only cleaner and more flexible, but also more democratic and inclusive.
Read the full policy brief: Recommendations to Empower Citizens in the Energy Transition Thanks to Energy Communities and Energy Sharing, developed within the BRIDGE Working Group on Regulation by LocalRES, FEDECOM, Masterpiece, STUNNED, INTELLIGENT and U2Demo.
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