Citizens Energy Package: Latest Recommendations and Supporting Documents

On 30 April, the European Commission published a set of implementation recommendations and accompanying documents to protect citizens from energy poverty and rising bills, whilst accelerating the transition to a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable energy system.

Building on the existing Citizens Energy Package and the Commission’s AccelerateEU toolbox, the recommendations provide detailed and practical guidance for citizens, households and small businesses across the EU to further support a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable energy system. It also addresses EU countries with indications of how to protect vulnerable groups from high energy prices.

The recommendations and accompanying documents aim to protect vulnerable customers and those in energy poverty, ensure competitive energy pricing, empower consumers to make informed choices, and support the development of energy communities and self-consumption.

The package includes the following 4 recommendations:

Protecting vulnerable customers against disconnections and during natural gas phase-out: This initiative calls for early identification and timely support for at-risk households, including tailored payment plans, debt advice and energy vouchers, alongside structural solutions such as energy efficiency and access to renewables.

Helping consumers find the best deal: To ensure consumers receive clear information, this new guide aims to standardise key terms and conditions in energy contracts, helping consumers to compare deals more easily, switch suppliers more swiftly, and cut costs, while making the market more competitive and transparent.

Protecting consumers from the risk of supplier bankruptcies: The aim of this initiative is to minimise the risk of supplier bankruptcies and the potential negative knock-on effects on consumers’ energy bills and services.

Empowering energy communities and self-consumption: This guidance is aimed at making it easier for energy communities to operate in different energy markets and sectors and provide benefits to citizens – and also for individuals, small businesses and local authorities to produce and share their own renewables for self-consumption. This recommendation is accompanied by an Energy Communities Action Plan, which outlines a set of measures the Commission will take across 5 areas:

Effective enabling frameworks – Making it easier to set up energy communities
Access to financing – Making it easier to access funding for energy projects, such as LIFE Programme’s Clean Energy Transition (CET) fund, with over €600 million available to support projects in various areas, including energy communities
Awareness-raising and capacity building – Empowering citizens to be better informed about their energy choices, and upskilling communities to be more self-sufficient
Social inclusion and public participation – Ensuring no-one is left behind, especially vulnerable households and those affected by energy poverty
Digital innovation and system integration – harnessing technological innovation to drive progress

Why does this matter?

Energy communities allow consumers to produce energy for their own use, or to share with neighbours. While over 8,000 energy communities were estimated to be active in Europe, according to the Citizens Energy Package, the untapped potential is huge, particularly in rural areas, to produce renewable energy.

Individual households producing and consuming their own solar energy can achieve savings of €260-550 per year. For communities of households with a mix of wind and solar energy, it could be €440-930 per year.

How to reduce the energy bill?

The Commission will work closely with EU countries, industry stakeholders and civil society to ensure effective implementation of the Citizens Energy Package, but there are things that citizens can already do and benefit from knowing to change their energy behaviour and hopefully also reduce their energy bills.

To learn more, have a look at the following:

5 things you should know about your electricity bill, including how rates are calculated across countries, cost-saving actions you can take to lower bills, supply and demand rules, action on renewable energy, and funding for affordable and sustainable energy.
Making the best choice for your electricity contract, providing information on the mechanisms energy suppliers use to determine prices and protect themselves from sudden changes in market prices.
Video: Start building your Energy Community today – Watch now!