Getafe hosts Citizen Energy Panel to explore inclusive citizen energy

On 30 June 2026, Getafe hosted a Citizen Energy Panel supported by the Citizen Energy Advisory Hub (CEAH), bringing together residents, local associations, municipal actors, experts and representatives of citizen energy initiatives to discuss how local energy action can become more inclusive.

The panel created a space for information, deliberation and participation around a central question: how can citizen energy work for everyone, including people who may face barriers to understanding, accessing or benefiting from energy initiatives?

Rather than focusing only on technical solutions, the session invited participants to reflect on the everyday conditions that shape people’s relationship with energy, from household bills and housing quality to trust, time, digital access and the ability to take part in local decisions.

Building on Getafe’s local energy work
The event built on Getafe’s ongoing work to support community energy and citizen participation. Through its Community Transformation Office, the municipality has been developing activities linked to information, awareness-raising, advice, accompaniment, facilitation, self-consumption and energy communities.

The panel also connected this local experience with wider European discussions on energy poverty, the right to energy, consumer empowerment and the role of energy communities in a fair and inclusive transition.

Participants heard from local and expert voices, including Getafe Potencia, the first citizen energy community in Getafe. The initiative presented its experience as a community that aims to put energy at the service of people, combining renewable energy generation with participation, social justice and inclusion.

A participatory day
The panel was organised in two blocks. The morning session was mainly aimed at associations, social entities, municipal departments, community actors and technical stakeholders. The afternoon session was open to citizens in general.

Across both sessions, short presentations were combined with participatory exercises. Participants worked in small groups using maps, cards, coloured notes and guided questions to identify local energy needs, discuss barriers to participation and reflect on what support could make citizen energy more accessible.

One exercise invited participants to look at Getafe through a territorial lens, identifying where energy-related needs, opportunities, resources and local allies could be found across the municipality. Another dynamic explored how energy affects everyday life and what role citizens can play in the energy model, from consumers and producers to active participants in local energy initiatives.

A further exercise, “Mission: Energy for Everyone”, focused specifically on inclusion. Participants worked with cards representing obstacles, everyday situations and possible support measures. The aim was to move from general reflections on inclusion to more concrete ideas about what can prevent people from taking part in citizen energy, and what conditions could help remove those barriers.

Designing an energy system that does not leave people behind
A key theme running through the panel was that citizen energy initiatives need to be designed with inclusion in mind from the outset. An initiative may be technically sound and formally open to everyone, but still remain difficult to access if information is unclear, costs are hard to assume, procedures are complex or participation spaces do not feel accessible.

Discussions therefore focused not only on how to produce or share energy, but also on how to ensure that different groups of residents can understand, trust, participate in and benefit from local energy initiatives.

Next steps
The contributions collected during the panel will be reviewed and systematised as part of a dedicated CEAH panel report, which will be published on the Citizen Energy Advisory Hub website.

By combining local experience, European policy perspectives and participatory methods, the Getafe Citizen Energy Panel showed how municipalities can create spaces for residents to discuss energy not only as a technical issue, but as part of everyday life, social inclusion and local democracy.

Through CEAH, Citizen Energy Panels aim to support this type of dialogue across Europe, helping communities explore how citizens can take a more active role in shaping a fair, inclusive and locally grounded energy transition.

The second call for applications to host a Citizen Energy Panel is open until 31 July 2026.