30 May 2017 - Today the ninth Citizens' Energy Forum begins in London. Representatives of the European institutions, regional authorities, and regulatory and consumer bodies will examine the role of consumers in a competitive, 'smart', energy-efficient and fair energy retail market.
The items on the agenda include ways of enabling consumers to make better choices about energy products and services, the development and role of local energy communities, and new technologies people can use to track their consumption, lower their bills, and even generate their own energy.
The participants will consider these topics in the context of the European Commission's 'Clean Energy for All Europeans' package of proposals, published in November 2016, which aim to offer consumers in the EU better access to competitive, clean energy markets and more ways of making informed choices about their energy usage. In a final plenary session, the participants will also focus on the impact of the Commission's proposed new rules about energy market design on energy pricing, and discuss how lowering entry barriers for new companies to the energy can bring consumers more competition, wider choices, and new energy services.
The annual Citizens' Energy Forum is organised by the European Commission in collaboration with Ofgem, the UK's electricity and gas regulator.
Source: © European Union, 1995-2017