In recent years, the concept of energy solidarity has emerged as a form of collective action to address a range of energy injustices.
As part of the CEES project, researchers from the University of Birmingham investigated relevant academic theory and produced the following definition of energy solidarity.[1]
ECs may take up energy solidarity measures on their own or, more often, in partnership with other people and/or actors. As the practice of energy solidarity is relatively new for many ECs, building up local, regional, national and international ‘communities of practice’ can foster mutual support, lead to efficiencies in applying best practices and stimulate uptake of new approaches that prove effective in certain contexts or with certain groups.
In putting energy solidarity principles into practice, ECs may directly assist households in energy poverty and/or work to build the capacity of other actors who already have close connections with people facing related vulnerabilities. Both approaches are covered in blogs under the ACT theme in the Toolkit area of the CEES website.
Basic principles for practising energy solidarity
To apply energy solidarity effectively, it is critical that everyone involved:
- Understand the causes of energy poverty and the lives of people coping with energy poverty. ECs may even find it useful to further refine wording and definitions to better reflect the multiple important roles that energy plays in the daily lives of the communities they serve and recognise the problems that arise from its lack.
- Acquire the skills needed to engage with people experiencing situations of energy poverty respectfully and without judgement.
- Recognise the importance of working together, so people experiencing such situations become ‘active agents’ in finding and implementing solutions (rather than passive recipients of charity).
- Create and work with local networks of donors, volunteers and other professional and voluntary organisations to embed energy solidarity – in a holistic manner — into efforts to assist vulnerable households in situations of vulnerability.
- Maximise the potential for practicing energy solidarity to generate other local benefits (e.g. lower energy bills and greater thermal comfort in dwellings; using EC profits to create community funds that finance other needs; training and employment opportunities for local young people).
ECs aiming to tackle energy poverty may find it necessary to consider additional aspects, such as local energy sources, the type and state of dwellings, and cultural norms. Ideally, they should take into account all factors that influence what energy a given household needs and whether they can acquire that level of supply at a cost that does not stress their household budget. Paying energy bills, for example, should not mean being unable to afford other necessities such as food, medicines or education.
Click through to read more blogs related to ‘Getting Started’:
- ECs need to onboard new skills
- Summary of Energy Solidarity Tools
- Aligning community needs and EC capacity
- Putting Energy Solidarity into practice
- The Energy Solidarity Toolkit
- An Evolving role for Energy Communities
- Understanding Energy Poverty, broadly and in local contexts
- Assigning roles: staff or volunteers
[1] Day, R. and K. Burchell (2023) Energy solidarity in Energy Communities alleviating energy poverty and supporting just energy transitions through solidarity approaches. Energy, Environment and Societies in Crises: ESA RN12 mid-term and Energy and society Network 6th international joint conference, 6-8 September 2023, Trento, Italy.