A great conversation with partner energy projects: getting to know each other through our engagement strategies
Have you ever thought about collaborating with other initiatives that might fit your interests? Getting feedback from other similar projects can be helpful for your research. You can exchange ideas, tips and synergies to further understand and benefit your own framework.
Keeping in mind this idea, TwinERGY organised a workshop on consumer engagement processes and prosumer business models together with our partner projects iFlex and SENDER. The three programmes are working under the same Horizon 2020 BRIDGE initiative focused on advancing the consumer and citizen engagement presence and relevance on energy markets.
During the session, each of us discussed the core values of their engagement framework. In this article, we explained a detailed overview of TwinERGY’s method to involve citizens in energy efficiency programmes. This time, we will like to get deep insights on how our sister consortiums are dealing with consumers’ participation.
A dedicated communication strategy
Let’s take a look at SENDER’s strategy. To begin with, the project develops energy services applications for proactive Demand Response programmes aiming to engage customers in a co-creation process with an innovative segmentation framework of the different types of consumers. Their approach adapts accurately to consumers’ needs through digital twin technology and allows them to choose from multiple use cases.
By implementing targeted communication campaigns, such as workshops, interviews or surveys, they detected relevant information from consumers. Communities from their pilot sites in Finland, Austria and Spain, find difficult to get deep insights on the energy culture in due to its complexity. On the grounds of that situation, they launched a series of actions to show them the opportunity of managing the price of energy or tips to control their consumption. Moreover, street events and fun activities such as a free lunch (paella!) for all the community, helped to boost social inclusion and engagement in the project. So, there is no doubt that treating your community with love and care brings extra benefits and improves the feeling of belonging.
Make it fun, make it easy
But, if you prefer the affection and knowledge of a restless companion, what about an intelligent assistant that helps you manage your energy consumption? iFlex shared its main engagement strategy to make it easy and attractive for energy consumers / prosumers to interact with energy flexibility services: an intelligent personal assistant. This interface is based on a digital twin that adapts to the consumption behaviour while controlling home dynamics and reacting to energy price fluctuations.
The assistant is adjusted to your personal preferences in terms of optimisation, and it gives you advice to help make the best choice In addition, the project addresses flexibility management and environmental awareness in Slovenia, Greece and Finland with a series of actions as well as interviews and online questionnaires to target the general public in the pilot cities, among others.
Advances in TwinERGY’s Social Network Module & the transactive energy business model
From the side of TwinERGY, the co-created social network platform that helps consumers comprehend their energy management while enhancing engagement and end-users awareness is almost ready. This mobile based application includes playful challenges, a comprehensive and easy-to-use dashboard and a digital wallet for eco-positive goods to foster improving consumer’s energy behaviour.
On the other hand, the transactive energy business model implementation enhances the participation of citizens in electricity markets while enabling buying and selling power directly between generators and end-users. These transactions take place over trading platforms based on the blockchain technology which helps to decentralize the grid operation and achieve a greater matching of demand and generation.
After all these reflections on engagement values, strategies and plans, we ended up the session not only with fresh knowledge to adapt into our projects, but with new potential collaborations between us. As mentioned above, sharing perspectives and views is a great opportunity to enrich one’s own research because in the end we are all working towards the same goal: to foster an easy, sustainable and active role of citizens in the energy market.
