The Clean Energy Package (CEP) acknowledges for the first time the role that energy communities can play in helping the EU meet its climate objectives while driving local social innovation. It introduces two entities – Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) and Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) which differ in structure as well as rights and obligations. E.DSO welcomes this development and hereby shares its position paper for a supportive regulatory environment which nurtures the setting up of energy communities in a manner which reinforces the energy transition.
E.DSO recognises that to operate effectively, energy communities should have access to all energy markets, directly or through aggregation, while their members maintain their rights and obligations as end-users, generators, suppliers, distribution system operators or market participants involved in aggregation.
While energy communities also bring opportunities for DSOs specifically such as improved load local balancing, quicker connections, and an increase in the number of flexibility providers, some challenges in the regulation of energy communities remain.
You can learn more about E.DSO’s recommendations for a regulatory environment which supports energy communities by downloading the position paper.
