Digital tools are playing an increasingly vital role in the evolution of the energy transition, enabling consumers to engage actively in the transition toward a more efficient, sustainable, and decentralised energy system. Among these tools, DSO-developed energy applications will serve as a crucial interface, offering functionalities that empower consumers, enhance grid resilience, and facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources. Recently, the ECLIPSE project has conducted a detailed analysis of existing energy applications in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, assessing their functionalities and alignment with the evolving regulatory landscape. The findings highlight strengths, limitations, and opportunities for improvement, particularly in supporting the EU’s ambitious energy and climate objectives. Given these insights, DSOs must seize the opportunity to refine and expand their applications, ensuring that they maximise their impact.
Functionality of DSO Apps: Landscape Analysis
The ECLIPSE analysis has outlined core functionalities of different energy apps categorised by the type of provider. The most frequent identified functionalities of applications provided by DSOs are the following:
- Historical data on consumption and generation – allows the user to consult their consumption (kWh) and, if applicable, generation over different periods (monthly, daily, hourly).
- Online access to smart meter readings – gives the user remote access to measurements from their meter.
- Customised notifications and incidents – informs the user about outages and allows them to tailor the app notifications according to their needs.
The recently published research conducted by E.DSO’s Customer Empowerment Working Group, confirms that access to metering data and information about outages are two of the most popular services in DSO apps, adding online payment and chatting with the operator to the list of most frequent functionalities.
These functionalities play a significant role in enhancing consumers’ awareness of their energy consumption patterns by providing accessible and tailored insights. However, in the context of the energy transition, the objective extends beyond simply keeping consumers informed; it is also to incentivise their active participation in the energy system by encouraging them to adjust their consumption patterns to improve grid efficiency and to engage in renewable energy generation. ECLIPSE pilots are exploring ways to achieve this, for example by providing users with grid signals that convey real-time grid needs and encourage them to adjust their consumption—either voluntarily or with financial incentives—within a specified timeframe.
At the same time, the ECLIPSE analysis shows that some DSO apps incorporate features that can further enhance user engagement and optimise energy efficiency. Nevertheless, they are less frequently integrated in DSO apps according to the ECLIPSE analysis. Some examples are the following:
- Consumption forecasting – provides users with predictive insights into their future energy usage.
- Interactive capacity maps – shows the current available grid capacity for connecting new generation units.
- New connection requests – allows user to register a new supply point, monitor the status of the connection request and manage the related documentation.
While less frequent, the above functionalities, provide actionable data and can empower consumers to actively participate in the energy market. For example, consumption forecasting allows users to anticipate their energy needs. If combined with providing recommendations on how to improve their energy efficiency (e.g. buying new appliances or performing specific energy refurbishments in the house) and showing them how their consumption could change, then it can incentivise behavioural changes towards more efficient energy usage patterns. At the same time, coupling interactive capacity maps with the functionality for submitting and following new connection requests, facilitates and streamlines the process for consumers to become energy producers or engage in energy-sharing schemes. By expanding these functionalities and incorporating insights from the ECLIPSE pilots, DSO apps can drive consumer engagement, improve grid efficiency, and support the decentralised integration of renewable energy sources.
DSO Apps and the EU’s Energy Policy Objectives
The ECLIPSE review of the EU’s regulatory framework confirms that while DSO apps contribute to core energy policy objectives, further development of key features is necessary to effectively incentivise behavioural changes in consumers. For example, the Directive on Common Rules for the Internal Market for Electricity reinforces the importance of smart metering and data access to boost consumer empowerment, a function that many DSO applications have integrated effectively, ensuring consumers can monitor their energy consumption with ease. However, it also indicates that incentives are crucial to enhancing consumer engagement. Additionally, the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) calls for the decentralisation of the energy system coupled with increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix. The Directive underscores the importance of improving price signals to consumers and market participants and information on the share of renewable energy in the energy mix, creating stronger incentives for green energy consumption.
By targeting the gaps identified by ECLIPSE, DSOs can enhance their apps to drive greater consumer participation, improve demand-side flexibility, and accelerate the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid.
Further readings:
Customer Service Overview Paper: Key Figures and Trends in DSOs
