A Window of Opportunity to Promote Energy Inclusion and Help Tackle Energy Poverty

During the COP26 Climate Summit in 2021 (comprised of more than 200 countries’ government representatives and industry leaders), it was agreed that ambitious measures should be taken to limit global warming - pushed by calamitous signs such as wildfires in the USA, floodings across South America and Europe, and severe high temperatures and droughts in parts of Africa and the Middle East. Although previous experiences have fallen short of effective results, the efforts to transition the energy matrix from fossil fuels to Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) sources offer a window of opportunity to promote energy inclusion through specific financing schemes targeting renewable energy. Nonetheless, funding such initiatives is just one part of a complex scenario. As decentralisation and digitisation are core components of DRE implementations, the integration of diverse solar photovoltaic panels, smart meters, batteries systems and other devices (geographically distinct locations) makes such implementations more and more challenging. Also, the customers now acting as prosumers (traditional customers that become both consumers and producers of energy) demand new business models capable of managing their relationship with each other and with the energy grid service providers. This increased complexity brings several unforeseen risks that need to be identified and managed. However, despite all potential complexity, DRE implementations also bring unprecedented opportunities to promote energy inclusion. In areas where access to a traditional electricity grid is difficult or nonexistent, DRE sources offer relatively cheaper (renewable) alternatives for power generation and democratisation of access to clean energy. In this work, we discuss new business models to support such implementations, and how policymakers should promote prosumers integration into the electricity markets in order to improve customer engagement and maximisation of social impact.