Citizens Advice commissioned research from Energy Systems Catapult to understand the risks and opportunities involved in a smart energy future – and how consumer protection needs to evolve.

Smart energy – where digital controls and sensors help tailor energy provision for each specific household – has the potential to revolutionise how people buy energy and interact with suppliers.

Smarter protections: Potential risks for consumers in a smart energy future – explored the consumer issues through a short six week activity of desk based research, a workshop between Citizens Advice and Energy Systems Catapult and feedback from industry and policy stakeholders in the sector.

The research is now informing Citizens Advice’s approach to consumer protection so it can effectively advocate for consumers as smart energy evolves.

Following this work, the Energy Revolution integration Service funded the development of an interactive manual to provide energy innovators with clear, structured techniques to help consider consumer protection, whether you are designing a new innovation or already have the technology and service available.

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), along with energy regulator Ofgem commissioned a study to review how innovation could enable low income and vulnerable (LIV) consumers to participate in a smart, flexible energy market.

This may include new technologies and appliances in consumers’ homes, access to smarter tariffs, interaction with a broader range of service providers and new infrastructure in their local area, such as: smart metering, demand-side flexibility, electric vehicles, electric heat pumps and domestic energy storage.

These changes to the energy system raise a core concern about whether low income and vulnerable consumers could be less willing and less able to access, purchase and use smart energy products and services.

The review summarised evidence to answer the following questions:

1. How do low-income and vulnerable consumers participate in a smart energy market? What barriers prevent their participation?
2. Does existing innovation activity help them engage in this market?
3. How will new innovation activity ensure they are engaged in this market?
4. How could innovation put them at the forefront of the smart energy transition?
5. What risks could emerge when, and how could innovation prevent them?
6. Where should future innovation focus?

Energy Systems Catapult in partnership with the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC) has been awarded funding for a programme to Enable Inclusive Innovation and Sustainable Choice.

The funding comes from the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme, which are payments distributed from energy companies that may have breached rules. Projects must “support energy consumers in vulnerable situations”.

The Enabling Inclusive Innovation and Sustainable Choice programme will work with disabled and older consumers to deliver new research and assets that support the development of innovative, accessible smart and low carbon energy products and services, and to inform consumer and policy decision making.

The RiDC pan-disability consumer panel of over 2,500 people will deliver the research through a programme of six insight and test evaluation projects, including co-design workshops, accessibility and usability evaluations and mystery shopping.

This includes adding 50 new households with disabled consumers to Energy Systems Catapult’s real world test environment – the Living Lab – including developing co-design solutions that explore how the increasing electrification of heat and transport could result in new vulnerabilities emerging. Giving particular consideration to identifying potential changes to how those on the Priority Services Register might be best served.