By Mark Luntley and Ilonka Marselis, president and vice-president of REScoop.eu

The geopolitical crisis and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have led to sharply rising international prices for oil and gas. This is the second time in three years that our energy bills are skyrocketing. Citizens are once more the victims of Europe’s dependency on imported fossil fuels and the related international prices. An energy system that devolves into a full-blown crisis every three years is simply not fit for purpose. We need to change. While scaling up renewable energy generation is a critical response to our reliance on fossil fuels, merely adding capacity will not shield European households sufficiently from the severe price swings of wholesale energy markets. To achieve genuine energy security, we must empower citizens to collectively invest in, govern, and directly benefit from renewable energy projects within their own communities.

"Citizens can drastically limit their dependence on global energy prices, by producing and supplying their own renewable energy. Member states should boost energy communities as a response to the energy crisis." 

Delivering fair, stable, and predictable prices

Energy communities prioritise "fair, stable, and predictable" prices,rather than chasing temporary market lows. Utilising a cost-plus pricing model, communities charge members based on the actual costs of producing and supplying energy, rather than indexing tariffs to international gas and coal. This approach provides essential long-term certainty, creating a powerful buffer against sudden geopolitical disruptions. By participating in an energy community, the average EU household can save up to 1100 euros per year. 

Community responses to the current crisis

Across Europe, energy communities are actively implementing emergency measures and structural solutions to shield their members from the current energy crisis. In Belgium, the cooperative supplier Cociter has announced a proactive price cap to protect consumers from rapid spikes, while Ecopower has implemented a hybrid pricing logic that partially decouples its electricity prices from the market based on its own production costs. In Italy, the cooperative ènostra has expanded its stable, fixed-price tariffs for members who invest in collective solar parks, alongside dynamic pricing incentives to encourage consumption when renewable generation is abundant. Similarly, in the Netherlands, cooperatives are rapidly accelerating local energy sharing and district heating projects as vehicles to provide long-term price stability to their members.

Speed up the creation of enabling frameworks for energy communities

Ultimately, the contribution of energy communities to affordability and energy security supersedes any single crisis; it is a long-term instrument for economic and social resilience. Recently, the European Commission acknowledged this in its Citizens’ Energy Package: "by fostering the development of energy communities [...], it will help European households reduce their energy costs and reduce their exposure to the price volatility of fossil-fuel based wholesale energy markets." To fully harness this potential and deliver on this ambition, Member States must act now: implement the current framework on energy communities and support them through dedicated policy and financial instruments.