Stories
Success story: A Belgian cooperative shields Walloon citizens against the energy crisis
Community energy is key to action on the climate crisis. It can empower people, boost local economies, and reinvigorate communities. Community-led initiatives play an important role in the transition towards a 100% renewable and just energy future. Success stories of community energy projects can be found all over the world. At REScoop.eu we want to highlight these stories to further accelerate the movement towards a cleaner and democratic system. This month, we explore a Belgian energy cooperative that protects citizens during energy crises.
A small cooperative stands against a stark reality
As a new oil and gas crisis emerges, Belgian energy cooperative Cociter is set to protect its customers from soaring energy prices by setting a cap mechanism. Having successfully implemented this cap previously, Cociter is prepared to do so again. Two months have passed since the attack on Iran, by Israeli and US military forces, started a war that is escalating in the Middle East, killing innocent civilians, creating more emissions, and triggering an unprecedented energy crisis. The International Energy Agency claims that the oil and gas crisis exacerbated by the blockade of the strait of Hormuz is more serious than the ones in 1973, 1979 and 2022 together. Cociter, a Walloon electricity supplier that offers 100% green, 100% local, and 100% citizen-owned electricity, aims to combat this global challenge for its clients.
Twenty years ago, as a reaction to the proliferation of renewable energy projects owned by big utilities, community energy projects started to emerge in Belgium. A few years later, in 2011, three Walloon citizen cooperatives and a non profit organisation joined this wave and established Cociter. In 2015, they received the electricity supplier licence for the Wallon region, had their first client, and several citizen cooperatives producing renewable electricity started joining. A decade later, the energy cooperative boasts over 14,000 customers, consisting mostly of households and 1,200 SMEs. Cociter collaborates with 17 electricity production cooperatives, as well as other cooperatives, including one producing beer – something that could hardly be missing in the land of beer.
Collective ownership to make things differently
The local supply chain created between Cociter and the electricity cooperatives enables citizens to participate in the energy transition by investing in renewable projects. They collectively own solar panels, water mills, and wind turbines that produce the electricity they consume. Citizens are the owners of the assets and the supplier, getting the electricity at a real cost.
Amidst the energy crisis of 2022, Cociter received electricity from the producers at €100 per megawatt - five folds lower than the market price.
Mario Heukemes, co-founder of Cociter, explains “The cooperative went through the energy crisis without any problem because we were owners of the assets and the electricity. This model allowed us to get through the crisis in a good way.”
He also recalls what happened when they set the first price cap in 2022. “We had a lot of kind messages at that moment. It was fantastic to see how the staff reacted, and it was a very interesting period for all the staff and board members. Everyone was helping as they could and that's what I retain from that period. It was the first time that all the producer cooperatives saw the real advantage of controlling the production and the supply chain of the electricity.”
During the previous energy crisis, Cociter experienced the highest growth in customers. In three months, they gained 2,500 new clients - almost 10 times more than before the crisis started. Of course, this is closely tied to the low electricity prices offered, which were the lowest ones in the region in March.
Mario says “After this, we decided to pause accepting any new clients to get the possibility for our staff to absorb all this huge kind of work. It was also something that you don't see in other suppliers. They don't stop the business to pay attention to the staff. And it's also something that makes us different.”
And he continues, “At the start of the project, we didn't see the huge potential we had in our hands, but that became clear during the energy crisis. No other supplier has used this mechanism in Belgium.”
Hopeful for the future of energy
Nowadays, they are well prepared, and Cociter can cap the electricity prices for around 40,000 to 50,000 customers – twice the size of their current number. However, the price cap hasn’t been activated because high renewable energy production has kept energy prices low.
Cociter not only shields customers from volatile energy prices, but it also takes active measures to support vulnerable households. Mario explains “The first idea is that if a household doesn't have the money to buy a share in a cooperative and become a customer, we will give them the possibility to get a ‘godfather’ in their neighbourhood that has perhaps two shares.” And he continues “So, if I have five shares, I could give four shares to households that don't have money to buy them, and they can use my shares to get a contract with Cociter.”
Another option is that Cociter initially funds the cost of shares. Cociter can invest in several of its member cooperatives and funds can be used by households that don’t have shares. Then, the customers provide a negligible amount of €3-5 per month, and after they have paid off, Cociter invests more shares for additional households who will need financial support in the future.
The energy cooperative, which started from a group of three small cooperatives with no financial support, has proven that local energy owned by citizens can be a breath of hope, even in a time of energy crisis, allowing everyone to be part of it. As Mario reassures: “In a moment of crisis it's a good reminder that projects like Cociter give security to the household.”
Beyond Cociter, other cooperatives across Europe are acting to shield their members from soaring energy prices. In Italy, Ènostra kept the "Prosumer Tariff" stable, enabling families to save up to 500 euros anually during the crisis. Another example is Biozon in the Netherlands, which offered a fixed price for a six-year period (2019-2026), and its members paid 81% below the market rate. These and other initiatives demonstrate that energy cooperatives that utilise local, citizen-owned renewable energy remain resilient under harsh conditions and can be the future of electricity production.