Table 5 EI and EC themes relevant for stakeholders as they interact
From: Exploring the energy informatics and energy citizenship domains: a systematic literature review
EI & EC themes relevant to the stakeholders as they interact | Individual | Energy Community | Energy Company | Policymakers | Researchers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Individual | Energy Behavior Individual energy behavior could be adopted by other individuals through interaction and communication related to energy (Szostek 2021; Liu et al. 2020) | Energy Policy Individuals have information needs with the energy community which relates to the existing energy policy in the community, the process of joining the community, and their rights and responsibilities as members (Hamann et al. 2022; Goebel et al. 2014) | Energy Economics Individuals are dependent on energy company to get access to their consumption data, energy load and energy bills. Such information help individuals to understand their energy consumption (Grosse et al. 2019; Li et al. 2017; Wederhake et al. 2022) | Energy Literacy Individuals may gain new knowledge through interaction with policymakers and during policy debates at the time of policy making (Harskamp et al. 2021) | Energy Behavior Individual energy behavior could be influenced by new energy research. For example, adoption of EV or through incentives (Szostek 2021; Diego et al. 2018) |
Energy Literacy Individual-level interaction related to energy has been found to be an effective method for increasing energy literacy (Yoho and Rittmann 2018) | Energy Democracy Individuals taking part in the energy community further energy democracy by adding newer voices in the management of the energy community (Devine-Wright 2012; Goebel et al. 2014) | Energy Business In case of individuals selling their electricity to the grid, or in case of billing based on dynamic energy pricing, real time energy pricing and energy generation data becomes significant energy information (Grosse et al. 2019) | Energy Policy Individuals also learn about energy policy through policymakers when they discuss and communicate a policy in the media (Celata and Coletti 2019) | Energy Literacy Individuals can gain new knowledge by interacting with researchers as well as by taking part in energy research-related activities like the co-design of CLIs (Ruiz-Mallén et al. 2022; Peña and Jensen 2023) | |
Energy Policy Individuals also learn about policy changes through word of mouth when interacting about energy. Thus, energy policy should be easy to communicate (Celata and Coletti 2019) | Energy Economics Individuals involved in energy communities also generally have an economic stake in producing and selling green energy (Grosse et al. 2019) | Energy Technology Energy companies employ technology such as energy meters, EV charging units, etc. which may be unfamiliar to the user. In such cases, training, as well as manuals, may be required (Tang et al. 2021; Schumilin et al. 2018; Babak et al. 2021) | Energy Democracy Individuals may gain access to the policymaking process and may contribute their opinion, strengthening energy democracy (Foulds et al. 2022; Wuebben et al. 2020) | Energy Policy Individuals can gain a greater understanding of energy policy and its impact by getting familiar with energy policy research and its impact (Bezerr et al. 2021) | |
Energy Democracy The energy democracy concept is strengthened by citizens exchanging energy information (Devine-Wright 2012) Energy Technology New energy technology gets publicity and recommendation from early adopters which increase trustworthiness in new energy technology (Tang et al. 2021) | Energy Technology For Individuals, joining an energy community may involve adopting newer energy technology, which could involve some amount of training and support that the energy community should be able to provide (Tang et al. 2021; Cao et al. 2022) | Energy Safety and Security Individuals also need the information to use electricity safely. Additionally, energy companies must build trust in individuals through their processes regarding their energy data and privacy (Aronson and Stern 1984; Wang et al. 2021; Llaria et al. 2021) | Energy Democracy Individuals by interacting with researchers can provide their viewpoints which add new perspectives for researchers to consider aiding energy democracy | ||
Energy Community | Energy Management Energy communities need individual energy generation data of their members to better manage their energy community (Sangeeth and S. and K Mathew, S., 2018; Hodges and Salam 2018; Bordin et al. 2020) | Energy Policy Energy communities can communicate with each other over energy policy and can form a consortium to collectively lobby for changes in energy policy (Huh et al. 2019) | Energy Economics Energy communities supply energy generated by them to energy companies that transmit energy through the electric grid and have an interest in energy pricing and energy demand data. Energy sold at a higher profit during peak demand time must be shared with energy communities (Li et al. 2017; Wederhake et al. 2022) | Energy Democracy Energy communities have the most critical role in realizing energy democracy and bringing it to life. Energy communities, thus need a clearer understanding of policy framework and policy objectives from policymakers (Wuebben et al. 2020; Santos et al. 2019) | Energy Literacy Energy Communities may work closely with energy researchers, or consume published energy research, which enhances energy literacy in communities (Mach 2019) |
Energy Digitization Energy communities are increasingly using digital tools and software to access the energy consumption and generation data of individual members (Idries et al. 2022) | Energy Democracy Energy communities may have events where multiple energy community perspectives as well as best practices can be shared, which strengthens energy democracy (Wuebben et al. 2020; Xexakis et al. 2022; Santos et al. 2019) | Energy Decisions Energy communities at times depend on energy companies to make energy decisions. For example, data provided by energy companies can help the energy community to plan how they should utilize their resources. For example, if more solar panels are needed (Kavuma et al. 2021) | Energy Business Energy communities are greatly impacted by energy policy changes and it can impact their energy business (Li et al. 2019, 2017) | Energy Policy Energy communities gain a greater understanding of energy policy and its impact by getting familiar with energy policy research and its impact (Huh et al. 2019; Bezerr et al. 2021) | |
Household Energy Consumption Energy communities need individual household energy consumption data of their members to predict energy demand and energy supply (Kumar and Bhattacharjee 2018; Oprea et al. 2018b; Virtsionis Gkalinikis et al. 2022) | Energy Technology Energy communities may need to adopt new technology, which may not be familiar to the community. In such a case some amount of training and support could be provided by energy companies (Stamelos et al. 2018; Meier and Dunn 2021) | Energy Safety and Security Energy communities also depend on policymakers for designing a policy that safeguards the interest of energy communities and provides energy security (Aronson and Stern 1984; Wang et al. 2021; Llaria et al. 2021) Energy Economics Energy communities are greatly impacted by energy policy changes and it can impact their energy cost as well as energy generation | Energy Technology Energy Communities can learn about new energy technology and its effectiveness by interacting with energy researchers (Schumilin et al. 2018; Babak et al. 2021) | ||
Energy Company | Energy Digitalization | Energy Digitization | Energy Policy | Energy Policy | Energy Behavior |
Individuals are increasingly using digital tools and software to access energy consumption and generation data of individuals. This may require individuals to agree to share their personal data like energy consumption with energy companies (Idries et al. 2022) | Energy communities can also employ digital tools to access the energy consumption and generation data of the community as a whole (Idries et al. 2022; Stewart et al. 2018) | Energy companies may communicate with each other over energy policy and can form a consortium to collectively lobby for changes in energy policy (Drożdż et al. 2022) | Energy companies are regulated by policymakers through energy policy, which means energy companies should have a clear understanding of energy policy and their responsibilities (Zuo et al. 2019) | Energy companies can make use of energy behavioral research to design products that may lead to more energy saving (Llanos et al. 2019; Wees et al. 2022) | |
Energy Forecasting | Building Informatics | Energy Business | Energy Business | Energy Policy | |
Energy companies need to predict energy demand, at different times of the day which allows them to pre-purchase energy from energy exchange. This requires individuals to share their electricity consumption patterns (Oprea et al. 2018a; Heghedus et al. 2019a) | Energy companies also additionally need energy consumption data from buildings, such as HVAC systems which consume significant energy (Lim et al. 2018) | Energy companies may also come together to form energy consortium which allows them to pool their resources together for greater business growth and market (Li et al. 2019, 2017) Energy Economics Energy companies may decide together certain fees such as fixed charges in order to maintain market stability Energy Decisions Energy companies may take energy decisions such as more investment in infrastructure based on energy-related data such as energy demand and supply (Kavuma et al. 2021) | Energy companies are greatly impacted by energy policy changes and it can impact their energy business. Thus, energy companies work closely with policymakers and need a predictable policy framework for further investment (Li et al. 2017; Wederhake et al. 2022) Energy Decisions Energy companies may take energy decisions based on policy changes by policymakers. For example, tax on coal may be more than tax on gasoline Energy Safety and Security Energy companies also depend on policymakers for energy safety which includes the security of energy sources, especially in a global energy economy. For example, a war between countries could stress energy sources (Sultan and Hilton 2019; Eissa and Awadalla 2019) | Energy companies may learn about the shortcomings or effectiveness of energy policy through research carried out by researchers (Drożdż et al. 2022; Zuo et al. 2019) Energy Technology Energy companies have a stake in the research and development of energy technology that can be commercialized by energy companies (Tang et al. 2021; Babak et al. 2021) | |
Policymakers | Energy Behavior | Energy Democracy | Energy Business | Energy Business | Energy Literacy |
Policymakers can gain insight into individuals’ energy behavior when they interact with energy. This allows them to create policy considering how individual energy practices may impact the implementation of energy policy (Button 2018; Geerts et al. 2022) | Energy community interaction with policymakers can allow policymakers to get a collective view of energy transitioning at the community level. This could help policymakers design policies that can then improve energy justice and energy democracy (Wuebben et al. 2020; Santos et al. 2019; Bonnet et al. 2019) | Policymakers mandate energy companies through energy regulators to disclose their energy generation, transmission, and distribution data as well as energy loss data. The consolidated input from energy companies allows policymakers to have a bird’s eye view of the energy sector (Li et al. 2017) | Policymakers interact among themselves to identify shortcomings in energy business policies as well as to have uniformity in energy business policy across different regions (Kirpes and Becker 2018) | Policymakers gain more energy literacy by interacting with energy researchers as they may educate policymakers with new research outcomes (Slaoui et al. 2017) | |
Household Energy Consumption | Energy Business | Energy Economics | Energy Policy | Energy Policy | |
Policymakers need to understand individual household consumption patterns which may influence energy tariff policy, such as dynamic energy pricing (Kumar and Bhattacharjee 2018; Oprea et al. 2018b; Virtsionis Gkalinikis et al. 2022) | Policymakers also gain an understanding of how energy business is impacting energy communities, both in terms of growing their business as well as size (Grosse et al. 2019; Wederhake et al. 2022) | Policymakers also have access to energy companies’ financial health and may use the information to modify their energy-related tax to achieve policy objectives (Li et al. 2017; Wederhake et al. 2022) | Policymakers interact among themselves to discuss energy policy outcomes as well as future energy policy directions (Celata and Coletti 2019; Moles-Grueso and Stojilovska 2021) | Policymakers gain a better understanding of policy outcomes when energy researchers evaluate energy policy objectively and based on data. Thus, energy researchers can influence policymakers by focusing on certain aspects of policy that may not be meeting policy objectives (Zuo et al. 2019) | |
Energy Democracy | Energy Economics | Energy Safety and Security | Energy Democracy | Energy Democracy | |
Individuals’ interaction with policymakers can allow policymakers to get a first-person account of energy issues and problems people face related to energy. This could help policymakers design policies that can then improve energy justice and energy democracy (Foulds et al. 2022; Allan et al. 2022) | Policymakers also gain an understanding of how energy economics is impacting energy communities, both in terms of profit margin and operating costs (Grosse et al. 2019) | Energy safety and security is a major aspect of delivering energy to the masses, and energy companies must ensure that energy is delivered in a safe and secure manner policymakers may create policies that mandate the same, including compensation in case of accidents (Aronson and Stern 1984; Wu 2019; Bugaev et al. 2021) | Policymakers when interacting with each other may focus on creating energy policy that may enhance energy democracy. As well as learn best practices to aid energy democracy (Lennon et al. 2020; Allan et al. 2022; Boamah and Rothfuß 2020) | Energy researchers can draw the attention of policymakers toward energy inequality, energy access problems, and energy justice, helping energy democracy to grow stronger (Lennon et al. 2020; DellaValle and Czako 2022) | |
Researchers | Energy Behavior Energy researchers have been studying individual energy behavior by engaging with individuals and have come up with novel ways to influence them (Szostek 2021; Liu et al. 2020) | Energy Behavior Energy researchers have closely studied energy communities to see how energy communities influence energy behavior at a communal level (Liu et al. 2020) | Energy Technology Energy researchers may collaborate with energy companies to develop new energy technologies as well as to evaluate new energy technologies (Stamelos et al. 2018; Lazgheb et al. 2019; Meier and Dunn 2021) | Energy Policy Energy researchers may interact with policymakers to understand energy policy as well as policy objectives. Energy researchers also interact with policymakers to identify current policy focus as well as future policy contours (Wuebben et al. 2020; Bezerr et al. 2021; Drożdż et al. 2022) | All themes When energy researchers interact with each other all the themes of EI and EC are relevant for energy researchers, as different researchers focus on different issues. Moreover, energy researchers when interacting, may come up with new research ideas that can span multiple themes |
Energy Policy Energy researchers can gain knowledge about policy implications by interacting with individuals and collecting data for policy analysis (Drożdż et al. 2022) | Energy Literacy Energy researchers may involve the community to understand energy literacy among community members (Yoho and Rittmann 2018; Ruiz-Mallén et al. 2022) | Energy Literacy Energy researchers may collaborate with energy companies to understand how energy companies aid energy literacy (Ruiz-Mallén et al. 2022; Mach 2019) | Energy Democracy Energy researchers may need inputs from policymakers to evaluate energy policy on the basis of energy democracy concepts such as energy access, energy justice, and energy poverty (Coy et al. 2021; Wahlund and Palm 2022; Lee 2019) | ||
Energy Technology Energy researchers can study how individuals interact with new energy technology, which can help understand the impact of energy technology on society (Tang et al. 2021) | Energy Policy Energy researchers can gain knowledge about policy implications by interacting with communities and collecting data for policy analysis and its impact on energy communities (Celata and Coletti 2019; Bezerr et al. 2021) Energy Democracy Energy researchers study energy communities to understand how energy democracy manifests at a community level (Cantoni et al. 2018; Santos et al. 2019; Cantoni 2022) | Energy Policy Energy companies are major stakeholders in implementing energy policies and thus energy researchers need to involve in energy policy research (Celata and Coletti 2019; Bezerr et al. 2021) Energy Democracy Energy researchers may look into energy companies, in order to determine if energy companies are aiding energy democracy or hindering it due to economic considerations (Anfinson 2022; Lennon et al. 2020; DellaValle and Czako 2022) |