Empowering Consumers to Accelerate 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy

The report argues that empowering consumers to manage their energy demand and production can shift approximately 900 TWh—about 27% of global residential electricity consumption—away from fossil fuels. It categorizes empowerment solutions into supply-side (e.g., 24/7 PPAs, energy cooperatives, P2P trading), demand-side (e.g., time-of-use tariffs, on-bill schemes), and data-based (e.g., smart meters, granular energy certificates) interventions. The document emphasizes that the path to 24/7 CFE varies by country maturity, dividing nations into 'Potential', 'Progressive', 'Aspirer', and 'Frontier' archetypes, each requiring different policy 'recipes' to overcome barriers such as low smart meter penetration and restrictive electricity market regulations.

• Empowering consumers to shift toward 24/7 CFE could reduce global residential electricity demand from fossil fuels by approximately 900 TWh, which is about 27 percent of current consumption.
• Solutions that reduce or shift demand without increasing generation capacity, such as time-of-use (TOU) tariffs and granular data access, can shift 9 percent of global residential electricity consumption away from fossil fuels.
• Solutions that increase carbon-free energy generation capacity, including prosumption and 24/7 Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), can shift an additional 18 percent of global residential electricity consumption away from fossil fuels.
• 24/7 PPAs achieve higher decarbonization than typical clean PPAs by matching hourly demand with supply; typical clean PPAs only result in 40–70 percent decarbonization due to temporal mismatches.
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading can reduce peak demand by 4-7 percent and increase the use of renewable energy by allowing prosumers to sell clean electricity directly to local consumers.
• Time-of-use (TOU) tariffs can reduce household peak demand by 5 to 15 percent, with higher price ratios (e.g., 5:1) leading to greater demand declines (up to 13 percent).
• Providing consumers with real-time electricity consumption data through smart meters can reduce household electricity consumption by an average of 8 percent.
• Granular Energy Attribute Certificates (GCs) are essential for 24/7 CFE as they allow hourly matching, which can lead to lower emissions than annual matching; in Ireland, 90 percent hourly matching could result in 30 percent lower emissions than 100 percent annual matching.
• The report identifies four country archetypes: 'Potential' (focus on access), 'Progressive' (focus on reliability and grid decarbonization), 'Aspirer' (focus on demand reduction and decarbonization), and 'Frontier' (focus on net zero and electricity independence).
• Frontier countries are the most impactful for global transition as they account for 64 percent of total residential electricity consumption.
• High upfront costs for behind-the-meter (BTM) batteries, which can reach USD 7,000 for installation, act as a barrier, though innovative pay-as-you-go models in Africa have reduced costs to as little as USD 50 cents a day.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2023). Empowering Consumers to Accelerate 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy. https://247-carbon-free-movement.cdn.prismic.io/247-carbon-free-movement/65573cab531ac2845a253bfa_247CFEconsumerempowermentreport.pdf

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. Empowering Consumers to Accelerate 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy. 2023. https://247-carbon-free-movement.cdn.prismic.io/247-carbon-free-movement/65573cab531ac2845a253bfa_247CFEconsumerempowermentreport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=Empowering Consumers to Accelerate 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy |date=October 2023 |url=https://247-carbon-free-movement.cdn.prismic.io/247-carbon-free-movement/65573cab531ac2845a253bfa_247CFEconsumerempowermentreport.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2023empowering, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{Empowering Consumers to Accelerate 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://247-carbon-free-movement.cdn.prismic.io/247-carbon-free-movement/65573cab531ac2845a253bfa_247CFEconsumerempowermentreport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }