A relational approach to prosuming through energy communities: The case of CIREN in France

Abstract

Current energy flexibility strategies often prioritise technical solutions or behavioural interventions targeting individual consumers—frequently with limited outcomes. This highlights the need for a more sociologically informed perspective. While Social Practice Theory has significantly advanced our understanding of energy use, this paper builds on and complements that work by adopting a relational sociological framework. The analysis focuses on CIREN, one of France's largest citizen-led prosuming initiatives, using a mixed-methods approach that combines a quantitative survey of 190 residents with 42 semi-structured interviews conducted with cooperative participants and a range of public and private stakeholders. This approach brings added value by shedding light on how flexibility emerges from social interactions within community contexts. The findings underscore the critical role of social relations—including affiliation, shared experiences, and affective engagement—in decision-making related to flexible energy use. These relational dynamics enable citizens to adapt their energy-related practices and also co-develop technical solutions to address flexibility challenges. The relational work fostered within energy communities also represents a socially innovative pathway for engaging vulnerable households. These insights call for socially innovative policies that place relational dynamics at the core, supported by frameworks that foster meaningful, empowering, and positive relationships with energy use.