b. Personal scope: who can be a prosumer?
First, we need to determine who can be a prosumer. In most cases, prosumers will be individuals. However, groupings of individuals in different forms are also possible.(1) Pietkiewicz (n 39) 4; Nikolina Sajn (n 42) 2 <http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/593518/EPRS_BRI(2016)593518_EN.pdf> accessed 18 January 2018
The definition of the active customer covers both individual customers and groups of customers acting jointly. There is no geographical limitation on the location of group members. It is unclear whether the definition also covers groupings with a separate legal personality.
The local energy community covers groups, which can take a variety of forms.(2) Art. 2(7) of the proposed electricity directive offers a non-exhaustive list. Article 16 of the directive states that ‘shareholders or members of a local energy community shall not lose their rights as household customers or active customers’, which shows that the local energy community can consist of active customers. As its name suggests, the local energy community has a strong local dimension.
The renewable self-consumer only mentions individuals. The article clarifies that the renewable self-consumer is a specific type of active customer. Although the definition of the renewable self-consumer includes more details about the location of the activities, the difference in personal scope between the two concepts is slight.(3) Lavrijssen and Carrillo Parra (n 13) 1216.
The renewable energy community covers SME’s and non-for-profit organisations. Although the directive does not explicitly mention it, in practice all renewable energy communities are also local energy com-munities.(4) Because three out of five additional requirements set out in art 22§1 of the proposed renewable energy directive contain local elements, it is impossible to combine four requirements that do not contain a local element: Eurelectric, ‘European Commission’s Legislative Proposal on Common Rules for the Internal Market in Electricity’ (2017) Position paper <http://www.eurelectric.org/media/318372/eurelectric_positionpaper_electricity_directive_final-2017-030-0242-01-e.pdf> accessed 18 January 2018. As a result, the renewable energy community will also have a strong local connection.
In conclusion, the European framework covers individuals, unincorporated groups and groups with a separate legal personality. However, the coverage of the different terms overlaps to a certain extent. This analysis reveals a strong link between the active customer and the renewable self-consumer on one hand, and the local energy community and the renewable energy community on the other. However, this distinction is not clear-cut, as the local energy community also refers back to active customers.
The active customer seems to have the broadest application among the different prosumer concepts within European energy law. It is unfortunate that the definition of the active customer addresses both individuals and groups of consumers acting jointly. The role of groups is better addressed by the concepts of the local energy community and the renewable energy community, which deal explicitly with this.