Energy communities,
equity, and the
politics of flexibility.

PhD Research — UCL, Year 2 of 4

My doctoral research sits at the intersection of energy equity, energy flexibility, and energy inclusion. I study the potential impact of energy communities in the UK energy transition — specifically who benefits, who is excluded, and how the design of flexibility markets shapes those outcomes.

Energy poverty is not a technical failure. It is a design choice. My research asks: what would it look like to design energy systems around people rather than profit?

• Who participates in energy flexibility markets, and who is structurally excluded?
• Can energy communities serve as a vehicle for energy equity, or do they replicate existing inequalities?
• How do regulatory frameworks shape the distributional outcomes of the UK energy transition?
• What role can AI-driven demand forecasting play in making flexibility more accessible?

Exclusion is a design choice. So is inclusion.

Poor people tend to live in dense urban areas — the places most capable of generating energy flexibility. Yet they are systematically excluded from the markets designed to capture its value. My research asks why, and what can be done about it.

This is not just an academic question. The UK energy transition will cost hundreds of billions of pounds. Who bears those costs, and who receives the benefits, is a political choice disguised as a technical one.