People power: imagining an energy system that works for everyone
16 November 2026, 8:45 am – 4:30 pm
Location: etc.venues Fenchurch Street, 8 Fenchurch Place, London EC3M 4PB
Think tank: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
This event hosted by UK think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines what a fair energy system looks like and how people can help shape the changes ahead.
What would a fair energy system actually look like? Not just a cheaper one, or a greener one, but one that works for everyone, including the millions of people currently being pushed into hardship by their bills.
Together, we’ll examine what a fair energy system looks like, how the costs of the transition should be shared, and how people can help shape the changes ahead.
More about this event
Join us for a joint conference with Fair By Design where we’re bringing together policy makers, industry, academics and people with lived experience of energy poverty to ask the questions:
What does a fair energy market look like? And how do we get there?
Speakers
Keynote opening speech
Polly Billington MP – Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Minister for Energy Consumers) at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
What is the current vision for the future energy market?
Dr Christian Calvillo – Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Energy Policy University of Strathclyde
Jaya Sood – Senior Economist, New Economics Foundation
Adam Bell – Partner, Stonehaven
Mat Lawrence – Founder and Director, Common Wealth
Adam Scorer – CEO, National Energy Action
Break out session 1 — How do we deal with the fixed costs of the energy system?
Maxine Frerk – Associate, Sustainability First
Alex Belsham-Harris – Head of Energy Consumer Markets, Citizens Advice
Gareth Fearn – Writer and Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Oxford
Joshua Emden – Senior Research Fellow, IPPR
Break out session 2 — What are the priority interventions to ensure everyone can afford the energy they need to keep them safe and well?
Charlotte Johnson – Director of Research and Analysis, Centre for Sustainable Energy
Rose Chard – Consumer Insight Manager, Energy Systems Catapult
Louise Sunderland – Director, Europe Programme, Regulatory Assistance Project
Jonathan Marshall – Principal Economist, Resolution Foundation
How can we involve people in the energy transition?
Session to be run by Poverty Alliance and members of Fair By Design’s lived experience panel, speakers to be confirmed.
