AI copilot to target household energy poverty

An AI-powered public energy service copilot is being developed to help municipalities and energy agencies identify vulnerable households and tackle energy poverty.

ICLEI Europe will develop SUN4U 2.0 with support from the US$30 million Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation. The organisation is among 15 non-profits, social enterprises and academic institutions selected worldwide to develop AI tools for public services.

“This support allows us to turn a platform that municipalities and energy agencies already trust into an AI supported tool capable of reaching the households that need it most in a rapid and efficient way,” said Ruud Schuthof, Deputy Regional Director, ICLEI Europe. “Energy poverty cannot simply be solved by a technical solution. It requires institutional capacity, community trust and the right tools working together, and that is exactly what [this initiative] is built to provide.”

The pilot will add generative and agentic AI to an existing platform used by more than 900 people and 120 renewable energy community groups across Italy. The tool will help municipalities and energy agencies identify vulnerable households and support local authorities seeking to expand renewable energy communities.

SUN4U 2.0 is intended to enable local administrations to move beyond providing information and networking towards automated action at scale. Human oversight will remain at the centre of relevant decisions made using the system.

The organisations selected by Google.org are working directly with governments on applications ranging from everyday essential services to complex societal challenges. They will also participate in a dedicated Google.org accelerator and receive pro bono support from Google engineers and AI experts to develop human-centred tools.

ICLEI Europe is leading the project with Federesco, the Italian association of energy service companies. Federesco is the project’s technical lead and is responsible for developing, operating and maintaining the platform. ANCI Lazio, EnviPark and ANEA are participating as government partners in the pilot regions.

“Our role has always been to make renewable energy communities practical for local administrations, not just possible on paper,” said Patrick Maurelli, Head of International Projects – FEDERESCO. “Through SUN4U 2.0, we can move from providing information and networking to enabling automated action at scale, while keeping human oversight at the centre of every relevant decision.”

Google.org said the wider challenge is intended to help close the gap between the potential of AI and its practical application in government services.

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