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Energy citizenship (EC) is a concept that has received little attention in psychological research. However, citizen participation and engagement in the energy system play an important part in the EU’s vision of a low-carbon economy. The expectation is that EU citizens take an active role in a decentralized energy market and become ‘energy citizens’. Psychologically, it remains unclear who is likely to support this transition. In this paper, we investigate which psychological factors predict support for EC and might motivate individuals to become active in the energy transition using an online questionnaire. Results from Austria (n= 272) show that personal norms predict support for an EC scenario in a multiple linear regression, whereas biospheric values, ecological attitudes, awareness of adverse consequences, as well as ascription of responsibility do not. Further unique variance is explained by right-wing authoritarianism, a concept understudied but important for the massive societal changes involved in the energy transition. We highlight the importance of feeling personally responsible and obliged and being open to overcome conventions for the transition towards EC.

Energy citizenship is an emerging concept in policy and practice. Yet scientific theorising around energy citizenship is scarce, and rarely bundled in interdisciplinary discourse. In this article, we present an interdisciplinary definition of energy citizenship as people's rights to and responsibilities for a just and sustainable energy transition. Energy citizenship contains multiple aspects and allows for various approaches, of which we zoom into psychological, legal, and economic perspectives on the topic. From a psychological perspective, we construct an empirically testable sub-definition of energy citizenship based on previous psychological theorising. A legal perspective shows, exemplarily for the EU context, that energy citizenship qualifies as an EU citizenship because it consists of a bundle of rights and duties of the individual in the context of a committed, just and sustainable energy transition. An economic perspective reveals how energy citizenship already takes shape in current EU directives, and how this implies a new – more collectivist – economic model. Drawing on the three perspectives, we then sketch energy citizenship as an interdisciplinary research field. As a conclusion, we present a transdisciplinary definition of energy citizenship that is suitable for policy makers, energy communities and citizens, as it explicates a co-responsible process of people and governments.