Energetska zajednica Sjevernog Jadrana

The activities of our association are regulated by the association’s statute, which establishes the following main groups of activities:

Citizens related activities: gathering citizens interested in participating in energy projects; organizing citizens’ energy communities, organizing lectures, seminars, round tables and similar events on environmental protection issues, especially regarding energy production from renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.

Legal and regulatory related activities: cooperating and proposing measures to competent authorities in the field of environmental and nature protection and energy efficiency of renewable energy sources; cooperating with experts in the field of climate and environmental protection and other non-profit organizations; connecting business people, scientific and research institutions, local communities, state administration bodies and other entities on initiatives that will contribute to sustainable development and energy efficiency and the goals of the Association.

Energy production and distribution related activities: participation in the production of electricity for the needs of the Association’s members, including from renewable energy sources, electricity supply to the Association’s members, management (sharing) of electricity consumption by the Association’s members, aggregation of the Association’s members, energy storage for the Association’s members, energy efficiency services for the Association’s members, charging services for the Association’s members’ electric vehicles, provision of other energy services to the Association’s members in accordance with the rules governing individual electricity markets.

Our energy community operates in the areas of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (PGZ) and Istria County (IZ). The total population of the Republic of Croatia was 3,879,000, of which PGZ had 265,419 and IZ 195,237 inhabitants (according to the 2021 census). It is estimated that PGZ has 159,000 residential units that could potentially be equipped with photovoltaic systems, while IZ has about 117,000. The total number of electricity consumer connections in PGZ is about 145,000, and in IZ approximately 106,000. According to data from June 2025, the total number of installed photovoltaic systems in PGZ amounts to 1,418 for households with a power of about 10 MW, and for companies and public bodies about 455 units with a total power of approximately 46 MW. In IZ, there are around 1,043 photovoltaic systems installed in households with a total power of approximately 7.5 MW, while companies and public bodies have about 335 units with a total power of 34 MW.

EZSJ has direct experience engaging diverse stakeholders across the energy community ecosystem: residential prosumers, SMEs, institutional bodies, DSOs, and regulators.

The organisation has established formal engagement with the City of Rijeka for institutional membership, conducted direct negotiations with HEP ODS (the Croatian DSO), and filed formal regulatory proceedings with HERA. EZSJ actively participates in REScoop.eu, enabling cross-border knowledge exchange with European energy community practitioners.

EZSJ serves a diverse membership across two counties:

• Individual households – ranging across income levels; the community’s founding ethos emphasises inclusive access to clean energy
• SMEs and businesses – interested in cost reduction and sustainability credentials
• Municipalities and public bodies – engaged in regional energy planning and CO2 reduction

The community operates in areas where a significant share of households could benefit from solar self-consumption but currently lack the capital or knowledge to act independently. Identifying and supporting vulnerable or energy-poor households is a stated social objective. Digital literacy varies across the membership: the leadership team brings high technical competence, while some residential members may require additional support to engage with digital tools. Member education (seminars, round tables, lectures) is an explicit statutory activity of EZSJ.

EZSJ has also accumulated substantial operational experience from managing an active energy sharing community: analysis of 15-minute interval metering data (NEMA M71/M72/M75/M76 format), real-world self-consumption rate measurement, and member-level energy allocation. The innovative aspect of EZSJ’s contribution is the integration of regulatory strategy with technical deployment — the organization simultaneously advances the legal framework for energy communities while testing solutions in a live operational context.

Currently, the community is in the process of further improving its digital monitoring and management infrastructure. Target capabilities include:

• Monitoring platforms for aggregated and individual PV generation and consumption
• Integration with smart meter data from the distribution system operator
• An Energy Management System (EMS) to support collective optimisation
• A member-facing dashboard for transparency and engagement
• Multiple optimisation tools
• Guidebooks
• Advanced AI based communication agent