What is prosumerism for? A reflection on competing normativities in the prosumer energy transitions.

Energy systems are undergoing a significant transformation - towards increasingly renewable, decentralised, demand responsive and smart configurations. This has led to advocacy of the ‘prosumer’ phenomenon: characterised by actors who both consume and produce renewable energy. In parallel a range of prosumer business models are emerging to exploit these new pools of value. Through a series of semi-structured

interviews, focus groups and documentary analysis, centred on a case

study of Bristol in the UK, this paper critically evaluates the normative and political assumptions underpinning ‘prosumerism’ - highlighting its risks. We discuss how a range of competing ‘value logics’ are present within imagined futures of prosumerism. Further we argue that a core component of these business models is their mode of governance, discussing how different approaches to market, municipal and community governance facilitate different forms of value. Further,

through a novel conceptual framework we discuss how these modes of governance are based on competing theories of value, agency and change. We therefore argue that a more explicit recognition of the normative goals of prosumerism is needed if the concept is to have meaning beyond technological change.