Recent estimations conclude that more than 50 million Europeans are affected by energy poverty, mainly due to low incomes and poor thermal efficiency of their buildings. Within this context, implementing the energy transition could lead to higher energy costs for end-users (e.g. via increased taxes or grid fees) and increased up-front investments, for example, to develop renewable energy sources. Low-income families, whose expenditure increased 33% between 2000 and 2014, are impacted the most, preventing them from benefiting from the energy transition's advantages. Consequently, special actions must be taken to ensure the energy transition is fair. The major socio-economic discrepancies between Northern/Western and Southern/Eastern European countries must also be addressed.
Regional and local public authorities have a strong role in fighting energy poverty. In the context of the current energy crisis, it is imperative that cities go beyond their planning role and sustain the creation of local energy market players with a social agenda. These local environmental and social market players can be municipal companies (like Wien Energie in Vienna, or Electrica de Cadiz in Cadiz) or citizen energy cooperatives (like Ecopower in Belgium, Repowering London, or Enercoop in France). Of the two, the local cooperatives undoubtedly have a significant role to play now that there is a clearer definition of citizen and renewable energy communities in EU and national legislations, allowing them to invest, produce, sell, distribute and store energy.
In short, to combat energy poverty, local market players can:
• Provide social, discounted or cheaper tariffs;
• Reinvest benefits in energy poverty mitigation actions (energy advice, energy audits, energy efficiency measures, energy funds and new financial schemes);
• Provide energy services, like energy appliance maintenance or technical support for RE production;
• Increase awareness about energy poverty;
• Identify households affected by energy poverty, such as households that have been disconnected.
The overall objective of POWER UP is to support cities to go beyond their planning role and sustain the creation of local energy market players with a social agenda. This will be achieved through the following 3 specific objectives:
• Implement pilot schemes for households in energy poverty, so that they benefit from renewable energy production and energy efficiency measures, without having to bear the financial risks;
• Develop and reinforce local energy market players with a social agenda, based on a long-term perspective to acquire local knowledge and strengthen the local economy;
• Disseminate the experience of the consortium members to facilitate the replication in European countries.
Five pilot schemes will be developed in five locations across Europe: Eeklo (Belgium), Heerlen (the Netherlands), in the Campania area (Italy), in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (Czech Republic) and Valencia (Spain). Furthermore, in North Macedonia, we will explore the possibility of replicating these schemes and build capacity among the local stakeholders.
Power Up schemes will be co-created with energy-poor households and local stakeholders (cities, social organisations, energy utilities, citizen energy communities etc.), leading to at least 2,5 Million EUR investment in sustainable energy before the project ends and involving 55 838 energy-poor consumers. Supported by a European city network, a leading UK university, a Belgium cooperative and a finance expert, the consortium will build the capacity of more than 185 people in local organisations.
