EU citizens at the centre of energy poverty alleviation
Energy poverty occurs when energy bills make up a significant amount of consumers’ income. As a result, they are not able to sufficiently heat, cool or provide other needed energy services in their homes. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic have exacerbated the situation. The EU-funded POWERPOOR project is doing its part by designing, developing and implementing energy poverty support programmes in eight pilot Member States. These programmes are being led by nearly 1 100 certified energy supporters and mentors. The energy supporters and mentors act as local heroes that are trained and visit vulnerable households in a local level, proposing low-cost energy efficiency interventions and behavioural changes while promoting the uptake of renewable energy by bringing forward the concept of joint energy initiatives. To engage energy-poor citizens, the project has created the Energy Poverty Mitigation Toolkit. This tool supports users in determining whether they are energy vulnerable. It proposes changes in the form of behavioural or low-cost energy efficiency interventions to improve well-being. In addition, the tool presents customised solutions for those who want to participate in joint energy initiatives such as energy communities and cooperatives and leverage innovative funding schemes such as crowdfunding.
Web-based tools foster engagement
The Energy Poverty Mitigation Toolkit consists of three tools that are available in 10 languages. It also includes a guidebook summarising how to use the tools and how to implement the POWERPOOR approach in alleviating energy poverty. Through PowerTarget, people can assess whether they are vulnerable in terms of energy and understand their energy spending by completing a survey. PowerAct enables users to assess their energy consumption at home and save money. They receive personalised suggestions for single behaviour changes following a short survey on home consumption. The tool also assists in participating in and benefiting from funding programmes for efficiency improvements. POWER FUND offers information about innovative financing opportunities to address energy poverty. It comprises two main actions: Collective Energy Initiatives and Collective Finance. Collective Energy Initiatives presents the advantages of energy communities and cooperatives. Users learn how to join or create one based on their needs. With Collective Finance, users learn more about crowdfunding and how to make the most of collective financing to support their community project. The Energy Poverty Guidebook informs a broad range of stakeholders on how they can implement POWERPOOR’s bottom-up collaborative approach. This will help to tackle energy poverty through joint energy initiatives that leverage innovative financing schemes and to improve local energy planning. Ending in August 2023, the POWERPOOR (Empowering Energy Poor Citizens through Joint Energy Initiatives) project aims to support more than 22 000 energy-poor households while encouraging citizen engagement. If you are interested in having your project featured as a ‘Project of the Month’ in an upcoming issue, please send us an email to editorial@cordis.europa.eu and tell us why!
Keywords
POWERPOOR, energy, energy poverty, energy poor, citizen engagement, crowdfunding, energy cooperative, energy community