Project description
New schemes reduce energy poverty
The EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive is ambitious. It outlines key measures to promote energy efficiency across the EU and reduce energy poverty, including obligation schemes for energy companies to achieve yearly energy savings. The EU-funded project SocialWatt will support EU utilities and energy suppliers to develop, adopt, test and replicate innovative energy poverty schemes across Europe. The team will develop specific tools to help energy companies effectively identify energy poor households among their clients and implement schemes to reduce energy poverty. These schemes will promote sustainable energy use, facilitate the implementation of energy efficiency interventions and encourage the installation of renewable energy sources, making use of innovative financing tools, such as on-bill financing.
Objective
SocialWatt aims to support obligated parties under Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive to develop, adopt, test and spread innovative energy poverty schemes across Europe. Utilities and energy suppliers will be able to build their capacity and exploit the SocialWatt tools developed for effectively engaging with their customers and implementing schemes that aim to alleviate energy poverty. Energy efficiency interventions at the household level and the increased use of renewable energy will be triggered, by promoting innovative financing options, such as Energy Performance Contracts, Energy Saving Agreements or on-bill repayment.
SocialWatt will contribute to the following 3 main pillars:
- Supporting utilities and energy suppliers contribute to the fight against energy poverty through the use of the SocialWatt decision support tools. They will be able to identify energy poverty among their clients, elaborate Energy Poverty Action Plans after having evaluated and selected energy poverty schemes, as well as monitor and assess the overall procedure.
- Bridging the gap between energy companies and social services by promoting collaboration and implementing knowledge transfer and capacity building activities.
- Implementing and replicating innovative schemes to alleviate energy poverty. Participating utilities and energy suppliers, operate in 26 European countries, with primary markets in Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Romania and Spain. The latter will be the focus of the pilot cases for developing and implementing energy poverty schemes, whilst the replication of SocialWatt across Europe will be pursued.
Energy poor citizens are the main target group that will benefit from the innovative schemes. SocialWatt will support energy companies to fulfil their energy efficiency obligations, as well as improve public relations, promote Corporate Social Responsibility strategies, reduce debt and overhead in managing debt and enhance their public image.
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Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
106 82 ATHINA
Greece