Policy Support

REVERTER aims to decrease energy poverty in Europe by addressing the poor energy efficiency of dwellings of vulnerable households. 9 different roadmaps will be developed and tested by setting up a network of pilots and the roadmaps will target the worst performing homes first (“worst first” principle).

The CLEAR-X project aims to facilitate consumers’ access to household renewables at an affordable price, through the provision of trusted information, collective purchase schemes and an improved regulatory framework. Over the project's 3 year duration, it focus promoting the adoption of renewable energy sources (RES) to enhance energy efficiency.

The POWERTY project works to increase access to renewable energy for vulnerable groups to tackle energy poverty. It does this primarily by improving regional policy instruments targeting 4 topics: new innovative technologies, new formulas for financing, improving the regulatory framework and empowering vulnerable groups. Over the project's 4 year duration, the partners will develop a complete learning process to facilitate an effective knowledge flow between these regions.

The Green Energy Community (GECO) is a demonstration project in the Pilastro – Roveri district of Bologna. It comprises the creation of an energy community, an entity introduced by the EU Clean Energy Package (CEP). The GECO project intends to tackle social, technical and economic aspects related to the creation of the green energy community in order to increase sustainability, reduce energy poverty and generate a low carbon economic cycle. The project is carried out by AESS, ENEA, UNIBO, CAAB/FICO and Agenzia Pilastro, with the Emilia Romagna Region, GSE, RSE, City of Bologna, local associations, businesses and citizens and with the financial support of EIT Climate-KIC.

The Healthy Homes Initiative programme managers at the Ministry of Health are helped by other government agencies, or middle actors in the community to identify eligible families, with the aim to carry out a comprehensive housing assessment by certified Home Energy Performance Advisors, and devise individualised action plans to help create warmer, drier, healthier homes.

The Energy Hardship Expert Panel brings together 5 leaders from a range of backgrounds who collectively hold key insights, connections and experience working directly with households living in or at risk of energy hardship. The objective of the panel is to recommend to government, policy priorities and actions to alleviate energy hardship and provide impartial evidence-based expert advice. The Panel’s work programme will in part, be drawn from the Electricity Price Review’s findings and the government’s response to its recommendations.

The tool will be tested for assessment of energy poverty, air quality and energy efficiency in social housing located in Spain (Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country), France (La Rochelle) and Portugal (Braga). A training programme to reach final users and actions plans for the future sustainability of the tool will be ellaborated.

In the POWERTY pilot, a pilot collective photovoltaic installation is carried out on the roof of public schools to share most of the energy generated with families in a situation of energy poverty in the neighborhood. All this accompanied by legal, social and technical assistance.

SocialWatt aims to enable obligated parties under Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive across Europe to develop, adopt, test and spread innovative schemes to alleviate energy poverty. The appropriate tools developed within the framework of SocialWatt aim to help utilities and energy suppliers effectively identify energy poor households, as well as develop and monitor schemes that focus on increasing the energy efficiency of these houses. Identify energy poor households: Utilities and energy suppliers have at their disposal key data to identify energy poor households (for example energy consumption data, payment frequency, payment arrangements, debt profile and the location of the property). The ‘SocialWatt Analyser’ tool combines such data with other available data (national, regional and local statistical data, data from social services etc.) to support utilities and energy suppliers identify energy poor citizens.

The project sought to dismantle the barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency measures among poorer households and communities in Romania, with the overall objective of alleviating energy poverty. The project: (1) addressed energy efficiency needs, (2) developed appropriate policy measures, (3) strengthened the capacity for the implementation of energy-efficiency measures in poorer regions, and (4) stimulated the market for locally-produced, energy-efficient building materials.