Member of a local/national authority

The POWERTY project worked to increase access to renewable energy for vulnerable groups to tackle energy poverty. This was done 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 developed a complete learning process to facilitate an effective knowledge flow between these regions.

The Green Energy Community (GECO) was a demonstration project in the Pilastro – Roveri district of Bologna. It comprised the creation of an energy community, an entity introduced by the EU Clean Energy Package (CEP). The GECO project intended 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.

Warm Up New Zealand was a government-subsidized residential energy efficiency and clean energy program, addressing respiratory illnesses and winter mortality rates. The Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA) collaborated with home insulation companies, regional councils, energy trusts, and other partners to provide low-income households with grants covering 60% of the cost of insulation.

Warm Up New Zealand is a government-subsidized residential energy efficiency and clean energy program, addressing respiratory illnesses and winter mortality rates. The Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA) collaborated with home insulation companies, regional councils, energy trusts, and other partners to provide low-income households with grants covering 60% of the cost of insulation.

Warmer Kiwi Homes was a four-year Government programme offering grants covering two-thirds of the cost of ceiling and underfloor insulation.

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.

EnergyMate is all about helping ahānau get the most out of their electricity. For some, that’s a reduced power bill, for others, it’s a warmer, drier, healthier home. EnergyMate is delivered through in-home coaching and community hui by EnergyMate coaches. All EnergyMate coaches are community-based financial mentors who are trained through an energy hardship training module to equip them to provide education and support. Following the success of the initial pilot in 2019, EnergyMate is operating in 13 locations across Aotearoa, and to date has supported almost 1,000 households with energy advice and targeted support.

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 Minister of Energy and Resources commissioned an independent panel of experts to lead the review. Panel members were appointed by the Minister in April 2018. The review was completed in two phases. The first phase focused on determining facts and building evidence of problems in the sector. The second phase focused on developing possible improvements to those problems.

In the POWERTY pilot, a collective photovoltaic installation was 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.