Who benefits? – Evaluating impact on vulnerable tenants
Testing energy efficiency support schemes just for fun wouldn’t make sense. What effect do they have? What methods and data work best to understand their impact? Last October, Manon Burbidge from the University of Manchester (UK) shared some science-backed insights around these questions with the POWER UP partners.
Energy for the invisible citizen: take-ways from a workshop on energy poverty and energy justice
The POWER UP and Cooltorise teams had the pleasure to see many energy poverty advocates in Modena during the 2.5-hour workshop “Energy for the invisible citizen: in search for lasting renewable & fair solutions.” We discussed energy poverty and ways to fight it by working with those most affected.
Latest EU guidance on energy poverty recognising importance of POWER UP
The POWER UP approach to co-design those services with people in energy poverty must have impressed the EU Commission. In the latest guidance on energy poverty they mention our work in general, and our pilot city Eeklo in particular,
Eeklo’s social cooperative shares scheme recognised by European Social Innovation award
Eeklo is one of the 15 finalists of the European Social Innovation Competition who have been selected for their outstanding energy poverty program. This scheme, which has been developed and launched in the framework of the POWER UP project, will enable low-income households to become members of an energy cooperative.
Coping with energy poverty during summer
Energy poverty has traditionally been defined by wintertime heating, but it is just as important during the summer months, and the devastating summer heat in 2023 proves this. About 19 % of households in the EU reported being too hot during the summer, and this share is constantly increasing in last decades. In this context, the EU-funded COOLTORISE project aims to establish a framework on summer energy poverty to define common solutions.
Our contribution to Redistributing Power: How can Renewable Energy Communities relieve energy poverty
This report concludes that energy communities are one of several tools in the fight against energy poverty. They can do a lot, but they should not be seen as a silver bullet – especially without the right eneabling frameworks and incentives or be tied to unreasonable expectations.
Eeklo will make energy bills affordable again
As energy prices started to peak in 2022, the Belgian federal government handed out one-off heating premiums to reduce people’s sky-high energy bills. “However, such premiums are like a plaster on a wooden leg,” says Jan De Pauw of energy cooperative Ecopower. “People are only helped temporarily with such a check. Invest that premium in a local energy cooperative and you get a completely different story.”
Valencia’s pathway to involving energy poor people in the first energy community
Arturo Zea from the POWER UP pilot Valencia Climate and Energy Foundation, describes why the topic of community energy is a priority for Valencia. He also takes us back to how everything started with the first energy community in Valencia, in Castellar L’Oliveral. It is the very first energy community where the city makes it possible for energy poor people to be directly involved.
How a national energy advice service could make a difference for people in need
This winter, the number of British citizens struggling to pay their bill has reached undreamed levels. An estimated 9 million people in the country are affected and do not know how to heat or light their home, how to cool their food, how to sleep carefree. Easy hacks on how to reduce energy consumption are nice, but not enough to improve their lives. That is why, in a recent article, POWER UP partner Ami Crowther from University of Manchester, together with energy poverty experts Stefan Bouzarovski and Neil Simcock call for a national energy advice service.
As cost of living crisis mounts, latest report provides local data on energy poverty situation in 6 EU countries
Never before has energy poverty been such a serious threat to so many European citizens as it is now. Since the current energy crisis started, national Parliaments and local governments all over the EU discuss what immediate measures can be taken to help people come through this winter without freezing and starving. The latest POWER UP report may guide decision-making.
