Periodic Reporting for period 1 - POWER UP (SOCIAL ENERGY MARKET PLAYERS TO TACKLE ENERGY POVERTY)
Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-02-28
Recent estimations conclude that more than 50 million Europeans are affected by energy poverty, mainly due to low incomes and poor thermal efficiency of their buildings. Within this context, implementing the energy transition could lead to higher energy costs for end-users (e.g. via increased taxes or grid fees) and increased up-front investments, for example, to develop renewable energy sources. Low-income families, whose expenditure increased 33% between 2000 and 2014, are impacted the most, preventing them from benefiting from the energy transition's advantages. Consequently, special actions must be taken to ensure the energy transition is fair. The major socio-economic discrepancies between Northern/Western and Southern/Eastern European countries must also be addressed.
Regional and local public authorities have a strong role in fighting energy poverty. In the context of the current energy crisis, it is imperative that cities go beyond their planning role and sustain the creation of local energy market players with a social agenda. These local environmental and social market players can be municipal companies (like Wien Energie in Vienna, or Electrica de Cadiz in Cadiz) or citizen energy cooperatives (like Ecopower in Belgium, Repowering London, or Enercoop in France). Of the two, the local cooperatives undoubtedly have a significant role to play now that there is a clearer definition of citizen and renewable energy communities in EU and national legislations, allowing them to invest, produce, sell, distribute and store energy.
In short, to combat energy poverty, local market players can:
• Provide social, discounted or cheaper tariffs;
• Reinvest benefits in energy poverty mitigation actions (energy advice, energy audits, energy efficiency measures, energy funds and new financial schemes);
• Provide energy services, like energy appliance maintenance or technical support for RE production;
• Increase awareness about energy poverty;
• Identify households affected by energy poverty, such as households that have been disconnected.
The overall objective of POWER UP is to support cities to go beyond their planning role and sustain the creation of local energy market players with a social agenda. This will be achieved through the following 3 specific objectives:
• Implement pilot schemes for households in energy poverty, so that they benefit from renewable energy production and energy efficiency measures, without having to bear the financial risks;
• Develop and reinforce local energy market players with a social agenda, based on a long-term perspective to acquire local knowledge and strengthen the local economy;
• Disseminate the experience of the consortium members to facilitate the replication in European countries.
Five pilot schemes will be developed in five locations across Europe: Eeklo (Belgium), Heerlen (the Netherlands), in the Campania area (Italy), in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (Czech Republic) and Valencia (Spain). Furthermore, in North Macedonia, we will explore the possibility of replicating these schemes and build capacity among the local stakeholders.
Power Up schemes will be co-created with energy-poor households and local stakeholders (cities, social organisations, energy utilities, citizen energy communities etc.), leading to at least 2,5 Million EUR investment in sustainable energy before the project ends and involving 55 838 energy-poor consumers. Supported by a European city network, a leading UK university, a Belgium cooperative and a finance expert, the consortium will build the capacity of more than 185 people in local organisations.
Regional and local public authorities have a strong role in fighting energy poverty. In the context of the current energy crisis, it is imperative that cities go beyond their planning role and sustain the creation of local energy market players with a social agenda. These local environmental and social market players can be municipal companies (like Wien Energie in Vienna, or Electrica de Cadiz in Cadiz) or citizen energy cooperatives (like Ecopower in Belgium, Repowering London, or Enercoop in France). Of the two, the local cooperatives undoubtedly have a significant role to play now that there is a clearer definition of citizen and renewable energy communities in EU and national legislations, allowing them to invest, produce, sell, distribute and store energy.
In short, to combat energy poverty, local market players can:
• Provide social, discounted or cheaper tariffs;
• Reinvest benefits in energy poverty mitigation actions (energy advice, energy audits, energy efficiency measures, energy funds and new financial schemes);
• Provide energy services, like energy appliance maintenance or technical support for RE production;
• Increase awareness about energy poverty;
• Identify households affected by energy poverty, such as households that have been disconnected.
The overall objective of POWER UP is to support cities to go beyond their planning role and sustain the creation of local energy market players with a social agenda. This will be achieved through the following 3 specific objectives:
• Implement pilot schemes for households in energy poverty, so that they benefit from renewable energy production and energy efficiency measures, without having to bear the financial risks;
• Develop and reinforce local energy market players with a social agenda, based on a long-term perspective to acquire local knowledge and strengthen the local economy;
• Disseminate the experience of the consortium members to facilitate the replication in European countries.
Five pilot schemes will be developed in five locations across Europe: Eeklo (Belgium), Heerlen (the Netherlands), in the Campania area (Italy), in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (Czech Republic) and Valencia (Spain). Furthermore, in North Macedonia, we will explore the possibility of replicating these schemes and build capacity among the local stakeholders.
Power Up schemes will be co-created with energy-poor households and local stakeholders (cities, social organisations, energy utilities, citizen energy communities etc.), leading to at least 2,5 Million EUR investment in sustainable energy before the project ends and involving 55 838 energy-poor consumers. Supported by a European city network, a leading UK university, a Belgium cooperative and a finance expert, the consortium will build the capacity of more than 185 people in local organisations.
During the first reporting period (18 first months) the project has advanced towards our objectives. All expected deliverables for this reporting period have been finished and all milestones planned have been reached. Despite the overall advancement and the beginning of the implementation of the schemes, the pilot cities have different maturity levels of their models and legal and political barriers led to a few delays in the actions.
The coordination and management structure has been defined and is running. The state of the art has been concluded. The consortium identified five business models that could help households in energy poverty engage in energy efficiency measures and renewables production without bearing the financial investment risk. In the sequence, each pilot selected the most adapted solution to design their local schemes. In this period, the exploration of the schemes for North Macedonia led to the conclusion of the impossibility of creating a pilot at Skopje, where only capacity-building activities will take place.
The first tasks to co-create the pilot business models with the vulnerable households have started. The pilots are co-creating their schemes with the target households and defining the legal, technical and governance details to achieve successful implementation. All pilots are engaged in integrating a social agenda into their schemes and are on the way to defining the technical aspects of their local schemes. Currently, 28 households and 58 people in energy poverty have been engaged in the co-creation process.
The communication and dissemination plan has been created, as the visual identity and the project website. Local and European communication and dissemination activities are already taking place, with local articles and news about the project, presentations at the European and local level, and the distribution of leaflets and energy guides. We estimate that the current local communications campaigns have reached 83 488 energy-poor consumers.
The work with the local working groups, that each pilot created with different local stakeholders, also contributes to building local partners' capacities beyond the consortium partners. It led to 62 key stakeholders with enhanced skills and capacities, including 17 public officers from local authorities and 16 from consortium members.
The coordination and management structure has been defined and is running. The state of the art has been concluded. The consortium identified five business models that could help households in energy poverty engage in energy efficiency measures and renewables production without bearing the financial investment risk. In the sequence, each pilot selected the most adapted solution to design their local schemes. In this period, the exploration of the schemes for North Macedonia led to the conclusion of the impossibility of creating a pilot at Skopje, where only capacity-building activities will take place.
The first tasks to co-create the pilot business models with the vulnerable households have started. The pilots are co-creating their schemes with the target households and defining the legal, technical and governance details to achieve successful implementation. All pilots are engaged in integrating a social agenda into their schemes and are on the way to defining the technical aspects of their local schemes. Currently, 28 households and 58 people in energy poverty have been engaged in the co-creation process.
The communication and dissemination plan has been created, as the visual identity and the project website. Local and European communication and dissemination activities are already taking place, with local articles and news about the project, presentations at the European and local level, and the distribution of leaflets and energy guides. We estimate that the current local communications campaigns have reached 83 488 energy-poor consumers.
The work with the local working groups, that each pilot created with different local stakeholders, also contributes to building local partners' capacities beyond the consortium partners. It led to 62 key stakeholders with enhanced skills and capacities, including 17 public officers from local authorities and 16 from consortium members.
While the first 18 months were still the early phase of the project, project activities and outcomes have already attracted a high level of interest from different stakeholders, paving the way for impactful exploitation. This is particularly the case in Flanders, where the model tested by Ecopower and the city of Eeklo has raised interest from other Flemish cities, and other organisations, like a second-hand shop in Eeklo, interested in replicating this scheme.
Power Up pilots are also engaged in advocacy work beyond the project scope.
In Spain, LNV and VCE are making recommendations to national authorities on removing barriers to energy communities’ development and the inclusion of energy-poor households. In Eeklo, the municipality and Ecopower have established close collaboration and lobbying with the Flemish regional authorities to provide an exception in the law allowing people with pre-paid meters to change suppliers in the future. Such a change in the legal conditions will make it possible for other social energy players in Flanders to adopt the Eeklo scheme of lending municipal energy cooperative shares to vulnerable people.
Whenever possible, the consortium is building synergies with other EU-funded projects to such dissemination activities to increase outreach. This is especially the case for WELLBASED, SCALE203050, CEES and SUN4All projects.
Power Up pilots are also engaged in advocacy work beyond the project scope.
In Spain, LNV and VCE are making recommendations to national authorities on removing barriers to energy communities’ development and the inclusion of energy-poor households. In Eeklo, the municipality and Ecopower have established close collaboration and lobbying with the Flemish regional authorities to provide an exception in the law allowing people with pre-paid meters to change suppliers in the future. Such a change in the legal conditions will make it possible for other social energy players in Flanders to adopt the Eeklo scheme of lending municipal energy cooperative shares to vulnerable people.
Whenever possible, the consortium is building synergies with other EU-funded projects to such dissemination activities to increase outreach. This is especially the case for WELLBASED, SCALE203050, CEES and SUN4All projects.