Periodic Reporting for period 2 - POWERPOOR (Empowering Energy Poor Citizens through Joint Energy Initiatives)
Reporting period: 2022-03-01 to 2023-08-31
It is estimated that over 41 million people in the European Union experience energy poverty to various degrees, with the most vulnerable demographic groups being the most affected. POWERPOOR aims at alleviating energy poverty through joint energy initiatives leveraging innovative financing schemes. The just energy transition notion indicates that no one is to be left behind in the uptake of renewable energy sources. POWERPOOR aims at contributing to the just energy transition and promotes the uptake of renewable energy sources by developing support programmes for energy poor citizens. It provides the tools to municipalities, citizens, and any interested stakeholders to identify whether households are energy poor or are experiencing energy poverty episodes, understand their energy usage and implement behavioural changes to lower their energy expenses or implement small scale energy efficiency interventions and join an existing or set up and operate an energy community or cooperative providing also instructions on how to leverage innovative financing schemes (e.g. crowdfunding) to enhance their energy efficiency or set up an energy community. The project aims at enabling knowledge and experience sharing, bringing forward best practices, while providing the necessary tools and know-how to stakeholders varying from interested individuals to policy makers and municipalities that want to take action in their regions to alleviate energy poverty through the POWERPOOR approach. The approach is based on bringing citizens at the heart of the solution, by training and certifying Energy Supporters and Mentors that work on the ground to mitigate energy poverty. Energy Supporters are citizens willing to support energy poor households in their region. Energy Mentors usually work with a municipality and they support energy poor households but also encourage them to undertake energy efficiency interventions and to uptake renewable resources. Within the POWERPOOR project an energy poverty mitigation toolkit has been developed to enable users to identify energy poor households, understand their main spending energy categories and propose behavioural changes and small scale low cost energy efficiency interventions and provide information for energy communities and cooperatives and innovative financing schemes.
The POWERPOOR project was implemented in 8 pilot countries i.e. Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary,Latvia, Portugal, and Spain and in an EU level. Overall, 1,178 energy supporters and mentors have been trained and certified while about 2,300 people followed the POWERPOOR trainings but did not go through with the certification process. 66 training seminars, webinars and face to face trainings have been organised in the 8 pilot countries (i.e. Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Portugal, Spain) and in an EU level. 23 Energy Poverty Alleviation Offices have been established in various municipalities across the pilot countries and are staffed by an energy mentor that is implementing the POWERPOOR approach on the ground. The Energy Supporters and Mentors are estimated to have supported about 22.7 thousand energy poor households, and almost 7.5 thousand of them through direct home visits and consultations. More than 1,800 people attended the 33 into days that were organised in the pilot countries. 3.2 thousand people used the energy poverty guidebook for energy planning while 22 thousand people visited the website. More than 3 meetings with the Stakeholder Liaison Groups per pilot country have been organised throughout the three years. 52 municipalities across Europe included the POWERPOOR approach as a way to mitigate energy poverty in their SECAPs or other action plans. 8 National Roadmaps to alleviate energy poverty have been developed one per pilot country and one document with EU policy recommendations has been developed. The POWERPOOR approach yielded 25 best practices across Europe with the implementation of the energy poverty support schemes. 3 EU inspiring events were organised at an EU level with 193 attendees in total and the project has been presented in more than 83 events across EU. In total 50 publications in the press, and 55 press releases along with 5 Newsletters have been developed reaching out to more than 20 thousand recipients and readers. 2 scientific publications with the POWERPOOR results one in a scientific journal and one in a book have been developed along with a collaborative policy briefing that combined policy findings from POWERPOOR and other sister projects. 13 infographics and 6 videos have been developed.The exploitation of the POWEPROOR results is based on the development of the POWERPOOR Alliance. The POWERPOOR Alliance includes most of the POWERPOOR partners along with key stakeholders in the pilot countries. 38 memorandums of understanding have been signed by organisations across EU and in the pilot countries stating their willingness to participate in the Alliance and to keep the POWERPOOR approach alive after the project's completion. The Alliance will be a node of information and knowledge exchange among the energy supporters and mentors, and a place to keep the POWERPOOR approach running after the completion of the project. In the kick off meeting of the POWERPOOR Alliance 86 people participated.
The POWERPOOR project strives to have an impact in mitigating energy poverty in a local level with accruing policy implications that can be implemented in a regional and national level. 25 best practices among the 8 pilot countries have been brought forward by implementing the energy poverty support programmes. Some of them is one individual energy Mentor taking it upon themselves to help all the energy poor households in their municipality and becoming a local hero, by impelmenting the energy poverty support programmes. Another one is energy communities that are already established and reached out to us so that we can support them to identify the energy poor within their region so they can participate in the energy community with reduced fees. Liaising with organisations that are already working on the field to include energy poverty mitigation actions in their activities using the POWERPOOR approach. Also organisations that wanted to leverage innovative financing schemes such as crowdfunding reached out to get our support. POWERPOOR established a community of energy supporters and mentors that are motivated individuals striving to make a change in their region. This community is important to be maintained through the exploitation plan so that the motivated individuals can exchange knowledge and support each other. The municipalities that used the POWERPOOR approach and established an energy poverty alleviation office can be a beacon of information on how to operate a one stop shop with energy related services. They can share experience on how such offices operate, and barriers that they faced. The policy roadmaps accruing from the POWERPOOR approach is another tool that can be used to mitigate energy poverty in a local level. These roadmaps can also be updated when needed to reflect the current developments in policy making for each country.