POWER UP

More than 50 million Europeans are affected by energy poverty, mainly due to low incomes and poor thermal efficiency of their buildings. Implementing the energy transition could lead to higher energy costs for end-users and increased up-front investments, such as developing renewable energy sources. Low-income families 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.

Regional and local public authorities have a strong role in fighting energy poverty. Cities must go beyond their planning role and sustain the creation of local energy market players with a social agenda. These market players can be municipal companies or citizen energy cooperatives. 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.

To alleviate energy poverty, local market players can provide social or cheaper tariffs, reinvest benefits in energy poverty mitigation, provide technical support for renewable energy production and raise awareness.

The 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 implementing five pilot schemes across Europe, cocreated with households in energy poverty, so they benefit from renewable energy production and energy efficiency measures without bearing the financial risks. Power Up will also develop and reinforce local energy market players with a social agenda and disseminate the experience to facilitate replication in Europe.

POWER UP schemes will be co-created with energy-poor households and local stakeholders, involving 55 838 energy-poor consumers. The five pilots will lead to, at least, 2,5 Million EUR investment in sustainable energy before the project ends, 650 tCO2-eq/year of avoided GHG emissions, 0,187GWh/year of primary energy savings and 185 public officers and key stakeholders with enhanced skills and capacities.

Follow the project updates on X (former Twitter). This page was last updated on 30 October 2023. For the most updated information about the project, please visit the Cordis website and the website of the project.