The Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) invited through two open calls local governments and/or organisations working in strict collaboration with local governments from all the 27 EU Member States to submit their requests for technical assistance and receive support in the process of tackling energy poverty.
Applicants were able to submit their proposal online between February and March of 2022 (first call) and between March and April of 2023 (second call) through a dedicated platform. At the moment EPAH is in close collaboration with all the selected local governments assisting them to implement their workplans.
The interactive map below presents all the awarded municipalities in Europe.
Second call: Awarded municipalities and supra-municipalities
As of May 2023, 30 outstanding proposals have been awarded, representing a remarkable 51 municipalities from 12 countries across Europe. These deserving municipalities or supraminicipal authorities are now receiving direct support to tackle energy poverty at the local level.
This collaboration aims to empower local governments by providing them with the necessary technical assistance to achieve tangible and impactful outcomes. By addressing energy poverty within their communities, these municipalities are paving the way for others to follow suit and embark on similar initiatives.
Cyprus: 1) Strovolos, 2) Kato Pyrgos Tyllirias.
Denmark: 3) Ishøj.
France: 4) Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, 5) Grand Besançon Métropolis, 6) Grand Chambord and Beauce Val de Loire municipalities.
Greece: 7) Eordaia and Grevena municipalities, 8) Drama, Kavala, Nestos and Paggaio municipalities.
Hungary: 9) Bükkszentkereszt, 10) Sátoraljaújhely, 11) Mátraterenye, 12) Hatvan.
Ireland: 13) South Dublin, Slaintecare.
Italy: 14) Arezzo, 15) Leverano, 16) Milan
Portugal: 17) Centro Region, 18) Baixa da Banheira and Vale da Amoreira, 19) Barreiro, Alcochete, Montijo, Moita
Poland: 20) Niepołomice.
Romania: 21) Tulcea, 22) Alba Iulia.
Spain: 23) Baix Empordà council, 24) Gironès region, 25) La Palma island, 26) Les Garrigues region, 27) Pallars Jussà region, 28) Pamplona, 29) Valencia.
Sweden: 30) Malmö.
First call: Awarded municipalities
During the first call that was launched in 2022, EPAH awarded 23 proposals representing 34 local governments to develop local actions to tackle energy poverty.
Ayia Marina Chrysochous community is aiming to develop a plan to tackle energy poverty. Cyprus Energy Agency is accompanying the municipality with capacity-building activities, help for the diagnosis and the identification of possible future actions in the area.
The municipality of Zagreb will be accompanied by the expert organisation DOOR to finalise the Energy Poverty Mitigation Programme of the city. They will gather data through a questionnaire conducted on a representative sample of citizens in Zagreb to identify key aspects of energy poverty and indicators to support the development of the programme.
The municipality of Ampelokipi-Menemeni, in collaboration with the Process Equipement Design Laboratory (PEDL) of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, will receive direct support to develop the diagnosis of energy poverty. The expert organisation Initialising Energy Balance Towards Zero (INZEB) will provide 9 months of assistance to improve internal capacity of the whole diagnosis process and help municipal staff to develop methodological approach for recording and mapping energy poverty.
9 Greek islands will receive expert support from the organisation INZEB (Initialising Energy Balance Towards Zero (INZEB) to develop a set of integrated services through a centralised One-Stop-Shop (OSS). The activities include a local diagnosis of energy poverty and the specificities of the small islands, the identification of the criteria for the OSS model and a training programme to municipal staff.
The technical assistance provided for the four Greek islands aims to develop a set of integrated services through a One-Stop-Shop. The expert organisation Initialising Energy Balance Towards Zero (INZEB) will help the municipalities in identifying the local indicators for diagnosing and monitoring energy poverty and in building the One-Stop-Shop structure and the methodology to develop the centralised services and engage citizens.
Milan municipality is getting support on the different phases of the tackling process of energy poverty action. The technical assistance will help to deepen the diagnosis within the municipality, define the challenges and areas of actions and services, as well as set up of One-Stop-Shop for energy-poor citizens of the city.
The municipality of Modena, in collaboration with the association Porta Aperta, aims to develop its programme Urban Network Investing Resources for an Energy Community (UNIRE). They will receive expert support from the agency for energy and sustainable development (AESS) to diagnose energy poverty, engage stakeholders and identify characteristics and potential for the development of the energy community.
Parma municipality is aiming to implement its CLEVER (Consume Less live bEtteR) project: a service for citizens affected by energy poverty. The technical assistance will help the city in the different steps of the process to create this One-Stop-Shop.
The Hungarian municipality is developing its mentor programme for tackling energy poverty. The Energiaklub Climate Policy Institute will provide support to identify indicators to put in planning programmes. Targeted measures and actions will be developed after having conducted a broader diagnosis of energy poverty in the city. Municipal staff will also receive capacity building to conduct comprehensive assessments.
The Polish municipality aims to pursue and deepen its work against energy poverty. The Polish Network of Energie Cités (PNEC) is helping for carrying out a comprehensive diagnosis of energy poverty in the city. Among the activities, the organisation of an awareness campaign will target and engage the vulnerable consumers into local measures for energy saving.
Bydgoszcz will benefit from the support of the Polish Network Energie-Cités (PNEC) to deepen the diagnosis of energy poverty, identify the local indicators and the characteristics of energy poverty at the local in order to set actions and include energy poverty in local plans.
Mértola Civil Parish is receiving technical support from the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon (ICS-UL) to diagnose energy poverty and planning mitigation actions. They will focus on a qualitative assessment thanks to interviews conducted with residents. The Residents Association for Mértola Historical Centre is collaborating on the project, as they could support the implementation of the actions.
Lumiar Civil Parish, in collaboration with the Local Partnership of Telheiras, will develop a pilot project for a renewable energy community. The cooperative Coopérnico will assist in the evaluation of energy poverty and the design of the energy community, from technical, legal aspects and financing schemes to the development of the community with a communication and engagement plan and raising-awareness events to explain and involve citizens in the project.
The aim of the 2nd District of the Romanian capital is to update its local development strategy. The center for the study of democracy will accompanied the municipal staff to carry out a general evaluation of energy poverty and identify the best local indicators. The results will help to broaden the intervention to individual homes, as the city already started to intervene in multi-family buildings. The new identified measures and actions will be part of the climate action plan of the city.
Together with the city of Metz, the Eurometropolis will receive expert support from GP conseil, which will be accompanied by Gefosat association, to strengthen the diagnosis of energy poverty following the results of a previous pilot project, analyse financing solutions and build the operational planning to increase energy renovation and engagement activities.
The technical assistance will enable the municipality of Amposta to deepen the diagnosis of energy poverty in the region of Montsia. The association of Engineering Without Borders will accompany the municipality, which is collaborating with the Montsia County Council, the Energy for Equality (EPI) cooperative and the FITES Terres de l'Ebre Cooperative, to broaden the diagnosis, provide capacity building to the stakeholders involved in the project and prepare the implementation of measures.
Cadiz municipality is supported thorugh the technical assistance to increase the diagnosis on energy poverty and assess the impact of measures already implemented in order to plan new measures and projects.
The region of Cerdanya will receive expert support from the cooperative El Risell to improve the diagnosis of energy poverty in the region. The diagnostic will enable the identification of public facilities suitable for photovoltaic installations in order to develop energy communities. Technical staff and political representatives will also be trained thanks to the results of the diagnosis.
The technical assistance will support Getafe municipality in developing energy communities in two neighbourhoods. Ecooo, a non-profit cooperative specialising in renewable energy, will assist the municipality and the Land and Housing Public Company of Getafe (EMSV) through the different steps of the process, from modelling and procedures to developing campaigns to involve vulnerable consumers in the project.
The municipality aims to address the challenge of energy poverty in the neighbourhood of Barrios Altos in a comprehensive manner. The Technical University of Madrid will provide expert support to realise a social diagnosis in the neighbourhood; work on the local indicators to monitor the evolution of energy poverty that will be included into the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan; and ensure knowledge transfer to improve local capacities to tackle energy poverty.
The Spanish municipality Murcia will update its plan against energy and water poverty thanks to the technical support provided by the expert cooperative Aeioluz. They will together organise training activities and a participatory approach to structure the update of the municipal plan.
Technical assistance will be provided to Sitges municipality to develop a roadmap to tackle energy poverty. The foreseen diagnosis will help to identify energy poverty characteristics in the city and map vulnerable households to participate in energy communities. The results will also help to train municipal staff on how to work on the issue. The municipality will be accompanied by the foundation Ecodes for the next 9 months to carry out the programme.
Learn more about the call
The tailor-made assistance is the result of the strong collaboration between the local government, the EPAH team and an expert organisation selected based on the actions foreseen per proposal.
The selected municipalities applied to the EPAH open public call for technical assistance that run between the 1st of February and the 15th of March 2022. Local governments and/or organisations working in strict collaboration with local governments from all the 27 EU Member States were invited to submit a proposal to receive support in the process of tackling energy poverty. A webinar was held in English on 3 February 2022. You can access the recording and presentation.