In late June and early July, the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) organised complementary events to explore how consumer protection measures can help make energy services more accessible, trusted, and inclusive to ensure a just energy transition.
On 23 June, the 5th EPAH practitioners’ event, “Consumer protection measures in the energy sector”, brought together 40 practitioners, policymakers, researchers and community actors to examine how integrated solutions such as energy communities, energy audits, resilient building design, and affordable, clean energy measures can contribute to more secure, inclusive, and adaptable energy systems.
On 01 July, the 24th EPAH lunch talk, “Consumer protection measures in the energy sector - reflections from practice and inclusive energy approaches”, expanded the discussion to an additional 48 participants representing local municipalities, climate think tanks, and NGOs to environmental protection ministries, energy agencies, and academic institutions. The Lunch Talk focused on practical insights and implementation.
The two sessions combined conceptual framing with field-based experiences, illustrating how intersectional approaches can inform both analysis and local action.
5th Practitioners’ Event on consumer protection measures in the energy sector
Co-hosted by the EPAH Antenna in Bulgaria (Cleantech Bulgaria), the 5th EPAH Practitioners’ Event explored consumer protection measures in the energy sector and how they can help households become more resilient, empowered, and less vulnerable to energy-related disruptions.
Angelina Todorova (Director of Competence, Clean & Circle) introduced the importance of placing consumer protection at the heart of the EU Single Market. She emphasised that consumers play a crucial role in identifying how the system performs and they are essential for achieving policy integration and ensuring that reforms can be implemented at scale. The presentation reiterated that effective consumer protection goes beyond short-term financial support and requires integrated approaches that combine social policy, energy efficiency, citizen engagement, and long-term resilience measures.
Mathilde Leyge (DG ENER, European Commission) presented the Citizens Energy Package, an initiative launched in March 2026 to strengthen consumer protection and address energy poverty. Ms Leyge highlighted opportunities to reinforce consumer rights, increase citizen participation in energy markets, improve access to affordable energy solutions, and support initiatives that help reduce energy poverty. The presentation also emphasised the importance of translating European policy objectives into concrete actions at national, regional, and local levels.
Hrvoje Dorotić (Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar, Croatia) explored the role of building-level interventions in protecting consumers and reducing energy poverty. He presented tools to reduce energy vulnerability by improving energy efficiency and introducing alternative heating solutions that can lower dependence on natural gas and reduce exposure to price volatility. Dorotić pointed out that clean heating solutions require building and system readiness and that on-site electricity production becomes more inclusive when combined with collective schemes, subsidies or third-party financing.
Alice Corovessi (INZEB, Greece) examined the growing link between energy poverty and climate change. She discussed barriers to access the befits of the energy transition, such as digital exclusion, lack of reliable guidance, and difficulty accessing information. Ms Corovessi highlighted the need for accessible clean energy solutions, targeted support mechanisms, and consumer empowerment measures that address both increasing energy costs and climate-related vulnerabilities.
Zdravko Georgiev (EC Vitosha, Bulgaria) explored the role of energy communities as drivers of affordable energy and social inclusion, promoting citizen empowerment.
Viktoria Noka (Oeko-Institut, Germany) examined support measures such as direct financial assistance, targeted protection schemes, and policy interventions designed to safeguard vulnerable consumers while ensuring continued access to essential energy services.
A participatory session then brought together four working groups, enabling participants to exchange experiences and reflect on key challenges and opportunities related to consumer protection in the energy sector. Each group discussed the most effective consumer protection measures to support vulnerable households in paying their energy bills and avoiding disconnection, ways to improve consumer information and communication so that energy users can make informed decisions in increasingly complex energy markets, and the role that local authorities and community organisations should play in delivering consumer protection measures.
Participants highlighted:
- The importance of protection measures such as special tariffs and heating vouchers, as well as prevention measures, which are key in the long term, particularly those related to energy efficiency through building renovation and support for users in developing efficient energy-use habits.
- The need for an interdisciplinary approach addressing energy poverty.
- The importance of clearer and more transparent communication, including through different communication channels, to ensure that vulnerable populations are properly informed.
- The need to ensure that the legal framework for energy consumer protection, usually established at the EU and national level, is effectively implemented at the local level.
24th Lunch Talk
The 24th EPAH Lunch Talk, moderated by Marina Varvesi (AISFOR | EPAH), built on the 5th Practitioners’ Event and focused on consumer protection measures in the energy sector, with particular attention to inclusive energy service approaches. The session shared the main outcomes of the Practitioners’ Event with a wider audience and explored how consumers in vulnerable circumstances can be better supported through accessible, trusted and consumer-centred energy services.
Marco Orso Suber (AISFOR | EPAH) opened the session with a short recap of the Practitioners’ Event, underlining the need to consider protection and prevention together. Marine Cornelis (Next Energy Consumer) presented Consumers International’s Global Blueprint for Inclusive Energy Services: Recommendations for the Italian Marketplace. Drawing on the first pilot of the Blueprint series, the presentation showed how consumer protection can be translated into more inclusive energy services. Ms Cornelis highlighted that consumers aged 75+ and their carers may face barriers linked to low income, disability, caregiving responsibilities, social isolation, limited digital access and difficulty navigating energy services. Drawing on consumer experiences, she showed that many people do not know what support they are entitled to, may find existing solutions too expensive or unsuitable, and may struggle to access maintenance, repair or redress mechanisms.
The Blueprint presented ten areas of action to make energy services more inclusive. These included accessible communication across different channels, proactive identification of vulnerability, personalised and continuous customer care, trusted intermediaries providing energy advice, targeted electrification and energy efficiency programmes, simplified access for carers, coordinated summer resilience support, stronger safeguards against misleading contracts or unwanted switching, and the development of an inclusive energy services framework for Italy.
During the open discussion, participants reinforced the importance of trust, accessibility and local presence. Examples from Belgium and the United Kingdom pointed to consumer protection agreements, local energy information points, neighbourhood coaches and trusted municipal communication as ways to reach consumers who may not respond to digital tools alone.
The discussion also emphasised the role of intermediaries, including informal carers, neighbours, nurses, social workers and other trusted people who often support consumers in vulnerable circumstances. Participants stressed that these intermediaries also need guidance, as they may be trusted by consumers but are not necessarily energy experts.
Overall, the Lunch Talk showed that inclusive consumer protection requires more than financial support. Clear information, trusted guidance, accessible services and stronger coordination between public authorities, energy providers, consumer organisations and local actors are also essential.
EPAH’s knowledge-sharing approach
Together, the Practitioners’ Event and the Lunch Talk illustrate EPAH’s multi-layered approach to knowledge sharing.
- Practitioners’ events offer a deep-dive, expert space for exchange, peer learning and co-creation of solutions around a specific topic,
- Lunch talks provide an accessible, regular platform for municipalities, practitioners and stakeholders to share experiences and engage with emerging research and local initiatives,
Both formats prioritise interaction, mutual learning and practical application, contributing to a growing community of practice on energy poverty in Europe.
Details
- Publication date
- 7 July 2026