EPAH launches third round of technical assistance, with stronger focus on severe energy poverty

The map displays the locations and names of the municipalities selected as beneficiaries for the 2026 round of technical assistance.

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The European Commission’s initiative, Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH), has awarded 59 applications from local governments to receive tailored technical assistance to tackle energy poverty in their communities, covering 22 Member States.

Starting in autumn 2026, these beneficiaries will work for up to eight months with dedicated national experts to turn their proposals into practical, locally grounded interventions. 

Tailored support for local action  

As part of its mission, EPAH delivers dedicated technical assistance to local governments and organisations, helping them develop practical responses to energy poverty that reflect their socio-economic and geographic realities.  

Technical support is organised around three categories: diagnosis, planning, and implementation. Three key actors: beneficiaries, national experts, and the EPAH team, will work together to achieve project implementation, with national experts providing tailored support throughout the process.

• Beneficiaries contribute critical knowledge of the local context, coordinating with key stakeholders, and facilitating access to relevant datasets.
• National experts lead the delivery of technical assistance, providing targeted expertise, practical tools, and hands-on guidance.
• The EPAH team coordinates the overall process, following beneficiary progress, coordinating dissemination strategies, and facilitating knowledge exchange and learning across the various projects.

This third round of Technical Assistance builds on the experience of EPAH’s first two calls launched in 2022 and 2023, which resulted in partnerships with 85 local European governments. Find out more about EPAH’s previous Technical Assistance projects.

A stronger focus on vulnerability, impact and replication

The new wave of EPAH Technical Assistance, beginning with the 2026 call, introduced a stronger focus on severe energy poverty, extreme vulnerability, and innovation.

Applicants were asked to identify territories facing high vulnerability to severe energy poverty and provide evidence of its scale and characteristics, drawing on regional NUTS-2 and NUTS-3 data and other evidence. This could include household difficulties keeping homes adequately warm or cool, utility-bill arrears, housing conditions, social vulnerability, and information gathered by local services or community organisations. This approach aims to build a clearer picture of how different vulnerabilities interact at the local level and help direct support towards territories where energy poverty is particularly severe.  

To place greater emphasis on innovation and replication, the call encouraged applicants to consider how these aspects could be applied to their proposals. By incentivising approaches that can be adapted, transferred, or scaled beyond individual municipalities and regions, the Technical Assistance accelerates local action and wider learning on energy poverty.

Some examples of 2026 projects

The 2026 Technical Assistance projects address a wide range of challenges. While some beneficiaries will work to identify localised solutions specific to summer energy poverty, others will develop strategies to better collaborate with private companies to help empower vulnerable consumers or test structural responses. Many projects will focus on the recurring need for accurate data.  

In Belgium, a consortium of local authorities and private-sector partners will combine forces to assess and further develop plug-in solar systems to support vulnerable consumers and reduce energy bills.  

In Italy, the municipality of Siracusa and the University of Catania will develop the first comprehensive spatial diagnosis of energy poverty for the region. This project will also explore the heritage-climate-energy nexus, focusing on pinpointing summer energy poverty hotspots.  

In Czechia, the municipalities of Obec Soběsuky and Obec Věžky will pilot the identification of concrete energy efficiency measures for 10 households, using the results to develop a scalable, replicable approach.  

In Sweden, the municipalities of Tomelilla, Simrishamn and Ystad will work with the Stockholm Environment Institute to better understand how energy poverty and severe energy poverty manifest locally. Their findings will help inform policy and contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon in the Nordic context.

Looking ahead: what’s next?

With the application and evaluation stages complete, EPAH’s Technical Assistance now enters the operational phase, where selected beneficiaries will begin receiving tailored expert support. Each beneficiary will start bringing their proposals to life, shaping their efforts around the specific energy poverty challenge identified in their application. Throughout the process, beneficiaries will have the opportunity to share experiences and learn from one another.

The 2026 Technical Assistance will contribute to a growing body of practical approaches specifically designed to tackle energy poverty at the local level. As projects progress, experiences and solutions will be shared across the EPAH community, strengthening knowledge exchange and peer learning. Any lessons gathered will be used to help inform the next call for assistance, set to launch in the first half of 2027.  

Check back on our website to follow the journey and discover stories about how EPAH’s Technical Assistance is helping turn ideas into local action.