POWER UP - Social energy market players to tackle energy poverty

The POWER UP project was dedicated to designing energy services that would involve vulnerable people from A to Z. The aim was to provide access to renewable energy and energy-efficient actions for low-income and marginalised households. Traditional approaches rely on individual investment by informed consumers, complex procedures, and one-size-fits-all incentives, leaving behind those in rented homes, with unstable income, limited knowledge or digital access. Inclusive involvement means reversing that logic: designing with people, not just for them.

In POWER UP, vulnerable households were empowered as active contributors in designing and implementing local energy solutions, from collective self-consumption to low-cost membership in an energy cooperative or energy communities. Partnerships between municipalities and local players and dedicated workshops focused on participatory design where ideas were tested and adapted with the final beneficiaries before implementation. Ultimately the learnings around viable business models were shared widely with practitioners and policymakers to foster social innovation in the energy system. 

Some concrete KPIs included: 

• 619 households and almost 1500 people in energy poverty involved in the pilot schemes.
• The local communication campaigns reached over 90.000 people in energy poverty.
• 666 - 996 tCO2-eq/year greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced until End of project.
• 6 support schemes established for energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy investments being sustainable beyond the period of EU-support.
• 332 Public officers and key stakeholders with enhanced skills and capacities.
• 6 very different and complementary social energy player models implemented in 4 cities.
   

The partners of the project were:

1. Energy Citiese
2. University of Manchester
3. SINLOC
4. Ecopower
5. Eeklo municipality
6. Heerlen municipality
7. Valencia Innovation Capital
8. Valencia Climate and Energy Observatory
9. Macedonian Anti-Poverty Platform
10. SEMMO
11. Roznov pod Radhostem municipality
12. UCSA - San Giuseppe Vesuviano, Palma Campania municipalities
13. AESS

Follow the project updates on X (former Twitter). This page was last updated on 11 September 2025. For the most updated information about the project, please visit the Cordis website and the website of the project.