Reconnecting citizens: European solutions to energy poverty: EVROPAEVM Policy Report

Over 57 million people throughout Europe live in energy poverty, meaning that they cannot meet their fundamental energy needs such as heating, cooling, cooking and lighting, at an affordable cost (Dobbins et al., 2019). Hitherto, the EU and Member States have tackled the issue in a fragmented manner. The objectives
of this report are to explain why the EU must tackle energy poverty comprehensively, to provide analysis of existing policy measures, and to develop recommendations for a European energy poverty policy. To achieve this, we conducted data-driven analysis of existing policy measures at the national and EU level, as well as on-the-ground fieldwork with local initiatives who tackle energy poverty every day. We conclude that energy poverty is a preventable social problem, and that the EU can contribute more to alleviate the harm it causes to
individuals and societies. Our recommendations are: (1) Prohibiting power disconnections for vulnerable households; (2) Creating mechanisms to identify vulnerable households; and (3) Expanding EU funding for local initiatives.