Energy poverty arises when households struggle to access or afford the energy required for daily needs such as heating, lighting, cooking and mobility. This affects millions of Europeans, leading to poor health, social exclusion, and increased financial stress.

Why was this report released? 
This overview of key-insights and recommendations is part of the Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) project SCEPA. SCEPA supports local governments and stakeholders in developing effective, locally tailored strategies to mitigate energy poverty. To achieve this, SCEPA-partners use a mix of strategies. HAN University of Applied Sciences made this overview of local action plans to showcase these different strategies. This, in combination with key-insights and recommendations, helps professionals within the field to expand their knowledge on tackling energy poverty.

Key-insights 

• Energy poverty is a multidimensional problem shaped by poor housing, low income, high energy prices and inefficient energy use.
• A large part of the problem remains hidden, as many households reduce energy use to harmful levels without appearing in official data.
• Because energy poverty is deeply connected to general poverty, technical fixes alone are insufficient.
• Current policies focus mainly on distributive justice, while procedural and recognition justice receive far less attention.
• Communication is often mistaken for engagement, even though meaningful change requires codesign and active participation.
• Evidence on intervention effectiveness is limited; monitoring tends to track outputs, not outcomes.

How to use this research?

If you are a policymaker, social worker, or involved in community energy projects, this report offers a solid knowledge base to inform your work. It supports developing tailored, effective, and sustainable approaches to reduce energy poverty in your area.