Pilot Liège

Liège, a city of 200,000 inhabitants in Belgium's Walloon Region, faces significant energy poverty challenges. As a member of the Covenant of Mayors, the city is implementing its Action Plan for a Just Transition. Before the energy crisis, 25% of inhabitants (approximately 49,000) lived below the economic poverty line. While 2,430 energy assistance requests were processed by the Public Centre for Social Action's Energy Unit, many more individuals in need remain unidentified.

The pilots' core: energy communities

The pilot focuses on creating inclusive energy communities that enable all households, regardless of economic status, to benefit from customized energy-saving services and participate in renewable energy production. By establishing these community structures, Liège aims to develop a sustainable model that addresses energy poverty through collective action and shared resources.

Approach
Liège’s pilot project showcases how energy communities can serve as a link between citizen and the stakeholders' ecosystem along the chain of intervention mechanisms, driving broad multi-stakeholder collaboration for a comprehensive energy transition. The approach combines three key elements:

• Proximity Services: Drawing on the BricoBus experience from France, we develop the RenoVan project providing local services that support households with small to medium energy-saving measures. This includes raising awareness and empowering residents to take action.

• Energy Retrofitting Support: We offer tailored support throughout the entire retrofitting journey, providing flexible solutions to meet the specific needs of each household.

• Energy Community: We aim at supporting energy communities that the members will benefit from locally produced energy providing controlled energy bill and therefore relieves those in energy poverty. 

Expected impact

Through this pilot, Liège aims to establish a replicable model for addressing energy poverty through community-based solutions, combining social innovation with practical energy interventions, and creating pathways for vulnerable households to participate in the renewable energy transition.

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Get in touch & share knowledge

While bringing significant expertise to SCEPA, Liège also seeks to gain valuable practices from partners to further strengthen its approach to reducing energy poverty through innovation, collaboration, and community-centered solutions. Are you interested in learning more about this pilot project or sharing your own insights? Please contact us. Your experience and knowledge could contribute to developing even more effective strategies to combat energy poverty in our communities.