Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment has prepared a draft legislation implementing energy allowances for sensitive consumers. In connection with the pan-European energy crisis leading to significant increases in energy prices group of people eligible to receive energy allowance has been expanded, which will be granted on the basis of an income not exceeding 1 563 PLN in a household of one person and 1 115 PLN / person in a household of more than one person.
„According to the assumptions of this draft, the amount of support for payment of the recipient's bill will increase from 30% to 50%. The rates of the subsidy will also be higher – from 324 PLN to 876 PLN per year. Changing the value of electricity consumption limits will affect on growth of the amount of the energy allowance and will be more in line with the actual situation of energy consumption by households. In order to support the energy-sensitive recipient, polish government plans to allocate amounts from about PLN 1.5 billion to about PLN 1.7 billion for the years 2022-2031, increasing each year " - from the Ministry's announcement.
We invite you to learn more about the leading European Union initiative, the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub, the aim of this initiative is to eliminate energy poverty and to accelerate a fair energy transition for European local authorities.
EPAH's mission is to be the central knowledge platform on energy poverty in Europe for local authorities and all stakeholders interested in taking action against energy poverty in Europe by providing direct support, online training and research results, and by building a network of stakeholders interested in taking action against energy poverty in Europe.
Building on the legacy of the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, EPAH takes an action-based approach, creating a space for cooperation and exchange for local and regional authorities planning a variety of measures to tackle energy poverty in pursuit of a just and fair transition.
We invite you to visit the website: https://energy-poverty.ec.europa.eu/index_en
The video, which was created within the "EnPover" project, presents Zamość as an energy-friendly city. The material presents, among others, investments improving the inhabitants' quality of life, especially in the field of energy efficiency. It also shows which social campaigns are conducted in the city: those concerning proper energy management in homes and those informing about the possibilities of obtaining financial support for private buildings. We encourage you to learn about this and other activities of Zamość, which in 2020 was awarded the Energy Friendly Local Government statuette!
We invite you to watch the video!
Another film was made as part of the "EnPover" project! This time, the climate protection activities in Sztum are presented. The municipal authorities have shown how they take care of energy-poor inhabitants, support the replacement of old heating sources with more ecological and environmentally friendly ones, or help to obtain funds for the thermal modernization of buildings or apartments. The commune can be proud of numerous investments in renewable energy sources, including one of the first wind farms in Poland. These and other examples confirming that Sztum is a town full of good energy can be found in the movie, which we encourage you to watch!
As part of the EnPover project a film was made presenting the activities of Jasło in the field of energy, whose main beneficiaries are the inhabitants, also those affected by energy poverty. The film presents, among others, the program of replacing heat sources in single-family houses. The mayor of Jasło has announced the replacement of coal-fired boilers with gas and pellet ones in 230 single-family dwellings and connecting 11 multi-family buildings to the municipal heating network. There is also a Municipal Energy Manager's Office in Jaslo, whose tasks include running information points, environmental education and increasing the knowledge of the city's youngest inhabitants with the use of demonstration RES installations. These and many other information about its tasks and benefits for the city are described in the material. We invite you to watch the movie, where other activities of the municipality are mentioned and the beauty of Jaslo is shown. Enjoy watching!
The third and final workshop and virtual site visits of the EnPover Municiplites project took place on 24th June 2021. This time the event was hosted by Energiaklub Climate Policy Institute & Applied Communications, Hungary. Despite the best efforts of the organisers, due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this event had to be held online as well. Nevertheless, a good number of municipal experts, local decision-makers and other stakeholders from Poland, Germany and Hungary and other European countries joined in. The event consisted of interactive sessions and a substantial body of scientific research presentations. The programme was made even more unique and enjoyable by highly interesting and innovative Hungarian and German virtual field visits, which furthered the active engagement of the participants.
Energy poverty is a social phenomenon that affects an increasing number of people. It should be treated as one of the social problems. It is undeniably a multi-faceted phenomenon, touching both economic, health and social issues. Therefore, it is necessary to take significant steps which could counteract this phenomenon..
By improving the energy efficiency of buildings and apartments through better insulation and more efficient heating systems, we contribute to reducing energy bills and thus the financial condition of households. Energy prices are the basic factor shaping energy bills and the financial condition of households, and consequently their social position. Therefore, it is important to undertake systemic actions aimed at the energy price level, which help socially vulnerable groups to participate in the energy market, e.g. by enabling easier access to change energy supplier, and thus possibly choosing a more competitive offer.
We invite you to read the report of the study entitled "Energy Poverty in the Lodz Voivodeship", which was carried out by experts from the Institute of Structural Research. The results of the report present the analysis of the data, questionnaire study, qualitative analysis, the content of interviews and consultations with stakeholders of the study. Its main goal was to estimate the scale and characteristics of energy poverty in the Lodz Voivodeship, together with the formulation of recommendations for institutions implementing public policies addressed to the study group.
As part of the EnPover project, the second international workshop took place on 3 February 2021. During the workshop participants from Germany, Hungary and Poland had the opportunity to share their experience in tacking energy poverty. A valuable element of this event was presented by invited speakers from other countries practices bringing closer this problem both from the practical and theoretical side. In order to take full advantage of the knowledge and information gained during the prior presentations, the workshop ended with a common work on recommendations for an energy poverty awareness campaign based on the example of two hypothetical cities.
The first international workshop within the EnPover project took place on the 20.10.2020 and 21.10.2020 in a hybrid format. On site in Nuremberg, the team of the Deutsche Umwelthilfe met municipal representatives from the cities of Nuremberg and Munich participating in the project. The Polish and Hungarian participants joined in via zoom. After several qualified inputs on the basics of energy poverty and a presentation of German best practice examples, the workshop ended with a group work phase. Together, the participants examined the advantages and disadvantages of existing municipal framework conditions and measures to alleviate energy poverty.