Page 45 - European Energy Innovation - summer 2018 publication
P. 45
Summer 2018 European Energy Innovation 45
ENERGY POVERTY
the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, Energy poverty is a hidden
which catalogues and shares data on
energy poverty. inequality but it impacts every
“ENGAGER will reinforce this, adding country in the world. Measures
in networking,” says Bouzarovski, who
also chairs the Observatory. to reduce this inequality
Conferences and workshops will be improve lives.
a big part of its work, as will funding
for short-term research exchanges systems that use pricing to regulate
for young scientists. With members energy demand.
from diverse fields, such as energy
studies, economics, sociology and “Energy is about how we organise
consumer advocacy, the network’s our society. We want to investigate
remit is wide. whether regulation includes all
voices,” says Bouzarovski. “The big
“We will explore the issue beyond challenge is ‘hard to reach’ people.”
simple access to fuel, to areas such
as climate or adapting policy to urban To reach a wider audience, ENGAGER
settings,” he says. will develop toolkits and manuals
for training consumers to talk with
Members will also investigate decision-makers, get help and switch
the impact on consumers of providers, if needed.
environmental, technological and
regulatory developments, like smart
Network participants will also carry
out targeted work. For example, a
group of activists and researchers
based in Barcelona focuses on
disconnections.
Bouzarovski says: “This will make
unheard voices louder.”
He encourages more organisations to
join the network: “We invite as much
input as possible. We want to be the
hub for bottom-up engagement on
energy poverty.” l
Contact information
View the Action: http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/ca/CA16232
View the Network website: http://www.engager-energy.net
European Energy Poverty Observatory: https://www.energypoverty.eu/
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
