Good practice:

National Strategy against Energy Poverty 2019-2024 in Spain (ENPE)

In 2019, final energy prices suffered very significant increases as a result of the high prices of raw materials in international markets and the increase in the price of CO2 emission rights as a result of and anticipation of the decisions adopted in the EU. The Spanish government then published RDL 15/2018 of urgent measures for the energy transition characterised by decarbonisation and consumer protection, establishing the obligation to publish the National Strategy against Energy Poverty 2019-2024.

This Strategy:
• carries out a diagnosis and characterisation of energy poverty in which between 3.5 - 8.1 million people are detected in a situation of energy poverty in Spain.
• officially defines energy poverty for the first time.
• designs 4 measurement indicators proposed by the European Energy Poverty Observatory (EPOV) and adopted as main indicators for its monitoring in Spain.
• sets reduction targets for 2025: a 50% target and, at least, a 25% reduction.
• proposes 19 concrete measures to achieve the objectives, including its financing channels.
• prohibits the cutting of supply in extreme weather situations

As this good practice is related to legislative changes, no financial resources were used. However, within the definition of the 19 concrete measures, financing channels are cited such as the ordinary budgets of the organisations involved.

- inadequate temperature values in the home in winter (2018: 9.1%; 2019: 7.6%)
- late payment of housing utility bills (2018: 7,2%; 2019: 6,6%).
- the disproportionate spending indicator (2018: 16,9%; 2019: 16,7%).
- the hidden household poverty indicator (2018: 11%; 2019: 10,6%).
It is detected that energy poverty is more present in vulnerable groups (unemployed, first quintile income, old rented flats and unheated homes).
The results for the case of Andalusia show a reduction until 2019.

- Need for a multiple indicator system to measure ENPE results
- The impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable households was not foreseen in the ENPE
- Increase in electricity prices in Spain and change of electricity tariff (01/06/21)
- Difficulties in accessing own consumption data from the smart meter

Thanks to the SWOT analysis of the regions of the POWERTY project consortium, it has been detected that those regions that do not have such a strategy have difficulties in tackling energy poverty as they lack a definition, concrete measures and monitoring and evolution indicators. Therefore, this good practice is of interest to other regions and is eminently replicable.