Fighting against energy poverty in Piemonte (Italy)

Energy Poverty (EP) is the inability to afford the necessary energy consumption to guarantee minimal living and comfort conditions in a dwelling. This issue affects up to 4.5 million households in Italy (17%). The reasons have to be identified in the following: the higher disparities engendered by the Great Recession (2008), leaving more families in conditions of absolute deprivation; the generally lower energy performance of resi-dential buildings as well as their renovation rate, compared to other European Countries; the increased energy price, above the EU average for both electricity and natural gas. Public authorities have set-up measures to promote energy efficiency, to reduce the energy expenditure of vulnerable consumers and to prevent their disconnection from the distribution networks. Nevertheless, the former remain almost inaccessible to low-income tenants, whereas the latter are not fully exploited due to strict eligibility require-ments and bureaucracy. A pilot program to install energy saving devices in low-income households strug-gling with the payment of their energy bills is presented in this paper. Households in the care of Caritas Piemonte charity could benefit from the installation of a set of cheap energy saving devices provided for free by a do-it-yourself retailer, in the framework of its corporate social responsibility action. A dedicated educational program has been set-up by research institutions to support the charities in the engagement and the follow-up of the target households.