If you prefer to always view the website in English, please click here.

More than 100 NGOS to receive energy training in order to better advise families in vulnerable situations

Training course held in Mérida
Training course held in Mérida
  • Endesa, the Environmental Science Association (in Spanish, Asociación de Ciencias Ambientales, or ACA) and the European Anti-Poverty Network, Spain (EAPN-ES) have joined forces to offer training courses on subjects such as energy efficiency and savings measures, optimising the electricity bill, the new social rebate and protection against power cuts due to non-payment, thus helping them carry out their advising and support work with vulnerable families.
  • In this first phase, the programme will be taught in Mérida (where it starts today), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Palma de Majorca, and Seville during the month of November.
  • It is anticipated that the hundred NGOs that will be taking these training sessions provide support to nearly 37,000 families, some 20% of which it is estimated are in situations of energy vulnerability.

Bolstering the knowledge of NGOs so that they can better help the families that need it most. This is the main objective of the collaboration agreement signed by Endesa, the Environmental Science Association (in Spanish, Asociación de Ciencias Ambientales, or ACA) and the European Anti-Poverty Network, Spain (EAPN-ES). Within this context, 5 energy-related training courses will be offered under the title of “Energy Poverty: Keys to Energy Efficiency and Savings in Vulnerable Households” and, in this first phase, they will be held in Mérida, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Palma de Majorca, and Seville during the month of November. Around one hundred social work NGOs are expected to participate, thus enhancing the work they do in providing advice and support to vulnerable families. It is estimated that, as a whole, the social organisations that are going to participate in the programme offer assistance to some 37,000 families each year, 1 out of every 5 of which it is presumed experiences energy vulnerability.

There are four primary aims in the content of the events:

To engage the organisations and associations that work with vulnerable groups in the observation work and the fight against poverty in general and energy poverty in particular.

To educate tertiary sector organisations about the make-up of the electricity bill and the options available for optimising it, as well as other aspects such as energy-saving habits and affordable energy efficiency measures, so that they can inform households, thereby reducing their energy vulnerability.

To explain the new social rebate for electricity, preparing social organisations as regards its scope of application, requirements, deadlines and coverage, so that they can recommend and provide guidance in implementing this measure.

To inform and educate NGOs on the procedures for power cuts due to non-payment and the agreements reached between regional, municipal and/or local authorities and electricity and gas retailers.

 

This initiative is launched within the framework of one of the goals set forth in Endesa’s Strategic Sustainability Plan, which seeks to foster access to energy for individuals in vulnerable situations. Numerous projects aligned with this goal are being carried out.

There is a series of precedents for the collaboration between the entities that are the driving forces behind this agreement. Accordingly, Endesa and ACA worked together in recent months to offer several training sessions attended by more than 150 people involved in the social services of public institutions in Madrid and Seville. These individuals were given training on energy issues to enable them to enhance the information they provide to the people they assist. 

Likewise, Endesa and EAPN Madrid organised a training workshop for NGOs in the Region of Madrid on energy efficiency recommendations, explaining the electricity bill and responsible consumer habits.

Furthermore, EAPN-ES and ACA have been working together for the past two years in the organisation of three training sessions on energy poverty, which were aimed at social organisations, held in Madrid and Rioja and promoted by the respective regional EAPN-ES networks.

 

Energy vulnerability

There is no longer any doubt that energy poverty exists and that it must be handled as a social issue in and of itself, although it remains strongly linked to poverty in general. Aware of this issue, Endesa, ACA and EAPN-ES have, for some time now, been working to find solutions and to develop new preventive and corrective measures, endeavouring to come up with a support framework for vulnerable consumers in this regard that is as effective as possible. The preventive measures include a commitment to training and information activities for these households about energy efficiency topics and/or optimising the utilities bill based on the energy usage profile of the household. To this end, an alliance has been created through this “Energy Poverty: “Keys to Energy Efficiency and Savings in Vulnerable Households” project, which multiplies the effect of what was done up to now in each area.

Endesa is also promoting other palliative measures aimed at counteracting the situation of vulnerability of these households. These measures include signing agreements with local and regional public authorities to prevent the power from being cut off for customers in vulnerable situations. At present, there are 228 agreements in place with city councils, autonomous regions and public agencies to prevent the power from being cut off and to postpone payment of the debt.

Moreover, as part of the above-mentioned goal of fostering access to energy for groups in vulnerable situations, in conjunction with Endesa Foundation, Endesa has launched theEnergy Volunteering programme, aimed at households with energy poverty situations, in which the company’s employees participate. Recommendations are provided under this programme to optimise the electricity bill and reduce energy consumption, households are given energy efficiency kits, and improvements are made to the installations in households where poor conditions pose a risk. In this second edition, the initiative was implemented in Zaragoza, Barcelona, Seville, Tenerife and Fuerteventura.

ACA plans to launch a new crowdfunding project to develop a series of cross-sector workshops about energy poverty and solutions to this issue and to support the creation of a new study, which will come out in 2018. It also continues to develop training activities aimed at opinion leaders and to work directly with vulnerable households to help them lower their bills by conducting micro-audits of their homes and advising them on how to optimise their bills, put savings habits into practice, implement energy efficiency measures or apply for aid such as the social rebate.

Furthermore, it has launched a nationwide network of Energy Consumer Information Points (in Spanish, Puntos de Información al Consumidor Energético, or PICe) throughout Spain, in an effort to reach out to citizens at numerous locations where families can ask questions and receive information. In addition, ACA is a member of the European Energy Poverty Observatory (EPOV), offering its experience to this association and sharing the activities carried out in Spain to prevent and mitigate energy poverty.

In turn, EAPN ES has developed workshops in recent years on the prevention of energy poverty for individuals in vulnerable situations and for volunteers from social organisations in the tertiary sector, having arranged two sessions for experts and professionals on this subject in Madrid.

It has also published two guides: a guide on energy savings and social vulnerability targeted at volunteers, and the energy savings guide, ‘What can I do to make my home more energy efficient?’ Moreover, it has developed entertaining, participatory methods for helping both volunteers and professionals at social organisations work on energy savings and efficiency with individuals in poverty. 

Documents

Press release in PDF

PDF (0.34MB) Download
advise icon go to the advise Facebook icon go to Facebook Twitter icon go to Twitter Youtube icon go to Youtube Messenger icon go to Messenger Linkedin icon go to Linkedin Instagram icon go to Instagram Shared Link icon Go to the shared link Checkmark Success icon Checkmark Success down arrow icon down arrow Previous Go to previous Next Go to the next close icon close add icon add up arrow icon up arrow oblique arrow icon look obliquely Arrow down icon Arrow down search engine icon search search engine icon search share icon share filter icon filter email icon send mail email icon email phone icon phone fax icon fac print icon print play icon play user icon go to the user section error icon an error has occurred info icon information thumb up icon like thumb up icon like thumb down icon don't like thumb down icon don't like clock icon Clock Lamp icon Lamp List icon List Map icon Go to the map Phone icon Phone Emergency icon Emergency Pause icon Pause Play icon Play Logout icon Sign off Phone icon Phone
go back icon go back in navigation number 50 icon go to product Tempo Happy 50 Horas calendar icon go to product Tempo Happy Día companies icon go to the business segment gas icon go to gas product catalog rising sun icon go to Tempo Verde-Renewable Energy product home icon go to the household segment 24 hours icon go to One Luz product electricity icon go to Luz's product catalog electricity and gas icon go to the Luz + Gas product catalog moon icon go to product One night light monkey wrench icon go to breakdowns and repairs sun icon go to Tempo Solar product clock icon go to Tempo Happy products 2 hour clock icon go to Tempo Happy 2 Hours product 24 hours icon go to product One Luz number 50 icon go to product Tempo Happy 50 Hours Medium Voltage power line See product catalog with electricity consumption from € 36,000 to € 360,000 / year High Voltage power line See catalog of products with electricity consumption more than € 360,000 / year company icon go to the business segment calendar icon go to product Tempo Happy Day Property management firms icon go to the Property management firms DarkSite icon DarkSite icon light bulb icon See product catalog with electricity consumption less than € 6,000 / year electricity and gas icon go to the Electricity+ Gas Products catalog electricity icon go to the electrical products catalog email icon email contact fax icon fax contact Low Pressure gas icon see catalog of gas products with consumption of less than € 6,000 / year High Pressure gas icon see catalog of gas products with consumption from € 6,000 to € 240,000 / year Medium Pressure gas icon see catalog of gas products with consumption of more than € 240,000 / year gas icon go to gas product catalog Enel icon go to the enel website heater icon heater maintenance service heater maintenance icon go to maintenance service OKGas Heater home icon go to the household segment pressure cooker icon pressure cooker monkey wrench icon go to breakdowns and repairs Medium Voltage power line icon see catalog of electricity products with consumption from € 6,000 to € 36,000 / year moon icon go to product One Night Light sphere icon go to personal website phone icon telephone contact rising sun icon go to Tempo Verde-Renewable Energy product solar panel icon go to photovoltaic solar energy clock icon go to Tempo Happy products black handyman icon with thumb down selected the reaction "I don't like it" little hand icon with thumb down select the reaction "I don't like it" black hand icon with thumb up selected the "like" reaction little hand icon with thumb up select the "like" reaction
Añadir otro equipo eléctrico Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Eliminar equipo eléctrico Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Aspiradora Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Horno Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Lavadora Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Lavavajillas Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Microondas Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Plancha Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Punto de recarga vehículo eléctrico Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Radiador eléctrico Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Secadora Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Split Aire Acondicionado Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Termo Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Tostador Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Vitrocerámica Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Power edit Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Map marker Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit.