With the publication of the Citizens Energy Package (CEP), the European Commission clearly states that the energy transition must also be assessed in its ability to ensure social fairness and access to energy for all citizens. The context is urgent: in 2024, around 42 million Europeans — 9.2% of the EU population — were unable to heat their homes adequately, while more than 30 million experienced delays in paying their utilities. Energy poverty is not a marginal phenomenon: it is a structural challenge.
A package on four pillars
The CEP is divided into four pillars and nine targeted actions, designed to act on several levels: reducing bill costs, strengthening consumer protection, combating energy poverty and more effective implementation of European regulations. The measures intervene on electricity taxation, the structure of network costs, the transparency of commercial offers and the promotion of forms of active participation — including energy communities. An important step concerns summer cooling: with the increase in temperatures, energy vulnerability is no longer limited to the winter period, but concerns the entire year.
Energy poverty: a structural issue
The CEP recognises that energy poverty depends on a combination of factors: quality of the building stock, income levels, access to efficient technologies and housing conditions. Member States are called upon to identify the least efficient buildings — often inhabited by vulnerable people — and to develop interventions that reduce costs by improving comfort. To support this, the package promotes the strategic use of the Social Climate Fund, cohesion policy and the LIFE programme.
The role of EPAH and AISFOR in Italy
The CEP explicitly highlights the role of the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH), the European Commission’s initiative dedicated to combating energy poverty, which offers direct support, training, technical assistance and knowledge tools to local authorities. AISFOR participates in EPAH as a consortium partner and national antenna for Italy, contributing to training, capacity building and support activities for local communities, facilitating access to available tools and accompanying local actors in their practical application.
The CEP defines an approach in which environmental and social objectives are part of the same path. Its effectiveness will be measured in its ability to reduce inequalities in access to energy and to ensure that the benefits of the transition truly reach all European citizens.