Community Reporting on Energy Poverty Across Europe
Across Europe, community reporting activities within the POWERINGCITIZENS project revealed how energy poverty is experienced as a daily negotiation rather than a single crisis. Through Energy Cafés, local storytelling, and participatory discussions, citizens shared how rising costs, inefficient housing, and structural inequalities shape their everyday lives.
This project is implemented by BGF (Kosovo), UNIVPM (Italy), CRN (Germany), ECREC (Netherlands), INZEB (Greece), ETMI (Albania).
PoweringCitizens 'Energy Poverty " local activity's and Community Reporting
A Global Gathering of Change-Makers
In the Netherlands, an Energy Café in The Hague brought together residents struggling with high energy prices driven by geopolitical tensions and gas field closures. Participants — particularly low-income renters in poorly insulated homes — discussed practical ways to reduce consumption and learned about local energy coaching schemes that support households in accessing subsidies and changing energy habits. The session strengthened motivation to seek support and highlighted the role of community-based guidance in navigating energy challenges
Local narration event
In Kosovo, the local narration event and Energy Cafés conducted by Balkan Green Foundation captured some of the most acute experiences. Participants described heating only one room during winter, avoiding staying at home to reduce electricity use, and organising daily routines around tariff schedules. Energy costs were portrayed not only as a financial burden but as a source of anxiety shaping everyday decisions and quality of life. Discussions also revealed tensions around subsidies and the limited ability of tenants to improve inefficient housing, underscoring the need for structural interventions and stronger public support.
Collective reflection
In Greece, Energy Cafés across Kastoria, Heraklion, and Chania engaged participants in collective reflection on energy vulnerability, housing conditions, and climate pressures. Discussions showed that energy poverty affects multiple aspects of life, from health and well-being to education and mobility, while extreme temperatures in both winter and summer intensify energy stress. Participants emphasised the perceived unfairness of the energy transition and called for more accessible support measures, lower costs, and stronger collective solutions such as energy communities.
Community reporting
Community reporting in Italy captured a more subtle form of adaptive energy poverty. Students, staff, and local residents described constant planning around energy use — shifting activities to off-peak hours, prioritising low-cost coping strategies, and living with persistent concern about bills. In Kosovo, narratives reflected more acute hardship, with participants describing heating only one room, staying outside the home to avoid energy use, and organising daily routines around tariff schedules. Across both contexts, housing inefficiency and limited agency of tenants emerged as major structural barriers
Enegry concerns
In Germany, community reporting in the town of Luckau (Brandenburg) highlighted how energy concerns are closely linked to broader debates about local futures. Held within a citizens’ forum, the Energy Café used a participatory game to create a safe space for residents to share experiences and reflect on affordability, uncertainty, and access to support. The discussion showed that energy challenges are shaping everyday life even in smaller towns and are increasingly seen as part of wider questions of community resilience and local well-being
A Safe Space
In Albania, an Energy Café created a safe space for young participants to discuss everyday energy practices and explore practical solutions for saving energy. The activity strengthened awareness of energy poverty’s local impacts and encouraged participants to see themselves as active contributors to more sustainable energy use.
Together, these community insights underline that while citizens develop remarkable coping strategies, behavioural adaptation alone cannot address the structural roots of energy poverty. Participants across countries consistently highlighted the need for affordable housing improvements, accessible support schemes, and inclusive policies that place citizens at the centre of the energy transition.