POWERING CITIZENS Energy Cafés in Greece

We are pleased to share the outcomes of the POWERINGCITIZENS Energy Cafés organised by INZEB in Greece. The events were held in Kastoria (Northern Greece), as well as in Heraklion and Chania (Crete), engaging a total of 48 participants.

The events aimed to initiate participatory group discussions and collective reflection on the phenomenon of energy poverty, using group-based dialogue and tailor-made questionnaires. The questionnaires used focused on participant’s perceptions of energy use and energy vulnerability, energy costs, housing conditions, climate change and energy justice.

Energy Cafés Key Outcomes:

Participants defined energy vulnerability as the inability to meet basic energy needs, associating it with high energy prices, low income, poor household conditions and energy pressure due to climate change. They highlighted significant consequences of it on people’s daily consumption, housing choices, and leisure, transport and education expenses. They also reported negative impacts on health and well-being, and constraints on future planning.

Participants emphasised the presence of energy pressure during both winter and summer, due to extremely low temperatures in Florina, Northen Greece, and prolonged heatwaves in Crete, both increasingly associated with climate crisis. 

Many participants raised concerns on the unjust nature of energy transition, referring to unequal access to measures and disproportionate costs affecting citizens.

As proposed solutions, participants prioritised:

• reducing energy costs
• raising public awareness
• improving household’s energy performance through targeted technical interventions and simplification of procedures
• supporting tenants
• strengthening local collective structures such as energy communities.

At a time when energy issues are increasingly affecting citizen’s living conditions, these discussions offered valuable insights into understanding the lived experience of energy poverty, but also empowering people and communities towards a fair and inclusive transition.

The Energy Cafés that took place in Kastoria, Heraklion and Chania were held in collaboration and with the support of local organisations: the Network of Women Entrepreneurship Western Macedonia Greece, Youth Crete and Ecological Initiative of Chania.