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European Energy Poverty
Agenda Co-Creation and Knowledge Innovation
(ENGAGER 2017-2021)
Moving forward on the
right to energy in the EU
Engagement Toolkit
Editors
Marlies Hesselman ● Sergio Tirado-Herrero ● Marilyn Smith ●
Marine Cornelis
Contributors
Íñigo Antepara ● Anna Bajomi ● Roberto Barrella ● Umberto Cao
● Souran Chatterjee ● Teresa Cuerdo ● Audrey Dobbins ●
Giovanni Frigo ● Sara Fuller ● Mariëlle Feenstra ●João Pedro
Gouveia ● Rachel Guyet ● Vivien Kizilcec ● Breffni Lennon ●
Irene González Pijuán ● Slavica Robić ● Caitlin Robinson ●
Nevena Smilevska ● Anaïs Varo ● Hyerim Yoon ● Lidija Živčič
This Toolkit is part of COST Action CA16232 - European Energy Poverty: Agenda Co-Creation and
Knowledge Innovation, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), an EU
funding agency for research and innovation networks (www.cost.eu). COST Actions help connect research
initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. ENGAGER
brings together a diverse and extensive body of stakeholders to help understand and address the energy
poverty challenge. ENGAGER consists of four Working Groups (WGs). This Toolkit is prepared by WG 3 on
‘Dialogues - Co-producing emancipatory research and practice. For more information visit:
http://www.engager-energy.net/
1
Tackling energy poverty: why the right to energy?
UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7)
sets a target for achieving universal access to
sufficient, reliable, affordable and sustainable
energy by 2030.
Globally at present, 759 million people lack access to
electricity and 2.8 billion still rely on traditional fuels (e.g.
firewood, dung and charcoal) for cooking and heating.
In Europe, tens of millions struggle daily to satisfy their
domestic energy needs, keeping their homes warm in
winter or cool in summer, and paying energy bills on time.
Energy is a critical enabler for most other SDGs; as such, it should
be a priority area.
Education and water are upheld as
basic human rights; to date,
energy is not.
Energy is often treated as a commodity, with
supply and demand heavily influenced by
market forces.
Drawing on recent developments in the EU
context, this document aims to help relevant
actors make a stronger case for the right to
energy to support a dignified life, at affordable
cost and with a right to participate in
democratic energy sector decision making.
The interests and well-being of persons –
individually and collectively – must hold a
central place in the energy sector.
INSIDE
• What do we mean by the ‘right to
energy’? (pg 3)
• Putting the right to energy into practice
(pg 4)
• Understanding the fundamentals of a
rights-based approach (pg 5)
• Energy in human rights law: present
but not protected (pg 6)
• Practical aspects and contextual
considerations (pg 7)
• Access to energy and energy services
(pg 8)
• Recognising and addressing
discriminatory practices (pg 12)
• Affordability (pg 13)
• Principles for putting the right to
energy into practice (pg 14)
• References (pg 18)
2
A changing policy reality for energy access in the EU
Achieving a ‘just, clean energy transition’ is central to the European Green Deal (EGD),
which sets the target of achieving a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. The deal promises to
provide extra support for Member States that face the greatest challenges while also ‘leaving
no one behind’. In this regard, the EGD upholds the EU Pillar of Social Rights (2017).
While not legally binding, this charter includes energy among essential services, stating that::
Principle 20 ● EU Pillar of Social Rights
Everyone has the right to access
essential services of good quality,
including water, sanitation, energy,
transport, financial services and digital
communications. Support for access to
such services shall be available for those
in need.
Recognising that energy poverty affects 50 to 80 million EU citizens, the EGD goes a step
further. In relevant EU Directives, it places obligations on Member States to develop national
definitions of energy poverty and to set objectives, time frames and policies to address it.
Policies may relate to payment of electricity bills, investments in decarbonisation, buildings
performance and energy efficiency, community energy projects, or social policy measures.
The Electricity Directive states that it must be implemented in line with human rights principles.
EU Electricity Directive 2019/944
“Energy services are fundamental to
safeguarding the well-being of the Union
citizens. Adequate warmth, cooling and
lighting, and energy to power appliances are
essential services to guarantee a decent
standard of living and citizens' health.
Furthermore, access to those energy
services enables Union citizens to fulfil their
potential and enhances social inclusion.”
EU Governance Regulation 2018/1999
“Member States shall assess the number of
households in energy poverty taking into
account the necessary domestic energy
services needed to guarantee basic
standards of living in the relevant national
context, existing social policy and other
relevant policies, as well as indicative
Commission guidance on relevant
indicators for energy poverty.”
While much of this document is specific to the EU context, where
energy is largely accessible but often unaffordable, this
toolkit aims to provide an overview of principles, arguments and
practical examples to engage on energy poverty alleviation
through the right to energy.
3
What do we mean by the ‘right to energy’?
The right to energy means that all individual humans enjoy certain
rights and entitlements to be able to enjoy access to energy services
necessary for health, well-being, social inclusion and full participation.
Energy is vital for a dignified human life.
Having a right also implies that others, especially the State, have
duties to ensure rights for everyone, equally and without discrimination.
A myriad of related concerns can be identified, which largely fall under
three overarching themes.
ACCESS TO
o Energy – access to specific resources or supplies.
o Energy services – to meet daily needs for health,
well-being, safety and participation in society.
o Guaranteed minimum levels of services and
supplies.
o Guaranteed reliable supply, meaning zero risk of
disconnection: disconnecting for inability to pay is a
violation of rights.
•
AFFORDABILITY
o Relative to people’s income and their actual needs.
o Energy efficient dwellings, equipment and
appliances.
o Free of discriminatory billing practices.
•
ENERGY DEMOCRACY
o Right to participate in decision making about energy
and energy policy.
o Right to participate in energy communities.
o Right to information about energy and energy rights.
o Access to justice.
4
Putting the right to energy into practice
Recognition of basic
rights and entitlements
implies corresponding
duties to respect,
protect and fulfil such
rights.
Typically, ensuring
such rights requires
actions and efforts by
many different actors,
at different levels of
society and across
different sectors.
To be effective,
policies must target
the root causes of
energy poverty, not
simply alleviate its
symptoms
The State, from a perspective of human rights, holds
primary responsibility to create enabling conditions for the
full realisation of rights. Public authorities must therefore
design coherent policy frameworks that contribute to
progressive realisation of the right according to maximum
available public and private resources. They must also
address and remedy any discrimination or disadvantage,
and guarantee monitoring and oversight and access to
justice.
Policies to ensure the right to energy need to be specific
and assertive, targeted, yet flexible enough to reflect the
complexities of energy supply and demand, including
diversity of available resources and vastly personal needs.
As demonstrated in the following pages, the roll-out of such
policies may be regional, national or local in scope and
must fully consider the ways in which different actors
contribute to or alleviate energy injustice.
Besides the State, other public entities (e.g. regulators,
Ombudspersons or social housing providers) and
businesses (e.g. utilities, appliance manufacturers, banks)
have responsibilities for the effective realisation of the right
to energy. Civil society, such as energy and climate
activists or consumer organisations, play a major role in
calling for the right, engaging decision-making and
responsible actors, and overseeing its implementation.
5
Understanding the fundamentals
of a rights-based approach
The right(s) to energy in law
While the concept of ‘human rights’ has been
articulated in many societies for many centuries.
Establishing a ‘human rights law’, with the express
aim of charging governments with legal obligations
and responsibility to fulfil, protect and respect such
rights, is linked to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (adopted in 1948) and the adoption of
many legally binding regional and international
human rights treaties that derive from it.
The idea that all people everywhere should
equally enjoy human rights, without discrimination
or disadvantage, has become a core principle of
democratic societies.
Although energy services access is already
protected by other existing human rights, a self-
standing right helps to specify and make visible
people’s rights and interests in energy and draws
attention to the importance of implementing
measures to support its realisation.
9 RECOGNISED RIGHTS
At present, the following rights
relevant to energy poverty are
backed by human rights law,
including the right to:
● life with dignity
● adequate standards of living,
including the right to
adequate housing
● physical and mental health
● access to information and
freedom of expression
● education
● rest, leisure and play,
especially for children
● social security, and social and
economic protection of the family
● a healthy living environment
● public participation, the right to
participate in social life
In human rights monitoring practice, all
nine rights have, in some way, been linked
to energy poverty.1 Moreover, a right to
energy would both derive from and
support enjoyment of other rights.
Right to life with dignity
The right to life implies that States implement measures to protect against “unnatural or
premature death, as well as to enjoy a life with dignity.” States have duties to “take
appropriate measures to address the general conditions in society that [...] prevent
individuals from enjoying their right to life with dignity”, including “where necessary,
measures designed to ensure access without delay by individuals to essential goods
and services such as food, water, shelter, health care, electricity and sanitation.”
UN HRC General Comment No. 36 on Right to Life in Article 6 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (2018).
Right to adequate housing
The right to housing states that “an adequate house must contain certain facilities
essential for health, security, comfort and nutrition”. This includes “sustainable
access to natural and common resources, safe drinking water, energy for cooking,
heating and lighting, sanitation and washing facilities.” [...] Adequate housing must be
habitable and physically safe, ‘in terms of providing the inhabitants with adequate space
and protecting them from cold, damp, heat, rain, wind or other threats to health [...]’
UN CESCR General Comment No. 4 on the Right to Adequate Housing in Article 11
of the International of the Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1991).
1
Human rights treaty supervisory bodies, such as the European Committee of Social Rights, the UN Human Rights
Committee, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, or the UN Committees on the Rights of the Child and
Women’s Rights, have affirmed that all such rights are implicated by energy poverty (Hesselman, 2021).
6
Energy in human rights law:
present but not protected
To date, the right to energy is not explicitly recognised in law in a broad sense.
Progress is evident, however, in that several international, regional and national legal
instruments now embed this right through law.
Nationally, several constitutions, courts and lower-level laws also recognise rights to
energy, including in Spain, France, Greece, Colombia, South Africa, India, Pakistan
and the Philippines (Hesselman 2021; Hesselman, Varo and Laakso, 2019).
These rights have a mutual aspect: they represent both specific entitlements for
individuals and obligations for States to ensure energy access as a human right.
The right to energy in existing legal instruments
• Article 14(2)h of the UN Women’s Rights Convention formulates a right to
adequate living standards for rural women, including their right to electricity
specifically.
• Article 11 of the San Salvador Protocol on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights of the Organization of American States similarly recognises a
human right to basic services, which encompasses energy access.
• Article 36 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights states that the
European Union must respect access to services of general economic
interest as already provided in national law or in EU law, including electricity
and gas provision.
The following sections of this document highlight pertinent
examples such as measures to guarantee that every person
can enjoy access to safe, warm, healthy and habitable
housing and basic amenities, as well as obligations to protect
against energy disconnections due to inability to pay
(Hesselman 2021; Tully 2006).
7
The right to energy: practical aspects
and contextual considerations
A right to energy, while universally applicable in principle, recognises the need for flexibility in
practice. This is true of the rights perspective in general, as needs differ according to context,
which include geographic, climate and socio-economic factors as well as the personal
situations of diverse individuals.
Since the 1980s, human rights have often been linked to the ‘capabilities approach’ put
forth by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, which argues the aim should be to give people
the freedom to achieve what they value doing and being, and to create conditions that
enable them to reach and conserve human dignity.
The right to energy, under this approach, implies several
vital elements, including access to socially and materially
necessary:
• minimum energy supply that is sufficient, of high
quality, reliable and continuous;
• energy sources and supplies that meet certain
standards of sustainability, health, safety and
cleanliness;
• energy appliances that efficiently convert such
energy for day-to-day needs;
• affordable supply to ensure that related costs do not
constrain a person’s ability to meet other basic needs.
In turn, the capabilities approach recognises that people’s
‘starting positions’ in relation to attaining such a right may be
largely different. Factors that should be considered as
sources of vulnerability – either because they limit access
to energy supply or influence ability to pay for energy
services – that warrant special protection.
To achieve greater equality, a rights-based approach
demands that decision-makers not only consider such
disparities but prioritise targeted action for those who need
more support to reduce vulnerability or address any form of
discrimination. As regards the right to energy, this may apply
across energy services, how they are supplied and
mechanisms to ensure affordability (among others).
Sources of vulnerability
● Physical conditions
such as age, illness or
disability that may
require extra energy-
consuming equipment.
● Socio-economic
differences
due to ethnicity,
gender, class, income,
citizenship or housing
tenure status.
• Contextual
considerations
such as geographic
location, climate,
characteristics of the
built environment,
lifestyles and cultural
heritage.
8
Upholding the right to access
energy and energy services
Linking the right to energy to stated goals for health, well-
being, education, inclusion and participation, as is done for
other universal rights, implies that all people should be
entitled to some level of energy. Increasingly, this is
translated into the concept of a minimum set of energy
services.
This raises questions regarding who decides what
services at what level, and whether ‘affordable’ will imply,
at least for some groups, at very low or no cost.
Minimums in quantity and quality, relevant to need and context
Generally, the energy community has
agreed on five indicators as useful in
capturing people’s minimum energy
needs. Based on such indicators, it
becomes possible to determine
relevant minimum bands of energy
services to fulfil capabilities and rights,
as well as other relevant minimums
and standards per region or country,
with due consideration to personal and
household needs and options for
energy efficiency. Minimums can be decided through deliberative processes and
based on empirical standards for well-being (Walker et al 2016; Hesselman et al
2021).
To avoid adverse health impacts, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines a
minimum indoor temperature for thermal comfort as 18°-24°C, depending on (among
other factors) the level of vulnerability of occupants. The WHO also sets guidelines
for damp, mould and indoor air quality linked to cooking or heating energy sources
and methods (WHO 2009; WHO 2014; WHO 2018). Another standard is a minimum
level of lumens for lighting to avoid harm to eyesight or enable various tasks in
safety. This is reflected in a number of light bulbs or wattage per room or person,
along with convenience of use or required hours of operation.
Defining a rights-based minimum: realising capabilities
On a global scale, large differences exist across nations in terms of their per-capita
annual energy use that also correspond with unequal levels of human development
and wellbeing levels. In European societies, a relatively high tier of universal
energy services is typically seen to support health and well-being, in line with
national or regional living standards (Walker, Simcock and Day, 2016). In Central
Europe, for example, recent research suggests a range of 80-150 giga-joules per
year and capita (considering all energy uses) as an appropriate amount of
energy input required to maintain current levels of energy needed to support health
and well-being (Frigo et al., 2021). The minimum energy required should be
reviewed regularly as the incorporation of renewable energy and/or the application of
energy efficiency measures may change the volume of energy required to meet the
same household service demands.
Fundamental energy services
● Space heating/cooling
● Water heating
● Lighting
● Appliances & electronics
● Cooking
● Cleaning
● Personal hygiene
● Home health care
Indicators for minimum energy needs
• a minimum set of energy services
• a list of relevant appliances
• a minimum level of energy efficiency,
• a minimum level of quality of supply
(i.e. regular)
• minimum levels of kilowatt hours of
electricity and/or cubic meters of gas
or other fuel.
9
While it is not yet common practice, such calculations could be used to establish a
minimum level of universal energy services to be offered free of charge – either to
everyone or only to vulnerable households. Household level data could then be used
to establish fair pricing schemes for consumption beyond the minimum level
(progressive block tariffs).
As an example, it has been estimated that an average Spanish household would
require between 2 112 kWh (for a one-person household) to 4 232 kWh (for a
household with four or more people) annually to satisfy its cooking, indoor lighting
and powering appliances needs (Arenas Pinilla et al., 2020). In comparison, the
currently applicable social electricity tariff in Spain supports a minimum annual
consumption level in the range of 1 380 kWh (for a household with no children) to
4 140 kWh (for a household with three or more children). In the case of ‘consumers
at risk of social exclusion’ with very low income and supported by social services,
households are eligible to those amounts of electricity for free.
Defining minimums for developing countries
In the developing countries in the Global
South, the International Energy Agency (IEA
2020) suggests that a minimum electricity
supply of 1 250 kWh annually could power an
average household with basic necessary
services. Remarkably, with more efficient
appliances, the same level of service could
be met with only 420 kWh annually.
Finding the IEA definition too minimal, particularly since people’s energy needs extend
beyond the home, the Energy for Growth Hub however recently proposed supply of
1 000 kWh per year per person as more appropriate. Of this, the Hub estimates 300 kWh
would reflect household demand, allowing 700 kWh of consumption for broader social and
economic participation (Moss et al. 2021).
To track progress towards universal access to modern, affordable and reliable energy services
(SDG7), the UN has developed a multi-tiered framework that covers energy for services such as
cooking and/or electric cooking, lighting, heating/cooling, refrigeration, TV/radio, and clothes
washing and ironing. Under this system, minimum annual domestic electricity consumption, per
household per year, ranges up to 3 000 kWh (Bhatia and Angelou 2015).
10
Alternatively, minimum service levels can be defined as a way to implement the right
to energy. In the Basque Country (Spain), the public social housing provider
ALOKABIDE tested (in a pilot project) an innovative approach that guarantees a
minimum indoor temperature of 18ºC for 126 low-income tenants living in its
properties (Hernández-Cruz et al., 2021).
Other guidelines are also available such as ISO standards; quality and performance
standards for cooking and heating stoves, and other appliances; or use of specific
fuels from the Clean Cooking Alliance. The WHO has set indoor air quality guidelines
for combustion of (solid) fuels (WHO 2014). It effectively proposes bans for and
discourages household use of (unprocessed) coal and kerosene and sets indoor
emission limits for certain substances. This is important, because use of solid fuels
(e.g. firewood or coal) is still common in many European households but can have
serious negative health effects through air pollution.
Safe, reliable, uninterrupted access:
banning disconnections
To protect the right to energy services for
essential needs, a rights-based approach
strictly prohibits disconnections or cuts of basic
supplies – even when consumers are unable
to pay their energy bills. It requires that
companies continue to supply services, taking
account of people's 'capacity to pay' (UN,
2003).
This prohibition recognises that non-payment
of bills is a manifestation of more serious
problems, which a disconnection would only
exacerbate. As such, disconnections should
never be left to the discretion of a commercial
provider but should be strictly controlled by
clear regulations.
At present, there is no EU-wide ban on
disconnections. In the context of Europe’s
liberalised energy markets, this leaves
vulnerable households at risk.
Precarious access: pre-payment meters
and self-disconnection
Pre-payment meters for gas and electricity
have been promoted as a mechanism by
which people can self-manage their energy
consumption and costs to avoid disconnection.
Often, they are suggested as a way to give
more control to people in energy poverty.
While some successes have been reported in
realizing such outcomes, and in protecting
people from debt and disconnections, pre-
payment meters also risk end up creating a
‘second-class’ of energy users, who are more
likely to self-ration and self-disconnect. This
could lead to new forms of discrimination,
disadvantage and energy poverty.
Pre-payment meters may be considered
incompatible with a rights-based approach
as they place the burden of payment
exclusively on the pre-payment consumer,
typically a low-income household. The supplier
does not directly disconnect because of unpaid
bills, but people themselves may stop using
the energy they need when they cannot top-up
the balance. This is called 'self-disconnection'
(Shaver 2018).
Use such meters should therefore be
considered acceptable only where regular
systems are not possible or preferred by
people that use them, with a just reason. In
such cases, pre-payment schemes should be
coupled to generous guarantees for basic
supply.
11
UN prompts Belgium and Germany to act on basic electricity
and energy needs
In 2018, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(UN CESCR) was concerned that a large number of households in
Germany, particularly those on basic social benefits, experience energy
poverty. Additionally, in 2016, ~328 000 households were affected by
disconnections owing to unpaid bills. The Committee recommended that
Germany adopt effective measures to ensure all households can
meet their basic electricity needs, thus avoiding disconnections for
households unable to pay for their minimum needs.
More recently (2020), the UN CESCR expressed concern about the
impact of energy costs on household budgets, especially of low-income
households in Belgium, and about the practice of cutting off gas and
electricity for non-payment of bills. The government was recommended
to take the measures necessary to ensure a minimum supply of
energy, even when a budget meter is installed.
UN CESCR, Concluding Observations: Germany (2018) E/C.12/DEU/CO/6; Belgium
(2020) E/C.12/BEL/CO/5.
12
Recognising and addressing
discriminatory practices
The principle of non-discrimination is a
well-established core principle of
international human right law: it must
also be upheld in the right to energy.
Non-discrimination is closely tied
to equality, equity and vulnerability,
and implies efforts to identify which
individuals or groups, because of
particular characteristics, are left out
or being treated in a discriminatory
manner, whether in law or in practice,
either directly or indirectly.
Persistent gender inequalities are particularly evident in the context of energy
poverty, often reflecting differences in income levels but also different personal
needs, interests, choices and contextual factors. Some people are affected by
multiple discriminations, when their disadvantages are intersectionally
compounded across several inequality axes (Council of Europe, 2021).
Energy and socio-economic discrimination: Roma in Central and Eastern Europe
Specific groups or communities in Europe remain in highly precarious
conditions in terms of access to energy services. The Roma stand out
as their situation of poor access to basic services, including energy,
often attracts attention in international human rights monitoring
(OHCHR 2016; OHCHR 2020; European Social Committee 2012).
Across Europe, Roma communities have lived for decades as a
severely deprived and excluded minority, often in areas exposed to
environmental pollution and with poor access to water, sewerage and
energy. In segregated rural settlements, poor Roma families often
struggle to meet their basic energy needs and resort to foraging
firewood, burning low-quality solid fuels or relying on informal
connections to the electricity grid.
Such conditions reflect structural inequalities and discrimination in
access to energy. The inability to achieve basic energy capabilities,
such as doing homework or operating a computer, are immediate
disadvantages with long-term impacts. Energy-deprived Roma have
lower access to education and information, which represents an
obstacle to exiting the cycle of extreme poverty.
Information as a tool against discrimination
Collecting disaggregated data on discriminatory access and on people’s energy
use, income, quality of housing, etc. is vital to combatting discrimination under a
rights-based approach. Data support better understanding of unique needs or
challenges faced by certain groups, such as women and single mothers of diverse
ethnic minorities; pensioners with low incomes living in rural areas; families caring
for children with disabilities; or young adults. Importantly, data enables development
of tailored action whereas generic policy instruments may exacerbate the
intersectionality of discrimination.
Recognised grounds for non-discrimination in
human rights law include:
● ethnicity ● sex ●language ● religion ● political or
other opinion ● national or social origin ● property
● birth or other status, such as disability, age,
marital and family status ● sexual orientation and
gender identity ● health
It also considers:
● place of residence ● economic and social
situation, including a person’s tenure status as
tenant, homeowner or informal dweller – aspects
of particular relevance to energy access
13
Affordability
Affordability underpins adequacy of energy
services: people’s ability to access a
minimum level of access can only be
exercised if both energy supplies and
efficient appliances are universally
affordable. Thus, ensuring that minimum
access to energy services is affordable –
even to vulnerable people – is another
critical aspect of a rights perspective.
According to the UN Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) attached to
SDG 7, affordability of energy services is linked to overall household income. RISE suggests
that in warm climates, a 5% share of budget is acceptable, while a maximum 10% is more
appropriate in colder climates, where the need for heating drives up consumption. In the
context of climate change, cooling may be just as critical to people’s health and well-being.
Diverse indicators for the affordability of minimum energy services have been
devised, such as the 10%-indicator, the 2M indicator, or the Low-Income / High Energy
Costs (LIHC) indicator. Whichever is used, the aim is to assess whether expenditure for
basic energy needs interferes with other essential household spending. This typically
requires a wider understanding of household budgeting.
Should costs for basic energy needs be beyond the means of some segments of society,
regardless of underlying causes, a rights-based perspective implies a need or duty of
government or regulators to introduce measures to improve affordability. This is true in both
public and private energy markets. Actions may include regulating prices and tariffs for energy
services, financial or practical assistance to reduce energy bills (e.g. energy efficiency
measures) or various forms of targeted support through social welfare or benefits systems.
Closing the income gap: a decent living wage
Low income is a contributing factor to people’s inability to afford necessary energy
services. Here, governments and institutions can act in several ways:
• Ensure minimum wages support decent living standards, including the
ability to pay for adequate access to energy services.
• Create better income generation opportunities, by helping people to
access suitable workplaces or built up their own (small) businesses.
• Improve social security schemes, with emphasis on (targeted) income
supplements or (as necessary) debt waiver or management programmes.
• Implement a ‘universal basic income’ to ensure that people have
sufficient means to acquire their basic needs.
Affordability must be understood
as relative to:
• a person's means – what is affordable to
one person may not be to another.
• a household’s ability to afford other
essential needs after paying energy bills –
i.e. energy costs should not lead to
foregoing other essential expenditures.
Rising temperatures will drive up demand for cooling
After visiting Spain, the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights and Extreme
Poverty noted in 2020 that climate change will dramatically impact people in
poverty. The Rapporteur therefore called on Spain to ensure that social
protection policies support those already in poverty and those likely to be
pushed into it by global warming. As recent heat waves already cause deaths,
poor families without access to electricity or air conditioning will be at risk.
HRC, Report of the Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty: Mission to Spain (2020) A/HRC/44/40/ADD.2
14
Principles for putting the right
to energy into practice
A rights-based approach requires that policies and strategies underpinning energy
transitions are designed to take account of – and even prioritise – vulnerable and
energy-poor persons. The right to energy must be based on principles such as
energy democracy and public control over energy resources and supply systems.
It is grounded in rights to public participation in decision-making, access to
information and access to justice. This requires robust governance systems and
transparency: people must be able to contribute, in meaningful way, to energy
decision-making, with the help of their elected representatives or bodies existing to
protect their rights, like Ombudspersons or regulators.
Energy democracy for people-centred policy
The existence of a right to energy on paper will fall short of ensuring that people can
exert it. Ensuring direct participation of citizens in energy decision-making is the
underlying principle of energy democracy, as it gives people affected a voice in
determining ‘how’ the right to energy will be respected, protected and fulfilled. This
is particularly important as transitions to carbon-neutral societies unfold. Such
decarbonisation may also increasingly include decentralised systems, organised
closer to citizens.
While a principle of universality underpins the right to energy, determining specific needs
and rights across EU populations should be pursued through public engagement and
deliberation, based on socio-economic contexts. Definitions of rights, policies to
implement them, and mechanisms to protect people must reflect people’s real needs, and
the lived experiences of capability deprivation by diverse individuals and groups.
Decision-making should be with and for people, not about people (ENGAGER 2021).
Tools to deliver energy democracy can be empowering citizen’s energy assemblies;
shifting ownership and control over energy systems to the public, including through
decentralisation or re-municipalisation (Kishimoto et al 2017); or establishing strong
citizen representative bodies, even within energy companies or housing agencies; or
supporting inclusive citizens’ energy communities or energy commons (Caramizaru
and Uilhlein 2020).
15
Consumer protection and advocacy,
including to address infringement of rights
Activists, Ombudspersons, consumer groups and the academic community have vital
and complementary roles to play in raising awareness and building political
momentum:
• Consumer support and advocacy groups can engage with affected people
to boost their knowledge about energy and the right to it, thereby gaining their
trust and building their confidence to take active roles in energy democracy.
As representatives, they can also amplify voices and raise awareness.
• Ombudspersons, by handling individual complaints and aggregating them,
are essential partners in implementing and monitoring of user rights.
Timing is important in consumer protection and advocacy. Ideally, activists and
ombuds-persons will engage with people early and often to inform them of their
rights and act in the case of violations. Engaging with policy makers in pre-election
debates can help shape their platforms; staying engaged post-election helps ensure
they keep their commitments.
Coalition-building across organisations and constituencies concerned about (energy)
poverty, a just (energy) transition and housing crises can foster inclusive and
representative rights-based activism. It also acknowledges that, in the lived
experience, rights – to housing, energy, water, a clean environment, health, etc. –
are often interdependent.
The Alliance Against Energy Poverty
The Alliance against Energy
Poverty (Aliança contra la
Pobresa Energètica or APE)
was launched in Barcelona in
February 2014 under the
premise of fighting for access
to basic supplies (i.e. energy
and water) as a fundamental
human right. They build a
critical mass for advocacy
through coalition-building
amongst social and
environmental organizations concerned about energy poverty, housing and evictions. Their
mobilization led to adoption of the rights-based Catalan Law 24/2015 on the ‘housing and
energy poverty emergency’ which forbids eviction and disconnection from basic supplies of
households defined as vulnerable by local social services.
A key activity of the Alliance includes supporting “collective advisory assemblies” to which
people come to share concerns and grievances in a safe and trusted space, but also to gain
knowledge and be empowered. Through the meetings knowledge accumulates as new
cases arrive and practical solutions are collectively devised. The assemblies have an explicit
gender dimension, as they are largely attended by women reporting unpaid bills and utility
debt, or at risk of disconnection and/or eviction. The assemblies foster empowerment,
access to information, mutual knowledge sharing and support, participation, and
dissemination and advocacy of the ‘right’ to services.
16
Governance and delegation of responsibilities
States and regulators play the largest role in setting up policy and regulatory
frameworks that uphold the right to energy – including determining which other
entities must be held accountable, and in what ways. In this regulatory and
supervisory role, governments need to ensure coherence across different levels of
governance of the energy sector, including private actors (e.g. utilities, energy
efficiency sector, building sector) from national to local level, to fiscal and financial
stakeholders, and among various public sectors (e.g. housing, social welfare, health).
Critically, under a rights-based approach, governments must commit themselves to
inclusive, participatory processes to determine specific details (e.g. minimum energy
levels) and develop effective and robust action plans towards tackling energy
poverty. Plans must clearly define timelines and different actors’ responsibilities, as
well as identify and mobilise relevant available resources. States must take on
responsibility to ensure that such plans are regularly (re)assessed, updated and
monitored. As lower-level government is expected to play a key role in implementing
the right to energy, capacity-building may be necessary to empower municipalities,
counties and regions.
Transparency and accountability in public services and the private sector
The right to access information is core to the right to energy. People and
representatives need easy access to materials about prices, contracts, etc., as well
as to support schemes and mechanisms by which they can attain access to justice.
Transparency and accountability on the part of stakeholders is key in this context. To
limit systemic abuse and discrimination, data on matters such as disconnections,
arrears or payment difficulties need to be collected and made publicly available.
Mechanisms for setting energy prices and negotiations related to sector regulation
must be transparent and accessible to all. Essential elements of energy policies
should be published in the form of factsheets, written language that is accessible for
all audiences.
Energy providers have active responsibilities to ensure that access to information and
transparency are secured and have direct responsibilities to respect and promote human
rights under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This is a key
international framework for setting out relevant responsibilities, and ensuring remedies
for rights abuse are in place, including through suitable grievance mechanisms (OHCHR
2011). Accountability can take different forms but must ensure independent oversight.
17
Looking ahead:
engaging on the
right to energy
A right to energy perspective…
• foregrounds each person’s
needs to basic energy
• sees all individuals as the
ultimate ‘unit of concern’ of
energy poverty policy: it aims to
identify and eliminate injustice,
disadvantage and inequality
• emphasizes duties, of public
authorities and others, and
demands rights-based
governance of energy poverty
• establishes frameworks by
which citizens and their
representatives can call upon
the right to energy to demand
minimum access to energy
services, affordability, protection
against disconnection, equality
or challenge harmful use of pre-
payment meters
• can empower and foster
energy democracy: it entails
rights to participation,
information and to access to
justice, and accountability.
• can engage societies, citizens
and stakeholders in a
discussion on how best to tackle
energy poverty. The right is not
only a rallying call – it can be a
legal concept or a moral
imperative: human rights
belong to everyone, and they lie
at the foundation of deciding
how society meets basic
needs of all.
18
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