The E.K.POI.ZO’s event entitled “Energy saving as a response to the energy crisis” was successfully held on Monday, April 3, 2023, under the auspices of the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios. The event was organised in the framework of the LIFE project “REVERTER – Deep REnovation roadmaps to small houses Vulnerability To Energy poverty”, in which E.K.POI.ZO., the Mining Technology and Environmental Mining Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens and the Center for Resource Renewal and Energy Saving participate. The event was moderated by the deputy mayor and head of European programs Mr. Vassilis Koutsovasilis.
In her welcoming speech, the Mayor of Agios Dimitrios, Mrs. Maria Androutsou, welcomed the initiative and stated that E.K.POI.ZO. and the municipal authorities have cooperated successfully in the past through joint actions to inform and raise awareness among citizens and that it is a pleasure to collaborate in the energy sector, as well. She stated, among other things, that “Energy poverty affects everyone and is a critical problem of society, as it deprives people of the basic social good of energy. The cooperation of the Municipality of Agios Dimitrios in the European REVERTER project is of the utmost importance in the context of the encouragement and participation of citizens, especially the most vulnerable in subsidized energy saving actions. In a difficult period, due to the energy crisis, sky-rocketing prices and of course environmental challenges due to climate change, information on energy saving issues is essential and advice on reducing household energy costs is very important to improve the quality of life of all citizens”. Finally, she announced the intention of the municipality to create a “one-stop shop” that will aim at the energy upgrade of the homes of vulnerable households.
The President of E.K.POI.ZO, legal counselor Mrs. Panagiota Kalapotharakou stated that “E.K.POI.ZO. has made the issue of energy one of its main priorities for the last five years, as energy is a public good and as such it should be accessible and affordable, competitive, quality and uninterrupted, clean and green. With the slogan ‘energy for everyone’, we carry out a number of consumer information and education actions”. One of the problems she focused on was the clean energy bills, which should only contain energy-related charges for the consumer to read, understand and be able to pay. Regarding the complaints in the energy sector, she pointed out that in the last two years they have occupied the first place in the table of complaints with the dominant theme being the increase due to the readjustment clause. E.K.POI.ZO filed a collective action against PPC for the annulment, among other terms, of the readjustment clause, requesting its abolition as non-transparent and abusive. Recently, a rejection decision was issued, which E.K.POI.ZO. considers manifestly incorrect and will appeal to the Court of Appeal. She also stated that “with the intense pressure we exerted, the Government was forced to suspend the readjustment clause until June 30, 2023”. Then she announced important findings from the questionnaires prepared by E.K.POI.ZO. through members as well as consumers. One of the important findings is that 96.3% ask for clean electricity bills. She also mentioned that there is a lack of information regarding rights, ways of claiming and saving energy and that E.K.POI.ZO. informs and supports consumers through its website with a wealth of advice and sample complaints. She closed her speech with proposals for measures that will contribute to the activation and awareness of the consumer as well as to tackling energy poverty through energy saving. Within the framework of the REVERTER, E.K.POI.ZO. will create the first one-stop on a pilot basis and, as she said characteristically, “we hope the local authorities will adopt this measure for the benefit of society as a whole”.
Afterwards, Dr. Christos Tourkolias, executive of the energy policy analysis department of CRES, took the floor, who focused on the analysis of the basic framework for combating energy poverty in Greece. More specifically, he presented the main predictions of the action plan, the national goal of reducing the phenomenon until 2030, the definition of affected households and the main measures planned and implemented to achieve the goal. Finally, he briefly described the upcoming changes in the legislative framework regarding the implementation of minimum energy efficiency standards in buildings and the imposition of a carbon tax on heating and transport, highlighting in particular their effects on the growth of the phenomenon of energy poverty.
The event closed with Dr. Dimitris Damigos, Professor at NTUA and coordinator of the REVERTER project, who first presented the main reasons behind the surge in energy products in the last two years and then focused on zero, low and high-cost measures to the saving of electrical and thermal energy by households. He particularly mentioned that “even small changes in bad habits can reduce energy bills by 5-10%, while deep renovation can offer multiple benefits”. He closed his speech with a presentation of the aim, main objectives and expected impacts of the REVERTER project.
