FEANTSA’s Reaction to the Citizens Energy Package
FEANTSA welcomes the Citizens Energy Package’s recognition that the energy transition must be socially just and appreciates the proposed measures to prevent disconnections and empower citizens to switch to more favourable tariffs. The support in designing tailor-made policies, National Building Renovation Plans that help vulnerable people living in poorly performing buildings to reduce the energy bills and live more comfortably in their homes, in winter and in summer, is forward-looking. The package also acknowledges that energy poverty remains widespread across Europe, while the implementation of relevant EU legislation continues to be uneven.
However, the overall approach of the package risks increasing inequalities and bypassing households most affected by energy poverty. Policies are primarily centred on general price reductions, market participation, flexibility, consumer choice and community energy risk, reinforcing existing inequalities, e.g. through regressive impacts. Measures lack any reflection on their distributive impacts and do not sufficiently guarantee targeted support for vulnerable households, enable that they benefit at least proportionally from the measures.
At the same time, many of the proposed energy poverty measures rely on soft instruments that do not ensure structural drivers—such as inefficient and inadequate housing and limited access to capital—are effectively addressed. Meanwhile, existing legislative provisions with strong potential to tackle energy poverty, including requirements to prioritise vulnerable households through proportionate energy savings obligations and targeted funding, remain insufficiently utilised. While soft measures aimed at supporting the implementation of EU law can be useful, they do not provide sufficient guarantees for effective enforcement.
To ensure the energy transition benefits all citizens, the Package must better address distributional impacts, strengthen targeted support mechanisms and ensure stronger implementation of existing EU legislation on energy poverty and consumer protection.