Fighting against fuel poverty by collaborating with social services through energy adviceAn innovative case from Spain.

  1. Iñigo Antepara
  2. Frederik Claeyé
  3. Alex Lopez
  4. Benoît Robyns
Journal:
Gizaekoa: Revista vasca de economía social

ISSN: 1698-7446

Year of publication: 2020

Issue: 17

Pages: 71-96

Type: Article

DOI: 10.1387/GIZAEKOA.22228 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Gizaekoa: Revista vasca de economía social

Sustainable development goals

Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe the efforts against energy poverty of G oiEner, an energy cooperative in Spain, giving energy advice to the social services of two municipalities, Zarautz and Usurbil. Electricity contracts of low-income households were revised and improvements were proposed, according to the specificities of the Spanish electricity market; prioritising the regulated tariff with social bonus, then time-of-use tariff and optimising power capacity. Switching to the regulated tariff can realise savings of around 10%, theoretically up to a 40% if the rest of the optimizations are included. Unexpectedly, some of the household were reluctant to change the conditions of their contracts. Training sessions were organised so that in the future this intervention could be done without the help of GoiEner. Conclusions can be drawn on how GoiEner can capture the possibilities new technologies, such as smart meters, offer.

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