The Alliance against Energy Poverty (APE) has started this morning a round of meetings with the representatives of the different groups in the Barcelona city council to demand concrete measures aimed at combating energy poverty, which according to the latest data suffers 14.4 % of the city’s population. In the case of women, this percentage rises to 15.7%, recalled Maria Campuzano, the spokesperson for the APE, who this morning met with Valents, BComú and the CUP. In the coming days, it plans to do so with the rest of the parties to which it has sent a document detailing a series of actions to reduce the number of homes that cannot maintain an adequate temperature in winter or in summer. Only Ciutadans and the PP have not responded to the APE’s request.
“These figures, together with the context of the energy crisis we are experiencing, lead us to ask that the next government in Barcelona assume energy poverty as a priority issue,” Campuzano indicated.
In Catalonia as a whole, 15.9% of the population could not keep their home at an adequate temperature in winter, in 2021, the last year with data, compared to 9.4% in 2020.
The main measures proposed by the APE are to consolidate the energy advice points (PAE) and provide them with more budget to reduce waiting times; in some districts citizens must wait up to four months to be served. They also demand face-to-face care without an appointment in the PAE, in addition to guaranteeing universal access to water and electricity supplies. Another point raised by the APE is that the city council provide, on an annual basis, data on the situation of energy poverty in the city.
