From local innovation to structural action - Publications Office of the EU

Energy poverty remains one of the most urgent social challenges of Europe’s energy transition. The recent energy crisis exposed structural vulnerabilities across Member States, but it also accelerated innovation. Municipalities, civil society organisations, energy communities, and research institutions have developed concrete solutions that combine social protection, climate action, and citizen engagement. This new edition of the EPAH Inspirational Cases reflects how the field has evolved recently. While the previous publication highlighted pioneering initiatives, this collection showcases a more mature phase of action. Many of the featured cases are no longer pilot projects. They have scaled up and been replicated. They are embedded within institutional structures, supported by stable financing mechanisms, and aligned with European policy frameworks such as the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. This publication presents a curated selection of cases with strong transferability potential. Several of the cases show how initial pilot actions have strengthened institutional capacity over time, leading municipalities to embed energy poverty within their governance structures, become signatories of the Covenant of Mayors, and integrate findings into SECAPs and local strategies. Through structured exchange formats such as EPAH Practitioner events, Lunch Talks, and the Annual Conference, as well as broader EU support and peer learning, these approaches have been replicated across territories and transferred to other countries, demonstrating that energy poverty action can move from experimentation to durable institutional practice