Energy poverty (EP) is a challenge for the EU in social, legislative, and technological terms, affecting the lives of 50-125 million EU citizens (BPIE 2014). For this reason, the European Commission is increasing efforts to combat this phenomenon. An important step was the launch of the European Energy Poverty Observatory, which aims to gather best practices and promote cooperation among EU states. The ASSIST 2gether project (funded by the EC through GA 754951, involving 6 partner countries – Belgium, Finland, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom – and a pan-European association) is moving in this direction. The main objective is to mitigate EP in various EU countries by creating a network of Domestic Energy Tutors (TED): volunteers and professionals from the energy, social, and healthcare sectors, who participate in specific training aimed at the implementation of pilot actions to advise vulnerable consumers on how to optimize (and possibly reduce) their energy consumption through behavioral actions and low-cost energy efficiency measures. The network of trained TEDs, at both national and European levels, promotes cooperation among the different professionals working in the EP field in the involved countries. This publication presents the construction of the course and the initial results, then focuses on the pilot actions currently being implemented, with particular attention to the situation in Italy.

The first part of the article summarizes the results of a statistical analysis conducted in the involved countries to understand how to define an “energy poor person” or “vulnerable consumer” and identify them through the use of standard indicators, as well as the main barriers to combating EP in the various countries.

The second part of the article focuses on the process of constructing the course offered to TEDs, delving into the skills required to support a vulnerable consumer and how the combination of different abilities (both technical and soft) leads to success in terms of acquired skills and support for vulnerable consumers.

Finally, the third part of the article centers on the planning of pilot actions. The process was preceded by extensive bibliographic research, followed by consultation with various experts in the field, workshops with project partners, and support from organizations that have already implemented actions to combat EP. A critical analysis of the proposed actions was carried out, aimed at evaluating the pros, cons, constraints, timelines, and application costs. Monitoring tools were developed for each action, allowing for policy recommendations to be provided at all levels.