In the first part of this report, Energy Poverty is analyzed first by considering the cooling and heating of rooms and examining their effects on human health, through a study on the city of Turin. Energy Poverty has traditionally and historically been mainly identified with a problem of inadequate heating of homes which arises when people are unable to heat their homes to a satisfactory level of comfort at an acceptable cost, due to economic hardship.

However, over time, following advancements in the investigation of this issue and the effects connected to climate change and the evolution in the behavior and needs of households, attention has also been extended to the overall air cooling and heating of buildings and other essential services (such as mobility, the possibility of affording to cook hot meals or have hot water for personal hygiene or use essential household appliances) which allow an individual and his or her family to actively participate in society. According to RSE estimates, the energy spending needed to achieve ‘minimum comfort’ in the home (keeping heating at least 18°C and cooling at maximum 28°C) would lead approximately 12% of Italian households to Energy Poverty. This percentage would raise to 13% of households for higher comfort conditions (20°C for heating and 26°C for cooling).

The lack of basic services such as adequate supply of electricity and heating to ensure adequate comfort, not only leads to social inequality and exclusion but also has externalities on the community, due to the increased likelihood of having to make use healthcare services, with greater pressure in terms of costs and occupancy of healthcare facilities, and the increase in sick leaves at work and the risk of social exclusion, the consequences of which are well-known.

In the literature, the correlation between Energy Poverty and health has been demonstrated, intended as an increased likelihood of contracting respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and of psychiatric diseases to arise or worsen. A study carried out in Turin showed that the likelihood of early death due to diseases linked to cold and heat such as cardiovascular and respiratory ones, is on average 7% higher for people in Energy Poverty compared to users that are not in Energy Poverty. Moreover, individuals in Energy Poverty also have a higher likelihood of needing hospitalization for the same types of diseases, and this likelihood varies from 5% for ischemic diseases to 46% for asthma in children and young people up to 15 years old. Regardless of the social and health aspect, more frequent hospitalization also increases costs for the National Health System.

It is therefore evident that Energy Poverty is a social phenomenon. It is under the attention of and under study by the EU and the individual member states, especially in light of the serious problems that have affected the global economy in recent years and also in view of the push towards a greater European commitment to environmental sustainability (decarbonization), which will inevitably lead to an increase in costs for households.

We are therefore trying to identify possible solutions for mitigating Energy Poverty through action on three key factors that are closely connected to this issue: high energy prices, low income and poor energy quality of homes.

Identifying possible measures to mitigate the problem, which is the aim of this three-year project, requires characterizing vulnerable consumers as well as the possible implications of Energy Poverty for them; only in this way it will be possible to identify the most effective measures to counter Energy Poverty and consequently design ad-hoc policies to eliminate it.

In the Italian context, the Social Bonus for electricity, gas and water is the main governmental mechanism in support of vulnerable consumers; therefore, knowing the characteristics of the users involved is essential. For this reason, the second part of this report focuses on vulnerable users receiving the Social Bonus.

This allows us to highlight the fact that approximately 60% of households receiving the Social Bonus live in southern Italy and on the islands, the number of their members is higher than the national average, and 55% of them live in rented houses that are on average smaller and have fewer rooms than the national average: lawmakers should consider all these aspects to implement an effective policy to counter Energy Poverty.