In Cadiz, Southern Spain, 15% of the population live in homes not adequately heated, due to power being cut off due to unpaid bills. Local organising led to the election of two new left parties in 2015, who were mandated by their electorate to form two open energy committees – designed to tackle energy poverty, create green jobs and ensure that all citizens had access to clean, renewable energy.
This was done by bringing together people impacted by energy poverty, civil society organisations, political parties, employees of the local energy company and energy specialists.
1400 people took part in public energy workshops. Subsequently 1057 families had their contracts modified resulting in savings of between €60 - €300 a year.
For each of the three shock plans developed to tackle energy poverty, 8 unemployed people were hired and trained as energy advisors. 548 families received home visits.
The result was a range of pathways to address energy poverty and increase democratic control of the energy system. The key steps in this work was educating citizens on the energy system and creating a new supply of renewable energy.
By enabling citizens to become energy literate, taking control of the municipal energy company and investing in the renewable future of Cadiz, this democratic just energy transition has catalysed a cultural shift in how people relate to energy, that will be in place for decades to come.
The semi-public character of the energy company, Electrica de Cadiz, allowed for using part of the revenues to assist people in energy poverty and for proposing better pricing policies that were developed by those most affected.
You can read more about this here, or find out more by watching the presentation below.
Alba del Campo is a ecofeminist, ecologist, journalist, documentary filmmaker and consultant in energy transition processes. Since 2012 Alba is participating in the Platform for a New Energy Model and from the very beginning she has been the coordinator of the Cádiz Energy Transition and Energy Poverty tables. In addition, she has directed two documentaries on the Spanish energy model and its alternatives #Oligopoly2. The electric empire against everyone, which won the 2013 Eurosolar award, and #OligopolyOFF. The citizen energy revolution begins from 2015. She is also one of the board members of the mPOWER project.
Alba will speak about the impact of the two energy tables that she helped to create; how it is structurally engaging citizens; and how these processes have proven pivotal for more social behaviour by the local electricity company and more responsive energy transition policies by the municipality.