Recent developments in French fuel poverty policies

Ute DUBOIS, ISG Business School, Parisute.dubois@isg.fr

ENERGY ACTION EUROPEAN FUEL POVERTY CONFERENCE, Dublin, 11th -12th March 2013

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French fuel poverty policies in times of transition

• A bit of history– Since the middle of the 1980s France has developed actions towards

people with symptoms of fuel poverty• Financial assistance to customers with payment difficulties (1985) • Social tariffs for electricity and gas (2004 & 2008)

– But without having a global approach of the problem• No estimation of the number of households in fuel poverty• No definition of fuel poverty

• 2009/2010: the turning point of fuel poverty policies2009 A first measurement of the number of households in fuel poverty2010 A legal definition of “energy precariousness”2011 First national fuel poverty programme (Habiter Mieux)2012 Launching of an observatory of fuel poverty

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Different measures of “energy precariousness”

France (2006)Source : Devalière et al. (2011)

3.8 million HHs

spending more than

10% for energy

3.5 million HHs living in cold homes

621 000 HHs suffering of both

Plan of the presentation

1. The transformation of the French approach to fuel poverty

A. What? B. Who?C. How?

2. The new approach to fighting fuel povertyA. Thermal refurbishment of buildings:

Habiter MieuxB. Education & distribution of small appliances:

Achieve & Slime

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PART 1:THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE

FRENCH APPROACH TO FUEL POVERTY

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A. What ? Three main policy domains

Three main policy domains to address the three causes of fuel poverty

1. Households’ incomes social policy (income support, subsidies)

2. Energy prices and supply conditions regulatory measures (social tariffs & specific protections)

3. Energy efficiency of homes & equipment housing policy, environmental policy (thermal refurbishment, replacement of heating systems)

A. What?The emergence of the French policy landscape

1985: 1st measures (EDF-state contract on a solidarity

fund)

1996: EDF discounts for vulnerable customers

(techn.interventions)

2009: 1st report estimating

extent of fuel poverty

2012: Inclusion of fuel poverty

in white certificates

2008: Social tariff

for gas (TSS)

2004: Social tariff for

electricity (TPN)

2011: Programme

“Habiter mieux”

2004: Reorganisation

of solidarity funds for energy

(FSL)

2012: social tariffs

automatically applied

2002: FSATME (social funds for

thermal refurbishment)

1985 1996 2000 2005 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

2007: Creation of Médiateur National de

l’Energie

2012: Project of

progressive tariffs

B. Who?

1. Fuel poverty policies have different origins

2. Policies embedded in a larger set of networks & initiatives

3. Today: implementation of actions to reduce fuel poverty at the local level involvement of many local actors in fuel poverty reduction

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B. Who?Different origins of fuel poverty policies

Incomes Prices & supply conditions Energy efficiency

Energy suppliers (mainly EDF and GDF Suez)

1985Payment difficulties

Limitation of supply interruptions

Assistance for thermal renovation

State Solidarity fund for energy (FSL)

2004-2008 Decrees on social tariffs &

interruptions

2010 Definition of fuel poverty

--------2011 Programme

Habiter Mieux

Regional & local government

2004Decentralisation of

solidarity fundsClimate & energy

policies

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B. Who? Several policy levels involved

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22 Regions with some competencies in energy policyIle de France region (2013): priority on fighting fuel poverty

100 DépartementsTraditionally in charge of social issuesMore recently: Local climate and energy plans & Local energy agencies in charge of fuel poverty

Municipalities Start developing initiatives that go beyond simple financial assistance to households with payment difficulties

B. Who? The broader picture of networks & initiatives

RAPPEL Network

ADEMEEnvironment

agency

ANAH & programmes of renovation of buildings

Housing associations

(PACT)

Charities (FAP, Secours Catholique)

CLER Network

Local energy associations

(EIE)

Housing

Climate, environment &

energy

Social

C. How?Widening the scope of interventions

• Traditional tools of social policy– Financial assistance to alleviate the symptoms

• New tools to remedy to the causes of fuel poverty

• Multiplication of instruments– White certificates– Self rehabilitation

• Networking is the key– At the national level: Rappel network – Locally: Habiter Mieux & the local contracts of commitment– At the European level: Achieve 12

Communication & education

Distribution of small appliances

Replacement of heating equipments & thermal refurbishment of buildings

PART 2:THE NEW APPROACH TO FIGHTING

FUEL POVERTY

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A. Habiter Mieux: objectives

• With “Habiter mieux”, France is engaging in a new type of fuel poverty policy that addresses the causes of fuel poverty, i.e. energy efficiency of homes

• Targeting: low-income households living in energy inefficient homes (+ aged > 65)– being “only” poor is not sufficient– Living “only” in an energy inefficient home is not sufficient either

• Objective: thermal refurbishment of 300 000 homes over 7 years– Thermal insulation– Replacement of heating equipments– Energy efficiency gain must be 25 % at least

• Funding: combine different types of resources– ANAH (up to 50 %)– ANAH Habiter Mieux (1600 €) – Local authorities (500€ - 1000 €)– Charities, pension funds– Microcredit

A. Habiter Mieux: implementation

• Coordinator: national agency of habitat improvement (Anah)

• A programme that is declined locally, in the Départements– Local contracts of commitment– Creation of local networks of actors of the identification of fuel poor

households (actors already in contact with households) creation of these networks can be seen as an an investment

• Implementation process1. Identification of households by members

of the network2. Thermal diagnosis (technical visit)3. Realisation of thermal renovations

Project engineering + financial engineeringby a specialised operator

A. Habiter Mieux: first results

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Until November 2012, 9 400 renovations have taken place

Average cost of refurbishment: 18 000 €

Average energy efficiency gain: 38 %

Slow start of the programme investment dimension (it takes time to create local networks)

Unequal implementation appropriation of the programme strongly dependent on involvement of local actors

Source: ANAH (2012)

B. Slime & Achieve: develop systematic actions of information and distribution of small appliances

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France---

SLIME in the Département Gers

Germany---

Stromsparcheck (Caritas)

Bulgaria, France, Germany, Slovenia & UK

---European project

France---

“enlarged” SLIME coordinated by CLER

---Eligibility to white

certificates

Conclusion

• France has developed a new policy approach towards households in fuel poverty – From alleviating the consequences of fuel poverty– To combating the causes of fuel poverty

• Specificity of the French approach– Recognition that policies based on self-referral will fail to identify many fuel

poor people– Therefore, development of proactive approaches of identification

• First lessons– One challenge: how to make professionals with different backgrounds

(social, technical) work together?– More generally, creation of network-type modes of organisation is necessary– But this does not happen automatically (can be assimilated to an

investment) 18

Thank you for your attention!

Ute DUBOIS, ISG Business School, Parisute.dubois@isg.fr

ENERGY ACTION EUROPEAN FUEL POVERTY CONFERENCE, Dublin, 11th -12th March 2013

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