“I leave the bills unpaid until I can pay them,” admits Lydia. Always, she is aware of being on the edge.
In her early thirties with only primary school education, Lydia is single mother to three young children. She relies mainly on casual work as a cleaner, which is sporadic with no guarantees. At present, she works 40 hours every other week, with in-between weeks dropping to less than 30. Of an average monthly income of EUR 800, rent accounts for EUR 450.
Every month, some necessities go unmet. And, despite trying to keep energy consumption at almost zero, Lydia is behind on her bills.
Certain she had no options for help with mounting energy bills, Lydia has come to l’Oficina de l’Energia in Valencia, Spain. Photo: Maximiliano Braun ©2022
While the Spanish government offers assistance to vulnerable households through the Bono Social de la Electricidad (Electricity Social Bonus) – discounting energy bills by as much as 40% – Lydia’s current situation makes her ineligible.
Faced with rising costs across most basic expenses, Lydia worries that she will need to both increase her working hours and ask clients to pay a higher hourly rate. Given the economic crunch, asking for a raise risks losing work. If her youngest daughter were to fall ill, she would not be able to go to work and her situation would become more dire.
L’Oficina offers consumer advice…
When Lydia visits L’Oficina, her situation is extremely precarious: with two unpaid bills totalling almost EUR 200, she is on the verge of having her power cut.
In such situations, Guaita Más’ dual role becomes invaluable. As a social worker, she informs people of their rights, often helping them apply for government help. As an energy advisor, she educates them on energy contracts and ways to manage their energy bills.
According to Spanish law, power can be cut 20 days after a single missed payment. However, energy companies have discretion to offer different time frames in their contracts and most will allow roughly three months before taking action.
After confirming that Lydia cannot tap into the government discount on her current bills, Guaita Más explains the best ‘Plan B.’ Sharing her computer screen, she shows Lydia how using the Comparador de Ofertas de Energia (a government-managed website) to ‘shop around’ for energy contracts can save her money. She also explains details of different offers – e.g. pricing per kilowatt hour (kWh) consumed and how timing activities to match the three variable rates throughout the day can lower her bills. Recognising that the amount and types of information delivered are a lot for clients to absorb, Guaita Más offers leaflets that Lydia can read later and assures her that L’Oficina will be happy to answer more questions.
Sara Guaita Más, an advisor at L’Oficina, explains electricity rates, time-of-day pricing and other aspects of energy billing to help Lydia choose a new supplier. Photo: Maximiliano Braun ©2022
While Guaita Más recognises the urgency of Lydia’s situation, the current caseload undermines the degree to which L’Oficina can help. With the wait time for an appointment at roughly 2.5 months, the window of opportunity to avert disconnections is very narrow. But switching suppliers might buy time now and save money later.
… and practical action
Beyond helping clients understand energy suppliers and government services, L’Oficina makes home visits to improve their thermal comfort while reducing energy consumption. Once Lydia has finished meeting with Guaita Más, an Energy Efficiency Technician, Javier Siles Conejo, takes over.
Arriving at Lydia’s home, the severity of her situation is immediately obvious: the temperature is such that she keeps her outdoor jacket on and zipped up.
Inside Lydia’s home, both she and Javier Siles Conejo keep their jackets on against the cold. Photo: Maximiliano Braun ©2022
Siles Conejo quickly gets to work, installing equipment and materials found in the Energy Efficiency Kit. In the short time it takes him to install draught reducing tape around the balcony door and windows, Lydia remarks on a noticeable drop in noise from outside – which boosts her hopes that draughts will also be cut dramatically. To finish the job, Siles Conejo applies tape on the entrance door.
Siles Conejo tackles the biggest problem first, installing draught reducing tape around windows and doors. Photo: Maximiliano Braun ©2022
Turning to energy savings, Siles Conejo first switches old bulbs to LED lights, which consume 90% less energy on average. He then points out the ‘power hogs’ around her home – such as the electric water heater and electronic devices left on ‘stand-by’ (e.g. WiFi routers or TVs) – and explains how using mains timers to turn such devices truly ‘off’ can slash the electricity they consume. As she already unplugs her water heater when not using it, Siles Conejo assigns the timer to cut power to the TV and router overnight (i.e. between 01:00 and 07:00).
Linking the mains timer to the Wifi router and TV means these two ‘stand-by’ devices will no longer draw any electricity for 6 hours, every night. Photo: Maximiliano Braun ©2022
A city-wide strategy for a growing problem
A few weeks after her visit to L’Oficina, Lydia confirms that the advice and interventions are making a difference – in particular, draughts in her living room have dropped substantially. Her latest energy bills have fallen sharply and her new power supplier agreed to help cover past-due bills and put her on a more affordable pricing scheme. As is the aim of L’Oficina, she is both more comfortable and less stressed.
Lydia noted an immediate reduction in noise when Siles Conejo installed insulating tape; later, she confirms it also stopped draughts, making her living room more comfortable. Photo: Maximiliano Braun ©2022
L’Oficina de l’Energia is a good example of how municipalities can complement national energy poverty programmes such as Spain’s Bono Social de la Electricidad.
But the challenge is huge – and becoming more intense.
Of a population of ~1.6 million, a 2016 study funded by the mayor found that almost 1 in 4 households in Valencia were at risk of becoming energy poor. In the five years since, all of Europe has been hit by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, rising energy prices linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. No doubt, the previous estimate that 250 000 citizens were struggling with energy bills is now well below reality.
Guaita Más is quick to confirm, noting that the team of five at L’Oficina is currently overwhelmed. But they also have reason to celebrate: the initiative has been so successful that the mayor recently authorised funding for two more branches.
“Our primary objective is that nobody gets left behind in the road to energy transition,” says Guaita Más. “That requires a push by all administrations to support the most vulnerable consumers to make the right to energy a reality for everybody.”
An Energy Efficiency Kit from L’Oficina helps reduce heat loss in winter (or heat gain in summer) and lower energy consumption. Photo: Maximiliano Braun ©2022
As Spain is among the EU countries in which the need for cooling in summer also drives energy poverty, getting word out about the services offered by L’Oficina is critical.
Again, Lydia is a case in point. Knowing she could not access related social services and feeling she had nowhere else to turn, it was by word-of-mouth that she learned of L’Oficina and, in turn, gained the knowledge and know-how to regain control of energy use and costs.
Click here to learn more about L’Oficina de l’Energia