70% of the families assisted by the Red Cross with the right to a social bonus due to their situation of energy poverty are not receiving this help. For this group, receiving this aid would mean a saving of one third of their average consumption, or 333 euros per year.
The reasons why these families do not receive the financial support that corresponds to them is because the majority live on rent, and since they do not have electricity contracts, they cannot request said help. For this reason, social entities propose to automate the granting of the social bonus based on income criteria.
Among the most affected people are women and children, who represent 35% and 30% respectively of the beneficiaries of this aid, according to a study of the results of Red Cross projects against energy poverty in 2022. Other One of the groups most affected is single-parent families, 22% of which do not receive the social bonus either.
The results of the analysis of energy poverty in 2022 and the previous year are similar, and that is why the Red Cross believes that the situation is far from cyclical, but structural.
Another reason that prevents the entity's users from claiming the aid that corresponds to them is that 87% of customers do not understand the electricity bill.
On the other hand, the Red Cross also works to improve more efficient consumption habits with the aim of reducing spending. Half of the families that are no longer in a situation of energy precariousness after receiving advice from the NGO claim that their electricity consumption has decreased. Despite this, the average consumption of families that are currently in a situation of energy precariousness is higher than desirable due to insufficient equipment, such as refrigerators in poor condition or lights that are not LED.
Furthermore, this lack of resources in many cases affects the ambient temperature of the home: 72% of families in a situation of energy poverty cannot maintain the appropriate temperature at some time of the year, a situation that only 14.3 experience. % of the general population. Not being able to maintain the appropriate temperature in winter is related both to the quality of the residence building; due to insulation failures, humidity or inefficient closures; such as whether or not to have heating, which happens in 22% of these families.
In its aim to reduce consumption and improve greenhouse gas emissions data, the Red Cross delivers energy efficiency kits and helps users replace household appliances.
