You're listening to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on energy poverty in the EU.

Despite the EU's calls to protect vulnerable consumers, energy poverty affects nearly 11% of the EU's population.

And without robust energy efficiency measures, the transition to smart markets and grids could

aggravate the situation.

This is why the European Parliament has asked the Commission and Member States to put in place

measures to avoid having more EU citizens not been able to pay their energy bills.

Stay with us.

According to Eurostat, between 50 and 125 million people in the EU are at risk of energy poverty,

unable to keep their homes warm in winter or pay their electricity and gas bills.

Many cope by spending less on food or heating only a few rooms during a limited number of hours a day.

Others just put on extra layers of clothes or user TV sets as a source of light to bring the electricity

build on. Being able to live in a warm home is not a luxury, but can be a matter of life or death,

as cold homes can lead to increased respiratory problems, mental illnesses and winter deaths,

not to overlook the devastating effects for children living in such conditions.

Although the problem exists across many member states,

it is a widespread reality in central and eastern Europe,

where the end of state subsidies for energy

and increased poverty in the 1990s worsened the situation. So much so that 40% of Bulgarian citizens

were not able to keep their homes warm in 2014. So why is that? Well, three factors are generally

considered to be at the root of energy poverty, low incomes, high energy prices,

and poor energy efficiency of the living space, with market conditions and the social

environment also playing a role.

...