Global Compact International Yearbook 2012

Best Practice
Human Rights
EDF Group
Fighting Fuel Poverty –
Supporting Our Most
Vulnerable Customers
heating or lighting, making them even
more difficult to spot.
Because electricity is a basic need,
EDF drew up a Group position at the
end of 2011. Its goal is to prevent its
customers from experiencing difficulties
and to help solve the difficulties of
those who do.
Fuel poverty is a growing problem throughout Europe. As it varies widely from one country
to another, each country has its own definition specific to its context and history. Electricity
companies are involving themselves in public schemes in compliance with regulatory
requirements and in action taken on their own initiative.
A regulatory framework forming
a commitment
In France, the public service contract with the state sets out most of the action
taken by EDF under regulatory schemes. EDF supports the French social tariff
(“Tarif de Première Nécessité”) introduced by the public authorities in 2004.
The tariff reduces electricity bills by an average of €95 a year. The number of
households eligible is about 1.3 million.
This social tariff makes it possible to identify the most vulnerable households
early on and then offer tailored assistance to help them manage their energy
consumption. Customers in difficulty may also request assistance from the
housing solidarity fund (Fonds Solidarité pour le Logement), which gives them
access to housing, enables them to remain in it, and also helps them to settle
their unpaid bills. EDF, which set its contribution at €22 million a year, is the
second-largest contributor after the local authorities.
In the United Kingdom the new British regulations took inspiration from the
proactive programs undertaken by EDF Energy over the past several years (the
Energy Assist tariff as well as the Energy Trust Fund, in operation since 2003
and which has helped more than 20,000 households heavily in debt or on low
incomes).
With the Warm Home Discount system introduced in April 2011, the regulations
have become more binding and now require electricity suppliers to give
discounts to their fuel-poor customers. Suppliers with over 250,000 customers
are now to spend an aggregate amount of £250 million in 2011 - 2012.
In France, 8.2 million people – representing
some 3.6 million households and
13.5 percent of the population – live
below the poverty line and are more
particularly affected by fuel poverty.
Another statistic provided by the French
statistics institute INSEE shows that 3.5
million households report that their
homes are inadequately heated. In the
United Kingdom, the number of households
in fuel poverty was estimated at
5.5 million – 21 percent of the population
– at the end of 2009. In connection
with the publication of his report in
March 2012, John Hills specifies that
nearly 8 million people – or 2.7 million
households on low incomes – face
higher energy costs than middle and
high-income households (with an aggregate
fuel poverty gap of £1.1 billion,
projected at £1.6 billion in 2016, as a
result of the poor housing conditions
in particular).
Since fuel poverty is not necessarily
synonymous with poverty per se or
with unpaid energy bills, it is difficult
to identify those affected; but it is necessary
to do so if action is to be taken.
Meanwhile, more and more people are
deliberately depriving themselves of
“As a responsible energy company, we make a
commitment to supporting our most vulnerable
residential customers. We work with
governments, local authorities, NGOs, and other
stakeholders to promote the most efficient use
of energy in order to reduce consumer costs.
With our partners, we also develop countryspecific
solutions and programs to support
vulnerable households."
Improving housing and social
mediation
Aside from regulatory frameworks and
new advisory services such as Accompagnement
énergie (energy support),
which was launched in 2011 to provide
advice on such matters as tariffs, energy
management, and more flexible payment
schedules, EDF is building partnerships
in accordance with its sustainable development
policy to fight fuel poverty in
two ways. The first is to improve the energy
efficiency of housing. Poor housing
conditions trap vulnerable households
in a vicious circle.
In France, EDF has undertaken to
provide €49 million for the “Habiter
Mieux” (Live Better) program between
2011 and 2013. This public program will
thermally renovate the 58,000 housing
units belonging to fuel-poor homeowners.
This commitment further supports
the voluntary action taken by EDF, and in
particular its “2000 toits, 2000 familles”
(2,000 roofs, 2,000 families) operation
carried out by the Fondation Abbé Pierre,
which builds energy-efficient social housing
for disadvantaged people (for 2,025
families at the end of 2011). Other activities
are carried out in conjunction
with social housing authorities (about
100,000 housing units in 2011).
Meanwhile, EDF Energy has been
working for 10 years with the London
city authorities on the London Warm
Zone program, which identifies the most
vulnerable households and invests in
energy efficiency improvements. The
result: 57,000 housing units have been
insulated since the beginning of the
operation. In addition, EDF Energy is
continuing its financial contribution,
over a period of three years, to the government’s
Community Energy Saving
Programme (CESP) aimed at improving
the insulation of housing in disadvantaged
neighborhoods (involving more
than 100,000 housing units).
The second way in which EDF is
fighting fuel poverty is by forging partnerships
with social mediation structures.
Without such structures, it is indeed difficult
to reach out to people in difficulty
and explain to them how they can obtain
the assistance for which they are eligible
and receive personalized advice about
ways to reduce their energy consumption.
By the end of 2011, EDF had set
up such partnerships with nearly 200
outreach and contact points in France.
It further strengthened its partnerships
with the social support community in
2011 by renewing its agreement with
the national union of local social action
centers to step up its activities carried
out with social workers. It also offered
support by continuing with many other
nationwide partnerships like the “Unis
In France, EDF is working with NGOs
such as "Le Secours catholique" to
provide vulnerable customers advice
on energy efficiency and help them to
reduce their bills.
Cités Médiaterre” program, under which
young people doing civilian service reach
out to residents of underprivileged neighborhoods
and help them modify their
energy consumption.
In Hungary, EDF DÉMÁSZ began
in February 2012 to support an unpaid
bills management program initiated by
the Hungarian branch of the Order of
Malta, providing funding of 100 million
forints (about €336,000). Those eligible are
customers that meet a number of social
criteria as well as families whose electricity
has been or is set to be cut off due to
non-payment of bills. They receive support
in managing their energy consumption.
In Poland, Group companies generate
electricity but do not sell it to
individual customers. However, they
too have made a commitment to fight
fuel poverty via partnerships in a country
where more than 13 percent of the
population lives below the poverty line.
For example, EC Krakow offers heat to
NGOs helping the poor, and helps the
underprivileged via its Gorace Serce
company foundation.
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