Athens’ Energy Poverty Alleviation Office (EPAO) tackles energy poverty through targeted, local support for households facing energy vulnerability and high energy costs. Through personalised assessments and tailored guidance, the EPAO has already supported over 850 energy‑vulnerable households, with 190 of these also benefiting from municipal fee exemptions. By explicitly linking social inclusion with climate and energy objectives, the initiative strengthens the city’s capacity to identify energy vulnerability early, connect residents to appropriate support, and reduce social harm associated with unaffordable energy.
Fighting energy poverty in the community through targeted local support in Athens
Abstract
The Energy Poverty Alleviation Office (EPAO) aims to address the challenge of energy poverty among vulnerable households in Athens. The initiative responds to a combination of factors faced by households including low incomes, rising energy prices, poor energy performance of buildings, and limited access to information and financial support for energy efficiency improvements. The policy seeks to reduce energy vulnerability, improve living conditions, and mitigate the social impacts of high energy costs. By providing tailored advice and support the office aims to empower households to better manage energy consumption, access available support schemes, and improve energy efficiency where possible. The initiative is aligned with Athens’ wider social inclusion strategy and contributes to local climate and energy objectives by linking poverty reduction with sustainable energy use along with supporting the local economy and residents health.
Energy Poverty Alleviation Athens Office
Country: Greece
City: Athens
EU member state: Yes
Geographic scale: City
City size: Large (3 600 000 residents)
Date launched: 2024
Current status: Ongoing
Policy pillar(s): Housing and the built environment; Fair climate action
Target group(s): Older people, people with a migrant background, people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, people with disabilities, low-income households, families, unemployed or underemployed individuals, small business owners and entrepreneurs
Funding and budget:
Total budget: EUR 330 000 (annually)
Funding sources: Local funding
EU funds/programmes: Not applicable
Stage 1 – Diagnose
Greece has some of the highest energy poverty rates in the EU, with 43.6% of households unable to adequately heat their homes. In Athens, a significant number of households face disproportionate energy burdens, which often combine with poor housing conditions and limited access to information. Municipal data and frontline services highlighted that energy poverty remained under addressed despite national and EU support schemes, particularly for households facing multiple vulnerabilities, such as lone parents who are also unemployed. In response to this diagnosis, the Energy Poverty Alleviation was established.
Stage 2 – Prioritise
Athens prioritised a preventative and advisory approach focusing on early identification of energy-poor households and personalised support rather than one-off financial assistance alone. The city placed particular emphasis on households experiencing compounded vulnerabilities, such as low-income, unemployment or lone-parent status, and on improving access to information and guidance.
Stage 3 – Design and mobilise
The policy was designed as a specialised municipal service embedded within the city’s social support ecosystem. Leadership is provided by the municipality of Athens, with coordination across social services, housing, energy stakeholders, and civil society organisations. Mobilisation primarily relies on municipal funding, complemented by linkages to existing national and EU-level energy efficiency and social support programmes. This enables the EPAO to act as an intermediary, guiding households towards appropriate financial, technical and institutional resources while strengthening local diagnostic capacity. Additionally, EPAO collaborates with private-sector companies that offer sponsorships to EPAO's beneficiaries in the framework of their CSR policies. Finally, in designing its energy policy, the EPAO also seeks to integrate fundamental human rights considerations, including gender equality, dignity and health.
Stage 4 – Implement
Through the EPAO, the City of Athens delivers individualised energy assessments, producing tailored energy footprint reports for households. Services include advice on energy-saving behaviours, guidance on energy efficiency measures, and support in navigating available subsidy and renovation programmes. To date, 858 households have registered with the office and 190 households have benefited from the municipal fee exemption measure through the EPAO. In parallel, the office undertakes awareness-raising activities for residents, NGOs, schools and local institutions, strengthening the understanding of energy poverty as both a social and environmental issue. Services are provided free of charge and are designed to be accessible to households that may otherwise be disengaged from public support systems.
Stage 5 – Monitor, learn and adapt
Monitoring is based on key performance indicators tracking household vulnerability, service uptake, and referral pathways. Early implementation experience has highlighted high levels of energy poverty among assessed households, informing adjustments to outreach strategies and support tools. Continuous learning enables the service to adapt its methods and strengthen coordination with complementary climate and housing policies. In addition, identifying a gap in service provision underpinned the decision of the office to recruit additional specialised staff and apply for grants and sponsorship from the private sector. To date, 934 households have registered to the programme and 243 have benefited from the municipal fee exemption measure.
Engage partnerships and stakeholders. Even without large investment budgets, cities and local governments can support vulnerable households by connecting them to existing support offered at the national or EU-level through playing a coordinating role. In addition, working with non-governmental actors such as the private sector can unlock additional funding.
Launch early actions to demonstrate progress and raise awareness. This does not always have to be through direct interventions, as addressing information gaps can be a first step to support vulnerable households.
Municipality of Athens, Energy Poverty Office (GAEF): https://gaef.developathens.gr/
This work is issued under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD, and does not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD Member countries.
This document was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
Photo credits: © Athens Energy Poverty Alleviation Office Linkedin
© OECD 2026
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Attribution – you must cite the work.
Translations – you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text: In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of original work should be considered valid.
Adaptations – you must cite the original work and add the following text: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.
Third-party material – the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and for any claims of infringement.
You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.
Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shall be Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one.
