POWER UP is a project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme. Its objective is to support cities in moving beyond their traditional planning role and fostering the creation of local energy market actors with a strong social agenda. The pilot projects explore business opportunities by offering energy efficiency and renewable energy services that benefit people experiencing energy poverty, while co-designing these services together with the most vulnerable groups.

Five cities across Europe, from Spain to the Czech Republic, will act as “living laboratories”. Each city will experiment with innovative social governance models and implement new business approaches together with households affected by energy poverty. Pilot projects will take place in Eeklo (Belgium), Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (Czech Republic), Heerlen (the Netherlands), Valencia (Spain), and four municipalities in the Campania region (Italy).

The Valencia pilot, implemented by the foundations València Clima i Energia and Las Naves, aims to deploy renewable energy production models that guarantee the right to energy for 100 vulnerable households.

Measures will also be implemented to mitigate energy poverty in an additional 100 households.