Energy Action’s European Conference on Tackling Fuel Poverty will be held in the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin, on March 11th and 12th.

EU Energy Action conference will pool information and experience to reduce Fuel Poverty in the coming year.

The conference has the theme of ‘Reframing Fuel Poverty in Europe’. It will focus primarily on addressing the health impact of the problem on low income groups and older people.

It is estimated that 65 million Europeans currently live in fuel poverty and that it is associated with over 30,000 excess winter deaths each year on these islands alone, including over 1,200 in the Republic.

Charles Roarty, General Manager, Energy Action says that, “Initiatives adopted as a result of our conferences have helped contain the fuel poverty crisis over the years. Energy companies have become more fully engaged with customers, as evidenced by the dramatic fall in consumer disconnections and the use of meter programmes to help people manage their energy bills. By sharing information, research and the lessons learnt from dealing with the fuel poverty crisis in different situations companies, government agencies, communities and voluntary agencies are finding more effective ways of eliminating this enormous social problem that affects every EU member state.”