BEACON project

About the project

Energy poverty is a growing issue across Europe. In Ireland, as energy bills rise amid a cost of living crisis, more and more households are finding themselves in the difficult position of being unable to afford or access essential energy services like heating or electricity.

There is a need for greater coordination at a national level to advance policy that addresses energy poverty. Against this backdrop, BEACON (Building EU Energy Poverty Action through Coordinated National Observatories) aims to support the creation of or to reinforce existing National Energy Poverty Observatories. Energy Poverty Observatories track, measure and analyse data on energy poverty, which allows for more evidence-based policy and decision making. 

The project will create National Energy Poverty Observatories in Cyprus, Finland and North Macedonia and reinforce already established observatories in Austria, France and Ireland. This will be achieved by engaging with local, regional and national stakeholders, peer exchanges and national dialogues.

The Irish Energy Poverty Observatory (IREPO) is the focus of the Irish pilot. Friends of the Earth Ireland will coordinate the National Dialogues, while Codema will support peer-to-peer exchanges.