Manifesto for a Ban on Energy Disconnections in Europe
#TurnOnTheLight
As the European Parliament is working on the European Commission’s proposal on the revision of the electricity market (Union's electricity market design 2023/0077(COD)), 13 organisations call for a European ban on energy disconnections in a common Manifesto.
The figures are alarming: in 2021, more than 35 million people were living in fuel poverty, and 72 million people were below the poverty line. How many more people will not be able to pay their energy bills in the coming months and years, and be left without energy?
For many European victims of energy cuts, it is no longer a question of choosing between eating or heating, but of living without energy altogether: in the dark, for meals, for children's homework, without a refrigerator, or without the possibility of recharging one's phone and computer. These disconnections have disastrous consequences on health, well-being, self-esteem, children's education, and both professional and family life
Many anti-poverty, climate, and consumer organisations, as well as trade unions and political parties, are calling at the national or European level for a ban on energy disconnections.
The revision of the electricity market is a unique opportunity to show that the European Union is committed to protecting consumers.
Energy is a necessity, and we must put an end to disconnections.
