COURSE OVERVIEW

Consumer and Energy Poverty & Vulnerability – Open to public 

This two-day training course will provide participants with a comprehensive and practice-oriented understanding of energy poverty and vulnerability in Europe. The course will combine scientific perspectives, regulatory approaches, social policy experiences, and market developments to explore how energy poverty is identified, measured, and addressed across Europe.

Participants will gain insight into the lived experiences of affected households, the European legislative framework, policy measures implemented across Member States, and the interaction between consumer protection, decarbonisation, and energy market reforms.

6-7 October 2026, Brussels

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Who should
attend

• Staff of national regulatory authorities and energy regulators
• National government representatives and social policy makers
• Consumer organisations and civil society representatives
• Local and national NGOs and social service practitioners
• Academics and researchers with interest in energy justice and energy poverty
• Energy market professionals and consultants
• Representatives of distribution system operators, energy suppliers, and energy communities

Valuable insights

• Explore the social realities and lived experiences of energy-poor and vulnerable households
• Understand scientific approaches to defining and conceptualising energy poverty and vulnerability
• Learn about indicators and methodologies used to measure energy poverty across Europe
• Gain an overview of the latest European consumer protection and energy legislation
• Examine national social policy measures and regulatory interventions implemented across Member States
• Assess the role of energy sharing, citizen energy communities, and consumer participation in reducing vulnerability
• Analyse the social implications of the gradual phase-out of fossil gas in households
• Discuss the implications of electricity and gas market design for vulnerable consumers



Key take-aways

• Key concepts and definitions related to energy poverty and vulnerability
• Comparative indicators and data sources
• Regulatory and legislative framework governing the protection of vulnerable consumers
• Different policy instruments and support schemes across Europe
• Cross-sector dialogue on affordability, inclusion, and the clean energy transition

Practical Information

What's included?

  • CEER Academy Certificate 
  • Real life case studies
  • Hands-on assignments
  • Access to rich materials
  • Group work activities

Fees & Details

  • Format: Onsite
  • Preparation hours: 2
  • Days of training: 2
  • Training hours: 14
  • LEVEL: A
  • Course fees:
    €1,200 or 2,5 training credits for members;
    €1,500 for non-members
  • Language: English
  • Scholarship and reduced fees (see conditions)
  • Cancellation policy (see conditions)

Location

CEER Premises
Cours Saint-Michel 30a/F, 1040 Brussel – Bruxelles


Registration Deadline

28 September 2026

Course Context

Course Outline

Recent years have demonstrated the increasing importance of protecting energy consumers in times of volatility, inflation, and structural transformation of energy systems. The energy crisis of 2021–2023 exposed the vulnerability of many European households to price shocks and highlighted the uneven capacity of consumers to participate in the energy transition.  

At the same time, the decarbonisation agenda, electrification of heating, increasing deployment of distributed renewable energy, and the forthcoming phase-out of fossil gas for households are reshaping the relationship between consumers and energy markets. Regulators and policy makers are therefore required to balance affordability, sustainability, consumer empowerment, and market efficiency.  

This course aims to provide a structured and differentiated understanding of energy poverty and vulnerability to better comprehend the challenges many European households have to meet to meet their energy requirements and what policy, regulation, energy market actors and consumer protection can contribute to support households in such need.  

Planned sessions include:

  • Locating the phenomenon of energy poverty in a wider social (justice) context
  • Key scientific, legal, and social policy approaches to energy poverty and vulnerability
  • Measuring energy poverty in the wider context of consumer protection
  • Opportunities and risks for energy poor/vulnerable households in energy sharing and during the gas phase-out

COURSE DIRECTOR

Florian Pichler

Florian Pichler joined E-Control in 2012 and made major contributions to the development of a definition and measurement of energy poverty in Austria. Much of his engagement has been influential in shaping the current Austrian legal framework of energy poverty. Florian also covers consumer protection monitoring, including disconnections due to non-payment and service quality of suppliers and grid operators at E-Control, both important matters to national regulatory authorities balancing energy and social concerns. At CEER, Florian is a long-standing member of the CRM working group, contributing regularly to consumer and retail market issues such as the annual ACER CEER retail market monitoring report. Florian holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and was an assistant professor at universities in the UK and Austria prior to his current job at E-Control.

Patrick Jones - Course author
COURSE Advisor

Monica Giulietti

Monica's research has been published in international peer- reviewed journals. She has conducted research for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Energy Retail Association, Platts and Western Power Distribution and recently led a project on gas price volatility: impacts and mitigations. Her research focuses on competition and regulation in wholesale and retail energy markets, energy consumers' behaviour, fuel poverty, distribution networks and decentralised energy resources.

Patrick Jones - Course author

Your contact

Alejandra Estrada
Training Coordinator 

alejandra.estrada@ceer.eu

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