Energy poverty: precarious public policies?

12 million people live in fuel poverty in France. Housed in “thermal sieves” with high energy consumption, the most modest households are suffering the full brunt of the surge in energy prices. The consequences are serious in terms of health, social life, purchasing power and the environment. November 12, 2024, the day to combat fuel poverty recalled these sad observations for “make this social, health and environmental injustice visible”.

What is the current state of energy poverty in France? What actions are being taken to combat this growing phenomenon? What do you think of the latest DPE announcements? Decrypting the news.

Energy poverty: a social and environmental challenge

Legally defined in 2010, fuel poverty is not an isolated phenomenon. Affecting nearly one in five French people, its impact is strong on an individual and collective scale.

What is fuel poverty?

Energy poverty is defined by the Grenelle 2 law of July 12, 2010. Under the law, “is in a situation of energy poverty: a person who experiences particular difficulties in obtaining the energy supply necessary to meet his basic needs in his home due to the unsuitability of his resources or his living conditions”.

Concretely, the public authorities consider that households are in a situation of energy poverty. when energy expenses related to housing are greater than 8% of their income (rate of energy effort).

The most modest households are the most affected, locked in a vicious circle. Because of their low incomes, they often live in poorly insulated housing. High energy consumption worsens financial difficulties, forcing them to restrict heating and suffer from the cold.

An increase in fuel poverty

In 2024, the indicators of fuel poverty in France are orange. According to the state of play published by the National Observatory of Energy Poverty (ONPE), 5.6 million households live in a situation of fuel poverty. 26% of French people say they have suffered from the cold in their homes, compared to 14% in 2020. And 79% have restricted heating to save on electricity and gas bills, an increase of 10 points in one year.

Why is fuel poverty a crucial issue?

Energy poverty is first and foremost a public health problem. Every year, more than 10,000 deaths would be due to the energetic unhealthiness of the home. Cold, damp and mold are the cause of chronic diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, allergies, osteoarthritis or depression. The elimination of “thermal strainers” could save the healthcare system 700 million euros annually.

The impact is also economic and social. Strangled by energy bills, households face painful dilemmas, as illustrated by a shocking sentence of the day against fuel poverty: “Sometimes you have to choose between heating or eating...”. In 2023, for the first time, more than 1 million households experienced power cuts or cuts due to unpaid electricity and gas bills.

Energy poverty is finally a environmental plague. According to the Cler network, the renovation of the most energy-consuming homes would avoid the emission of 6 million tons of CO₂ per year.

Energy renovation, the key to fighting fuel poverty

“Thermal sieves” are blamed for being the main culprits of fuel poverty. France still has 4.8 million main homes that consume a lot of energy. Their renovation is a priority to improve the quality of life, control energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What is a “thermal strainer”?

A “thermal strainer” refers to a housing whose poor insulation causes heat loss. The house consumes a lot of energy for a low energy performance.

“Thermal strainers” can be recognized by their energy class. The Energy Performance Diagnosis (DPE) classifies homes into seven categories, from A to G, according to primary energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. E, F, and G labels designate the homes that consume the most energy.

The importance of energy renovation in the fight against energy poverty

The energy renovation of homes is the most effective action to fight against energy poverty.

THEADEME identifies 6 positions to be treated as a priority. In order of performance, the installation of ventilation and roof insulation allow each to avoid 25 to 30% of heat loss. Next comes wall insulation, which is responsible for 20% to 25% of losses, followed by the replacement of windows, floor and floor insulation and the treatment of thermal bridges.

Since 2022, the National Low Carbon Strategy aims to Objective of 370,000 global renovations per year. But while more than 500,000 grant applications are processed each year, the majority concern individual projects. According to the National Observatory for Energy Renovation (ONRE), in 2023 only 14% of subsidized works corresponded to global renovations.

Is the announced relaxation of the DPE an obstacle to energy renovation?

The Climate and Resilience Law of August 2021 progressively prohibits the rental of thermal colanders. The objective? Forcing owners to renovate rental properties.

Since the 1^Er January 2023, 90,000 homes are affected. Their annual final energy consumption exceeds 450 kWh per m² of living space. The ban should extend to all homes classified G in 2025, to those classified F in 2028 and to those classified E in 2034.

But this calendar could be relaxed, as announced in early October by Prime Minister Michel Barnier. If this relaxation would loosen the stranglehold on homeowners, associations fighting fuel poverty are worried.

A time lag would slow the pace of energy renovation and would further worsen fuel poverty of the most modest tenants. The risk: continue to see widen the energy and social divide.

What other actions can be taken to combat fuel poverty?

“Energy policy guarantees social and territorial cohesion by ensuring that all households have the right of access to energy without excessive costs in terms of their resources.” In 2015, Article 1 of the Law on Energy Transition for Green Growth (TECV) established a right to energy. Numerous aids are in place to guarantee this and fight against fuel poverty.

Assistance for paying energy bills

The Energy check is the main state aid to pay electricity and gas bills. It can also be used to buy fuel (fuel oil, wood, etc.), finance energy renovation work or pay for heating costs in residential homes. In 2023, 5.6 million households received an energy check. It is sent automatically each year to eligible households, based on their income.

Tenants and owners in financial difficulties can also request the Solidarity Housing Fund (FSL) to pay their energy bills. This aid can be combined with the aid of other social actors such as CCAS (Communal Center for Social Action), the CIF, the MSA, the pension funds or Housing Action.

Aid for energy renovation

MaPrime Rénov' supports the energy renovation of homes. Managed by the ANAH (National Agency for Home Improvement), this grant helps owners to finance a total or partial renovation of their home (replacement of a heating system, roof insulation, etc.). My Decent Housing Premium is intended for owners whose housing is considered particularly unworthy or degraded. The amount of aid varies according to household income.

Excluded from MaPrimeRénov', tenants can access Energy Saving Certificates (CEE) to carry out energy-saving work in their rental. This aid is granted by energy suppliers. Their amount and form (bonus, voucher, free service, discount...) depend on the supplier.

Les “boost” bonuses complement these subsidy schemes. They finance specific works, in particular the replacement of an oil or gas boiler with equipment using renewable energies (heat pump, biomass boiler, connection to a heating network, etc.).

Locally, some regions, departments, intermunicipalities or municipalities also grant subsidies, such as the exemption from property tax or the Air Bois Fund.

Deployed throughout France, the National Public Service France Rénov' supports energy renovation projects and lists all available aid.

An aid policy that is questionable?

Although dynamic, the national aid policy suffers from two major criticisms.

Punctuelles, subsidies to pay energy bills do not address the source of the problem of fuel poverty. Faced with rising electricity and gas prices, the amount of the energy check also remains too low to relieve households in difficulty.

As for renovation grants, the majority is not available to tenants. The only solution for them: take advantage of the renewal of the lease to ask the owner to carry out a DPE. If the diagnosis concludes that the home is indecent, the tenant may initiate legal proceedings to demand energy renovation work or damages.

Energy poverty reveals the social divide in France, affecting the most modest and poorly housed households. Fighting against this energy poverty requires an ambitious housing renovation policy, in line with the objectives of the energy and environmental transition. This is the sine qua non condition for not widening the current disparities. It requires the commitment of all public and private actors for a just transition, respecting France's carbon neutrality ambitions by 2050.

Did you know that?

At Sirenergies, we help businesses control their energy costs:
The interest: Lighten your expenses, participate actively in the reduction of energy poverty by supporting more balanced energy demand, and position yourself as a responsible player in the energy transition.
Our tailor-made solutions:
- Optimization of energy contracts to reduce costs
- Intelligent consumption management thanks to real-time monitoring tools,
- Energy efficiency advice and financing solutions for renovation projects.

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