Scientists from the SAS must be involved in solving energy poverty in Slovakia

The round table organized today by the President of the Slovak Republic Zuzana Čaputová on the current social and economic situation in Slovakia is a good step towards solving energy poverty. This is the opinion of the Slovak Climate Initiative, which appeals for the speedy adoption of the missing definition of energy poverty with the active help of experts from the SAS Prognostic Institute.

"The meeting on energy poverty with the President is a signal for society that it is an important topic. At the same time, as everywhere else, cooperation is key. The first step is good coordination and preparation of an interdepartmental working group composed of experts to transfer the concept into practice. A team of scientists from the Prognostic Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences has been dedicated to the topic and research of energy poverty for a long time. The information they have should be part of the solutions in order to speed up the process of preparing the definition and solutions to energy poverty," said Kateřina Chajdiaková from the Slovak Climate Initiative.

Energy poverty is a very serious problem that has not been actively solved in Slovakia for a long time, despite the fact that it has been known and talked about for a long time. Energy poverty can be characterized as the unavailability of supplies of electricity, heat, hot water and drinking water in a basic standard at reasonable prices and of adequate quality. It is a social problem and several ministries, led by the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, should participate in its solution.

For energy-poor households, a price increase without effective help from the state is liquidating. Therefore, the state must focus not only on creating a definition of energy poverty, but also on looking for an addressable solution for households that already feel the increase in prices as a huge problem. These are the measures that the state will manage to prepare even during this year without an approved definition of energy poverty.

"Dušana Dokupilová from SAV is a co-author studies, in which there are proposals for solutions to energy poverty. These should focus on finding synergies between social measures and investments in housing. In addition to social policies, it is crucial to improve the access of people at risk of energy poverty to grants, financial instruments and loans. In this way, households will reduce their energy expenses in the long term and at the same time the quality of living will improve. The government can prepare such measures even for the next winter," pointed out Kateřina Chajdiaková from the Slovak Climate Initiative.