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On Defining Energy Precarity by Law - The French Debate

The political context - One of the follow-up initiatives of the French Environmental Roundtables (Grenelle de l'Environnement, hereafter "Grenelle") was focussed on energy consumption in the housing sector and the situations of energy precarity (précarité énergétique). This took of the name of Grenelle Housing Plan (Plan Bâtiment Grenelle). The concerned expressed during the Grenelle were not immediately transposed in concrete proposals. The request for the elaboration of a national action was formally put forward on 11 September 2009 by the a letter of mission from the State Secretary to the Minister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea. Latter on, the efforts on energy precarity at households' level were strengthened by the announced financial support granted to the National Agency for Housing (Agence Nationale de l'Habitat) under the National Loan (Emprunt National) to be launched. In order to answer the political requests expressed by the French government, the working group of the Grenelle Housing Plan has elaborated a report on energy precarity (hereafter "the Report") that was presented on 6 January 2010.

Defining energy precarity - One of the very first tasks of the Report is to define the concept of energy precarity. According to the Report, there are three main constitutive elements:
  1. households are in a situation of vulnerability due to their low incomes;
  2. the building has a bad thermal performance;
  3. high energy costs.
The situation is described as complex, because resulting from the interaction of several separate factors, both social, technical and financial. For that reason, energy precarity is "a spiral": from difficult economic situation, reduction of incomes, enability to pay bills, reduction costs related to the heating system, deterioration of the housing building, health problems, safety issues (also for neighbours).
One can say that while energy poverty focuses primarily on difficulties in accessing energy services in developing countries (see for exanple the Energy Poverty Action), energy precarity concern difficulties in covering energy needs in industrialised countries.

A definition enshrined in law? - The Report put forward several proposals to act on energy precarity, both at national and local levels. The existing initiatives are reviewed by the report, but are described as: not always equitable in terms of beneficiaries (in particular low incomes families); not enough targeted towards the most urgent or dramatic situations.
The first national action proposed relates to the framework definition of energy precarity by law. As the measure concerns the housing sector, it is proposed to amend Article 4 of Law No.90-449 of 31 May 1990 concerning the Implementation of a Right to Housing. The main amendments proposed are focused on the treatment of energy precarity situations as an integral part of the Department Action Plans for the Housing of Disadvantaged People (Plan Départmental d'Actions pour le Logement des Personnes Défavorisées - PDALPD).

The Report proposed to define a person in a situation of energy precarity as: "a person experiencing in its housing some difficulties of energy supply in such an extent that it cannot cover its elementary needs in relation to inadequate economic resources or housing conditions."
This is the formal framework definition proposed by the Report. It intends to be clear, but its appearance, just as a part of the PDALPD in Article 4 of the Law might surprise, taken into account the strong political will to act on the topic, as recalled above. The "national" scope of application of the concept is by law reduced to a "local" implementation.

This might be explained by three reasons. First, the local authorities are best placed to identified and managed the situations of energy precatiry. The PDALPD is the main instrument in the matter, and energy precarity could now constitute an integral part of it. Second, a "right to electricity" is already defined by law. Law No. 2000-108 of 10 February 2000 on the modernisation and development of the public electricity service defines in its Article 1 a "universal right to electricity" and the necessity to "combat exclusion" through the enforcement of a public electricity service. Not all housing building are heated by electric power, but it still covers a larger proportion. In so, the access to energy services is already partially ensured by Law No.2000-108. In addition, the provision of "competitive energy prices" is defined as a national objective by Law No.2005-781 (Article 2). Third, the purpose of defining energy precarity by law seems to be the establishment of a legal basis for the adoption of public policies rather than the establishment of a right that can use private persons in damage or liability charges (so far they are aware of this right). As written in the report: "Cette modification du text doit permettre de généraliser dans les PDALD la création de dispositifs performants de lutte contre la précarité énergétique, en insistant sur la nécessité d'une démarche d'évaluation au regard des enjeux spécifiques liés au développement durable," p.16)

The proposed amendments should form part of a law proposal on a national commitment to the environment (so-called Grenelle Law II).

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