Engineers Tarragona participates in the Energy Poverty Table of Reus

The Energy and Poverty Table of Tarragona and Reus has returned to activity with the celebration of the fifth Plenary after the one in 2020 was suspended due to the pandemic.

The Plenary, co-chaired by the Minister and President of the Municipal Institute of Social Services of Tarragona, Carla Aguilar-Cunill, which was held this Tuesday, March 23 in the afternoon in virtual format.

Four papers were presented in Plenary:

• "Tools to promote self-consumption of energy in the home", by Aleix Manonellas, head of the Energy Advisory Service of Reus.
• "Solidarity accountants", by Maria Retuerto, head of the Commercial and Customer Unit of the Municipal Mixed Water Company of Tarragona (EMATSA) and JM Beltran, managing director of the Municipal Institute of Social Services of Tarragona (IMSS).
• "Different actions to combat energy poverty", by Stephanie Ascencio, representative of the Alliance against Energy Poverty of Tarragona.
• "Vulnerable consumer, prices and fees", by Jordi Samarra, representative of the Interregional Association of Consumers and Users of Catalonia (AICUC).

The meeting discussed different views on the issue of energy poverty and various lines to address this issue.

Of the data available to the councils of Tarragona and Reus, the fact stands out that although the Energy Poverty Table has worked "a lot" so that everyone who is entitled to the Social Bond can benefit and it has been possible to increase the number of beneficiaries considerably, there are still some difficulties in accessing the Social Bond on the electricity bill.

In the specific case of Reus, the Energy Advisory Point, a service provided through Tarragona Engineers, recorded, during 2020, that 51% of families who used the service were entitled to the social bonus.

Now, with the pandemic, the figure of the vulnerable consumer has been created and more families can benefit from it.