Filenews 19 January 2026 - by Theano Thiopoulou
An effort is being made to ensure that consumers across Europe are informed about the electricity tariffs they pay, with a focus on the most affordable bills, to have old homes with better energy efficiency, and here the contribution of states is requested for home renovations. For this reason, the European Consumer Organization has released a guide – report on "How to make energy markets work for consumers and deliver affordable bills". It details the European Consumer Organization's energy policy priorities in the 2030s, mapping out what is currently working well and what still needs to be improved. The resulting recommendations include:
-Improve energy bill clarity and better price comparison tools
-Better implementation of consumer rights
-Easier access to renewable energy and flexible electricity offerings
-Maintaining network costs for consumers
-Accelerating the transition to clean heating and increasing the energy efficiency (and therefore affordability) of homes
– Ensuring that funding is in place to support consumers
The guide lists the ten recommendations made to protect consumers such as: Member States should introduce standardised national standards for both the summary of key contractual information and energy bills; This will help consumers better understand what they are signing up for and how much energy they are consuming.
Policymakers and regulators should ensure that consumer rights actually exist, not just on paper. Consumers must be able to exercise their rights and protect themselves from misleading sales practices through stricter penalties. Policymakers and regulators should facilitate people's access to renewable energy or energy-efficient technology. This includes the process by which they can install solar panels, the promotion of innovative technologies (such as plug-in solar panels). Europe's electricity grid will evolve to accommodate the adoption of renewable energy and electric cars.
Policymakers should propose measures to accelerate the transition from fossil fuel heating to renewable energy. This should include stronger consumer protection, better financing options, reasonable energy bills, easier access to information and independent advice, as well as high-quality facilities. Renovating EU homes is essential for affordability, comfort and achieving climate goals.
The European Consumer Organisation implemented a project between 2021 and 2024 to increase the adoption of renewable energy sources. One of the findings was that tenants and landlords do not have the same incentives ("segregated incentives"). On a positive note, Slovenia stood out in terms of the option under which tenants can adopt renewable energy with the landlord's explicit consent. This possibility should exist in every Member State. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) can spur owners to promote renewable energy.
Priority in renovation over new constructions
Currently, 75% of Europe's housing stock is low energy efficient, leading to high heating and cooling bills and high greenhouse gas emissions. Improving the efficiency of the European housing stock responds to the structural problem of energy poverty and how to deal with high energy bills, reducing the need for energy, the report notes. Participating in a home renovation project is a difficult endeavour, and recent EU legislation requires countries to set up one-stop shop services, a place where consumers receive expert help for their renovation projects. This should make life easier for consumers, and countries should implement these rules quickly.
Research by the European Consumer Organisation also shows that there can be very significant variations in the quality and reliability of residential energy ratings. Countries should increase the reliability and quality of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and better monitor the work of energy auditors. The price of housing, the report notes, has increased dramatically in recent years, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to access affordable and decent housing. To address this problem, policymakers should ensure that affordable housing is not disconnected from sustainable housing, and renovation should be prioritised over new construction. Most of the buildings that European households will live in by 2050 are in their majority energy inefficient. Therefore, says the European Consumer Organisation, the main focus of state funding should be mainly on renovation, as this is where the greatest need lies.
