an electricity bill whose rates have skyrocketed to unprece-dented levels in recent months. Spain’s Environmental Science Association (ACA) defines energy poverty as “the inability to meet basic energy needs like keeping a home at a healthy temperature (18°C to 21°C in the winter and up to 25°C in the summer, according to the WHO).” According to the ACA, “the causes of energy precarity include, most notably, modest family income, insufficient energy efficiency in homes, and high energy costs.” It also points out that “some households may be energy poor without being financially poor or at risk of exclusion, which makes it a phenomenon distinct from the broader terms of pov- A PIONEERING PROJECT THAT CAN BE REPRODUCED THE PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM DISTRIBUTES POWER TO 43 FAMILIES AND SEVERAL MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS On this screen, some of the panels installed for the auto-consumption project. Next screen, a street in San Juan del Puerto. A PIONEERING PROJECT THAT CAN BE REPRODUCED • Spain’s 2019-2024 National Energy Poverty Strategy estimates that between 3.5 and 8.1 million people in the country face this sort of pover-ty. In December 2021, the percentage of inhabitants unable to keep their homes at an adequate temperature rose to 10.9%. Arrears on electricity bills also climbed to 9.6%. The European Committee of the Regions esti-mates that 11% of the Community’s population suffers the effects of en-ergy poverty. • In this first year, acciona.org’s program supplies 43 households selected in partnership with the local council. It proposes a replicable collective au-to-consumption solution to cut municipal and household costs, in addi-tion to decarbonizing the energy consumption of both. • It fosters co-responsibility between institutions and communities to keep the project going in the long-term. The useful life of the photovoltaic sys-tem is 25 years, and the service concession arrangement is for 15 years. • The guaranteed minimum savings on household consumption is 20%. Over 40% of the solar power generated goes to homes and the rest to buildings like the municipal swimming pool, the senior citizens center, and the Town Hall. • The foundation calculates the partition coefficient per household with the aim of minimizing surpluses and maximizing savings, through anal-ysis of generation data and consumption curves. It performs monthly monitoring and impact evaluations to improve savings. • In partnership with Huelva’s provincial energy agency, the foundation edu-cates families on interpreting their bills and efficient energy usage, and of-fers other recommendations to optimize their electricity consumption.