The term fuel poverty has no concrete definition in Bulgarian legislation. For the purposes of the project, we define a fuel poor household as such that cannot afford its energy needs as evidenced by the fact that the household is applying for social aid for heating during the winter. The Social Ministry in Bulgaria gives out aid for heating during winter to selected households. The target group of ACHIEVE will be households applying for this kind of aid. An important target group is households that use coal for heating.

In France, it is assumed that between 4 and 5 million households are facing fuel poverty, whether because they spend more than 10% of income on total energy costs, or because they impose self- limitations on their energy consumption and suffer from cold at home. A national plan and funding scheme started in 2010, aiming to help 300 000 occupying owners with low-incomes to improve the energy performances of their home from 2017.

In Germany, there is neither an official definition for fuel poverty nor is there statistical data about people who live in fuel poverty. The consumer protection association estimates that each year, more than 800,000 households (2 %) are cut of from their power supply because they are not able to pay their bills.

Due to growing prices of energy the issue of fuel poverty is becoming an alarming issue in Slovenia. Roughly speaking, about one third of the households in Slovenia suffer fuel poverty (by the european definition). However, energy prices are not the only contributing factor. Also of relevance is the poor condition of buildings. 44,5% of low income families and 28% of families with higher income level live in humid and poorly maintained buildings (leaking roof, humid foundations, floor or walls, shattered windows). This means that in Slovenia fuel poverty could be widespread also in households that are not strictly poor.

In the UK the lack of affordable warmth (the ability to heat your home to an adequate level for household comfort and health, without developing a debt as a result) has for some time been recognised by the term “fuel poverty”. The UK Government accepts that households needing to spend 10% or more of income to achieve adequate warmth for health and comfort are experiencing fuel poverty.