The Constitutional Court’s ruling on Law 24/2015 means that Catalonia loses a pioneering model of protection against energy poverty

At Ecoserveis, we reject the Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the articles of Law 24/2015 that were intended to protect against energy poverty. We believe that this ruling undermines the basic rights of vulnerable individuals and weakens a protective framework that established Catalonia as a pioneering leader in Europe’s fight against energy poverty.

Law 24/2015 incorporated a fundamental feature: the precautionary principle. This mechanism meant that supply cuts could be avoided until the vulnerability of the affected household had been verified, putting people at the heart of public policy. Over the years, its application has been crucial in preventing energy poverty and ensuring decent living conditions for thousands of families.

This decision comes at a particularly worrying time. We are experiencing increasingly intense and frequent heatwaves, which increases the risk to the health and well-being of vulnerable people. Inability to maintain adequate thermal conditions at home during the summer is a form of energy poverty, with particularly severe consequences for older people, children, and those with chronic illnesses.

Although the authorities point to the social energy subsidy as an alternative protection tool, we believe that it does not replace the safeguards provided by Law 24/2015. The social energy subsidy has significant limitations in terms of both coverage and accessibility, and it excludes many people who are vulnerable in terms of energy.

At Ecoserveis, we are calling for effective protection against supply cuts, as well as for public policies that guarantee the right to energy to be strengthened.

Energy poverty is a structural problem requiring preventive mechanisms and a people-centred approach to rights and health. Relying solely on the social energy subsidy for protection shifts responsibility onto those affected and focuses protection on a tool that presents multiple access barriers in practice. Many vulnerable households do not apply for the social energy subsidy due to a lack of awareness, administrative difficulties, or because they do not meet requirements that often fail to reflect the social and economic reality of families adequately. This leaves a significant proportion of the population in energy poverty unprotected.

The model established by Law 24/2015 was based on a logic of prevention and guaranteeing rights, focusing on preventing harm and protecting people before they reach extreme situations. Therefore, replacing this model with the limited and conditional social tariff would represent a step backwards in terms of effective protection against energy poverty.