Naturgy Foundation and Santiago de Compostela Local Council help around 60 vulnerable families in the city use power more efficiently and reduce their energy bills

The Naturgy Foundation and Santiago de Compostela Local Council have trained about 60 families in the city this year through training workshops organised by the Energy School of the power company's foundation. The goal is to offer advice on more efficient energy consumption, thereby reducing energy bills without detriment to the level of comfort they enjoy at home.

These sessions address matters relating to energy efficiency and bill optimisation, and also identify who may be eligible for the subsidised rate and provide help applying for it. “Our aim is to empower the most vulnerable people, so that they can minimise the impact of energy costs by applying the measures and advice explained in the workshops, and train social workers to help them in their daily work,” says Ester Sevilla, Head of the Social and International Projects Department of the Naturgy Foundation.

For Sandra María Ferreño, a social worker for Santiago Council Social Services, “the activity has been very positive, both for the people participating and the local social workers, because it has enabled us all to notice the importance of saving energy and identify specific actions we can carry out in our daily lives to achieve this. It has also provided people who have previously never attended an Energy School session with access to resources such as the subsidised rate”.

One participant in the workshops explained that “we have learned a lot about how to save on electricity and gas, and understand our consumption. It has been very beneficial to do it in a group”.

The training sessions held with Santiago de Compostela Local Council are part of the 111 sessions that the Naturgy Foundation has organised in different towns across the province of A Coruña this year. These sessions have been attended by one thousand vulnerable families and local social workers.

The Energy School is a Naturgy Foundation project forming part of the Naturgy Energy Vulnerability Plan.María Eugenia Coronado, Managing Director of the Naturgy Foundation, highlighted the partnership between the foundation and local authorities and social entities. “This initiative has been made possible by our partnership with such experienced travel companions as the public authorities, and the professionals and volunteers of NGOs such as the Red Cross and Caritas, and many other social entities that do a great job in municipalities all over Spain”.

Since its launch in June 2017, the Energy School has trained more than 16,000 people, including energy vulnerable families, specialists in the third sector and the public authorities throughout Spain.

Any organisation or local council wishing to offer this kind of free training can get in touch with the Naturgy Foundation through the foundation’s website (www.fundacionnaturgy.org) or by email escuelaenergia@naturgy.com