ABSTRACT
In Romania energy poverty is present in a variety of forms. To address it, there is a robust relief system in place. Yet, it fails to capture this diversity and address energy poverty accordingly. Change is difficult due to its high political and administrative legitimacy and institutional resistance. By evoking three recent situations that have placed energy poverty at the core of the public agenda, the present chapter aims to describe the system and its underlying principles, while signaling many of its inconsistencies with their very concrete impact. It also describes how politics is dealing with the topic that is so little understood. There are many reasons to believe that the current system needs to be restored in order to be able to overcome its inefficiencies, but not through complete abolition. Public trust, stability, and outreach are qualities of the system that are important in the process of containing energy poverty. Essentially, empowering the local level to take suitable measures, harnessing an integrated national approach across policies, and enabling institutional communication horizontally and vertically should be three fundamental changes that would put in motion a system that may start delivering results.
