The Transition Point pilot project is an initiative of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Portugal. Operating from a reused shipping container, Transition Point is a ‘one-stop shop’ that offers services to local populations, including advice on electricity and gas, information and support for home energy efficiency, and free energy assessments.

It was implemented in the district of Setúbal, near Lisbon, between 2022 and 2023, in partnership with three other Portuguese entities: the Energy and Environment Agency of Arrábida (ENA), FCT- NOVA University of Lisbon’s Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research (CENSE) and the Association of Energy and Environment Agencies (RNAE).

The initiative provides valuable pointers for projects working with hard-to-reach or vulnerable communities on energy issues. This report presents the key findings and takeaways from the pilot, from setting up to scaling impact and catalysing change.

Findings at a glance

Mobile ‘one-stop shops’ – bringing advice to the heart of communities under one roof – can improve living conditions for vulnerable households, increase their resilience, and underpin a just energy transition which leaves no one behind as we all adapt to climate change. Transition Point modelled an innovative local response to alleviating energy poverty – from problem diagnosis and solution design to direct citizen support and community engagement.

The project shows that:

• Vulnerable households require tailor-made engagement and support; one-stop shops can frame this effectively through early multidisciplinary collaboration and continuing close partnership with local authorities and social support institutions.
• Robust and varied data collection allows projects to fine-tune support in real-time in response to what local people need.
• A well-aligned local action framework has impact, but vulnerable households may be unable to implement advice without considerable and stable financial support.
• One-stop shops can act as a bridge between (sometimes complex) financial support programmes and vulnerable individuals.

Transition Point has since attracted attention from the private and public sectors to scale or replicate the initiative, and is referenced in policy guidance as an example of best practice. The Foundation continues to champion effective approaches to tackling energy poverty and is taking lessons from Transition Point forward into the Sustainability grant-making programme.