Enerzjy-earmoed Nimt Ta yn Hiel Noard-Europa
May 4, 2026 · Frisian News
Heating and electricity bills have pushed hundreds of thousands of households in Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands into energy poverty. Governments subsidized costs during the crisis, but those programs expire as energy markets remain unstable.
FryskIn 58-jierrige widdo yn Kopenhagen sette yn jannewaris har ferwaarming út om jild te besparjen en droech trije truien binnen. Se snijde har enerzjyrekken yn twaën, mar betellet noch altyd mear as 400 euro yn de moanne foar wat oerbliuwt. Har ferhaal klinkt troch oer hiel Noard-Europa, dêr't enerzjy-earmoed no ien op de acht húshâldens rekket, omheech fan ien op de tolve fjouwer jier lyn. Statistyk Denemark rapportearre de sprong ferline wike, en ferlykbere sifers komme út Sweden en Nederlân.
Regearingsorganen dielden needsubsydzjes en priisplafonds út tidens it slimste fan de enerzjykrisis dy't folge op de Russyske ynfal yn Oekraïne. Brussel sette gasplafonds en needhulppakketten ter wearde fan miljarden troch. Dizze maatregels holden miljoenen minsken waarm en ferljochte. Mar dy tydlike oplossings ferfalle dit jier, en enerzjypriizen jouwe gjin teken dat se sakje. Leveransiers hawwe te krijen mei strengere regeljouwing en hegere rasterkosten, dy't se trochberekkenje oan konsuminten. Ûndertusken hawwe húshâldens al oeral oars de útjeften beheind, wêrtroch neat mear oerbliuwt.
De earmste gesinnen lije it meast. In mem mei dieltiidwurk yn Amsterdam jout in tredde fan har ynkomsten út oan nutsfoarsjennings, omheech fan in fyfde yn 2022. Har húsbaas sil it gebou net isolearje, omdat hierkontrôles beheinen wat hy freegje kin. Se kin net ferhuze, omdat betelbere wenning net bestiet. Skoallen melde bern dy't yn kâlde moannen mei ûnfoldwaande jassen nei skoalle komme; leararen besykje klaslokalen waarm te hâlden nettsjinsteande hege kosten. Fiedselbanken jouwe no termyske tekkens út njonken boadskippen.
Politisy jouwe merken, oarloch en oergongskosten de skuld. Se kondigen griene enerzjydoelen oan en prate oer oplossings op lange termyn. Mar se dogge min oan de akute krisis. In pear regearings hawwe stil subsidies ferlingd, bang foar de kosten en it sinjaal dat it jout. Ynkomensbûne help berikt mar in diel fan wa't it nedich hat, beheind troch papierwurk en burokratyske fertragingen. De measte help berikt nea de minsken dy't it beweart te beskermjen. Ûndertusken bliuwt de belangstelling foar omskeakeljen nei goedkeapere alternativen lykas wetterstof of biomassa leech, omdat de ynfrastruktuer hast net bestiet.
Enerzjy-earmoed ûntnimt weardichheid en skeadiget sûnens. Bern groeie op yn kâlde huzen. Âlderen slaan de ferwaarming oer om rekkens te foarkommen, wat liedt ta mear sikehûsbesites en betiid ferstjerren. Dochs behannelje regearings it as in bywurking fan foarútgong, net as in krisis dy't driuwende maatregels easket. De kleau tusken dyjingen dy't betelje kinne en dyjingen dy't dat net kinne, wurdt eltse moanne grutter.
A 58-year-old widow in Copenhagen turned off her heating in January to save money and wore three sweaters indoors instead. She cut her power bill by half but still pays over 400 euros a month for what remains. Her story echoes across northern Europe, where energy poverty now affects one in eight households, up from one in twelve just four years ago. Statistics Denmark reported the jump last week, and similar numbers emerge from Sweden and the Netherlands.
Governments handed out emergency subsidies and price caps during the worst of the energy shock that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Brussels pushed gas price ceilings and emergency aid packages totaling billions. These measures kept millions of people warm and lit. But those temporary fixes expire this year, and energy prices show no sign of falling. Suppliers face tighter regulations and higher grid costs, which they pass to consumers. Meanwhile, households have already cut spending everywhere else, leaving them with nowhere left to go.
The poorest families suffer most. A mother working part-time in Amsterdam spends a third of her income on utilities, up from a fifth in 2022. Her landlord will not insulate the building because rent controls limit what he can charge. She cannot move because affordable housing does not exist. Schools report children coming to class in cold months with inadequate coats, teachers trying to keep classrooms warm despite high costs. Food banks now give out thermal blankets alongside groceries.
Politicians blame markets, war, and transition costs. They announce green energy targets and talk of long-term solutions. Yet they do little about the immediate crisis. A few governments have extended subsidies quietly, afraid of the cost and the message it sends. Means-tested aid reaches only a fraction of those who need it, hampered by paperwork and bureaucratic delays. Most help never finds the people it claims to protect. Meanwhile, interest in switching to cheaper alternatives like hydrogen or biomass remains low because infrastructure barely exists.
Energy poverty strips dignity from people and damages health. Children grow up in cold homes. The elderly skip heating to avoid bills, leading to more hospital visits and early deaths. Yet governments treat it as a side effect of progress, not a crisis demanding urgent action. The gap between those who can pay and those who cannot grows wider each month.
Published May 4, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân