Changes from plenary report to adopted text

(h) information relating to consumer rights, including information on complaint handling and all of the information referred to in this paragraph, which is clearly communicated on the bill or the undertaking's web site and includes the contact details or link to the web site of the single point of contact referred to in Article 21.

Conditions shall be fair and known in advance. In any case, this information shall be provided prior to the conclusion or confirmation of the contract. Where contracts are concluded through intermediaries, the information relating to the matters set out in this paragraph shall also be provided prior to the conclusion of the contract.

Final customers and final users shall be provided with a summary of the key contractual conditions in a comprehensible manner and in concise and simple language.

2a. Suppliers shall provide final customers and final users with a copy of the contract, transparent information on applicable prices and tariffs and on standard terms and conditions in respect of access to and use of heating, cooling and domestic hot water services.

3. Final customers shall be given adequate notice of any intention to modify contractual conditions. Suppliers shall notify their final customers, in a transparent and comprehensible manner, directly of any adjustment in the supply price and of the reasons and preconditions for the adjustment and its scope, at an appropriate time no later than two weeks, or no later than one month in the case of household customers, before the adjustment comes into effect. Final customers shall be informed of their right to terminate a contract if they do not accept the new contractual conditions or adjustments in the price notified to them by the supplier in accordance to the contract. Final customers shall inform final users of the intended contractual changes without delay.

4. Suppliers shall offer final customers a wide choice of payment methods. Such payment methods shall not unduly discriminate between customers. Any difference in charges related to payment methods or prepayment systems shall be objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate and shall not exceed the direct costs borne by the payee for the use of a specific payment method or a prepayment system, in line with Article 62 of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

5. Pursuant to paragraph 6, household customers who have access to prepayment systems shall not be placed at a disadvantage by the prepayment systems.

6. Suppliers shall offer final customers and, where applicable, final users fair and transparent general terms and conditions, which shall be provided in plain and unambiguous language and shall not include non-contractual barriers to the exercise of customers' rights, such as excessive contractual documentation. Final users shall be provided access to these general terms and conditions upon request. Final customers and final users shall be protected against unfair or misleading selling methods. Final customers with disabilities shall be provided all relevant information on their contract with their supplier in accessible formats.

7. Final customers and final users shall have the right to a good standard of service and complaint handling by their suppliers. Suppliers shall handle complaints in a simple, fair and prompt manner.

7a. Competent authorities responsible for the enforcement of the consumer protection measures laid down in this Directive shall be independent from market interests and shall be able to take administrative decisions.

For the purposes of this Article, these measures shall include a range of instruments and policies to promote behavioural change such as:

(i) fiscal incentives;

(ii) access to finance, vouchers, grants or subsidies;

(ii a) the availability of publicly-supported energy audits and tailored-made advisory services and support for household consumers, in particular vulnerable customers, people affected by energy poverty and, where applicable, people living in social housing;

(ii b) tailored-made advisory services for SMEs and microenterprises;

(iii) information provision in accessible form to people with disabilities ;

(iv) exemplary projects;

(v) workplace activities;

(vi) training activities;

(vii) digital tools;

(vii a) engagement strategies.

For the purposes of this article, these measures shall also include but not be limited to the following ways and means to engage market actors such as those referred in paragraph 1:

(i) creation of one-stop shops or similar mechanisms for the provision of technical, administrative and financial advice and assistance on energy efficiency, including onsite energy checks for households, energy renovations of buildings, information on the replacement of old and inefficient heating systems with modern and more efficient appliances and the take-up of renewable energy and energy storage for buildings to final customers and final users, especially household and small non-household ones, including SMEs and microenterprises;

(i a) cooperation with private actors that provide services such as energy audits, financing solutions and execution of energy renovations and promotion of such services;

(ii) communication of cost-effective and easy-to-achieve changes in energy use;

(iii) dissemination of information on energy efficiency measures and financing instruments;

(iv) provision of single points of contact, to provide final customers and final users with all necessary information concerning their rights, the applicable law and dispute settlement mechanisms available to them in the event of a dispute. Such single points of contact may be part of general consumer information points.

2a. For the purpose of this Article, Member States shall engage with relevant authorities and private stakeholders for the purpose of developing dedicated local, regional or national one-stop shops for energy efficiency. Those one-stop shops shall be cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary and lead to locally developed projects by:

(a) advising and providing streamlined information on technical and financial possibilities and solutions to households, SMEs, microenterprises, public bodies;

(b) connecting potential projects with market players, in particular smaller-scale projects;

(c) advising on energy consumption behaviour with the aim of actively engaging the consumers;

(d) providing information on training programmes and education to ensure more energy efficiency professionals and to re-skill and up-skill professionals in order to meet the market needs;

(e) collecting and submitting typology aggregated data from energy efficiency projects facilitated by the one-stop-shops to the Commission, which shall be published by the Commission in a report every second year in order to share experiences and enhance cross-border cooperation between Member States in order to promote best practice examples from different building, housing and enterprise typologies;

(g) developing services for energy poor, vulnerable consumers and low-income households.

Member States shall work together with local and regional authorities to encourage cooperation among public bodies, energy agencies and community-led initiatives and to promote, develop and upscale one-stop shops through an integrated process. The Commission shall provide Member States with guidelines to develop those one-stop shops with the aim of creating a harmonised approach throughout the Union.

3. Member States shall establish appropriate conditions for market actors to provide adequate and targeted information and advice to final consumers , including vulnerable customers, people affected by energy poverty and, where applicable, people living in social housing on energy efficiency, SMEs and microenterprises.

4. Member States shall ensure that final customers, final users, vulnerable customers, people affected by energy poverty and, where applicable, people living in social housing, have access to simple, fair, transparent, independent, effective and efficient out-of-court mechanisms for the settlement of disputes concerning rights and obligations established under this Directive, through an independent mechanism such as an energy ombudsperson or a consumer body, or through a regulatory authority. Where the final customer is a consumer as defined in Article 4(1)(a) of Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, such out-of-court dispute settlement mechanisms shall comply with the requirements set out therein.

Where necessary, Member States shall ensure that alternative dispute resolution entities cooperate to provide simple, fair, transparent, independent, effective and efficient out-of-court dispute settlement mechanisms for any dispute that arises from products or services that are tied to, or bundled with, any product or service falling under the scope of this Directive.

The participation of undertakings in out-of-court dispute settlement mechanisms for household customers shall be mandatory unless the Member State demonstrates to the Commission that other mechanisms are equally effective.

5. Without prejudice to the basic principles of their property and tenancy law, Member States shall take necessary measures to remove regulatory and non-regulatory barriers to energy efficiency, as regards the split of incentives between the owners and tenants or among owners of a building or building unit , with a view to ensuring that these parties are not deterred from making efficiency-improving investments that they would otherwise have made by the fact that they will not individually obtain the full benefits or by the absence of rules for dividing the costs and benefits between them;

Measures to remove such barriers may include providing incentives, including on financing and the possibility to turn to third-party financing solutions, repealing or amending legal or regulatory provisions, or adopting guidelines and interpretative communications, or simplifying administrative procedures , including national rules and measures regulating decision-making processes in multi-owner properties . The measures may be combined with the provision of education, training and specific information and technical assistance on energy efficiency to market actors such as those referred in paragraph 1.

Member States shall take appropriate measures to support a multilateral dialogue with the participation of relevant local and regional authorities, public and social partners such as owners and tenants organisations, consumer organisations, energy distributors or retail energy sales companies, ESCOs, renewable energy communities, citizen energy communities local and regional authorities, relevant public authorities and agencies and the aim to set out proposals on jointly accepted measures, incentives and guidelines pertinent to the split of incentives between the owners and tenants or among owners of a building or building unit.

Each Member State shall report such barriers and the measures taken in its long-term renovation strategy pursuant to Article 2a of Directive 2010/31/EU and Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

6. The Commission shall encourage the exchange and wide dissemination of information on good energy efficiency practices and methodologies and provide technical assistance to mitigate the split of incentives in Member States.

Empowering and protecting vulnerable customers and alleviating energy poverty

1. Member States shall develop a robust long-term strategy and take appropriate measures to empower and protect people affected by energy poverty, vulnerable customers and low-income households and, where applicable, people living in social housing.

In defining the concept of vulnerable customers pursuant to Articles 28(1) and 29 of Directive (EU) 2019/944 and Article 3(3) of Directive 2009/73/EC, Member States shall take into account final users.

2. Member States shall implement energy efficiency improvement measures and related consumer protection or information measures, in particular those set out in Article 21 and Article 8(3), as a priority among people affected by energy poverty, vulnerable customers, low-income households and, where applicable, people living in social housing to alleviate energy poverty. Member States shall introduce proper monitoring and evaluation instruments to ensure that people affected by energy poverty are supported by energy efficiency improvement measures.

3. To support vulnerable customers, people affected by energy poverty, low-income households, and, where applicable, people living in social housing, Member States shall: