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As winter takes hold, thousands of people across the Region of Murcia are facing the same stark dilemma each day: whether to spend what little money they have on heating or on other essentials. New data shows that almost one in five people in the region cannot afford to adequately heat their home during the winter months.

 

According to Spain’s Living Conditions Survey, 19.6 percent of Murcians are affected by energy poverty, giving the region the fourth highest rate in the country, behind Ceuta, Melilla and Andalucía. The national average stands at 17.6 percent. In practical terms, this means that more than 311,000 people in the Region of Murcia are living with the cold as a daily reality.

 

For Federico Montalbán, coordinator of the European Anti-Poverty Network in the Region (EAPN-RM), the statistics only tell part of the story. “Energy poverty forces you to make dramatic choices all the time: either heating or eating more meat this month; either the medication I need or turning on the heater for the children,” he explains. He adds that the problem affects a wide range of households, “from those who live in shantytowns, to those who live in homes without heating, or neighbours who have it but cannot afford to turn it on”.

 

The pressure is compounded by rising household costs, with 13.4 percent of the region’s population reporting difficulties paying electricity and gas bills during 2024, underlining the broader cost-of-living pressures already flagged at the end of last year.

 

For charities working on the ground, the emotional toll is just as significant as the financial one. Ana Belén Madrid, a reception worker at Cáritas in Caravaca de la Cruz, says shame often prevents people from asking for help. “We see families who heat one room with a small heater and then go to bed in freezing bedrooms, or people whose homes let the cold in through every crack and who feel very embarrassed about it,” she says.

 

Mari, a single mother in Caravaca who asked to keep her real name private, knows that struggle well. Living in a rented flat with old, inefficient appliances, she says the electricity bill left little room to keep warm. “We only turn on a small butane heater in the living room, and sometimes I have to ask relatives for help when it runs out,” she explains. After Cáritas helped replace her fridge and washing machine, her monthly bill dropped from around 80 euros to about 35. “It’s taken a huge weight off my shoulders,” she says.

 

Older people are among the most vulnerable. Isabel, 77, from Murcia city, relies on a widow’s pension and spends winter days sitting over a small, traditional, brazier heater. “I wear several layers and pile on blankets. Whatever it takes to stop the bill from skyrocketing,” she says.

 

Nearly 46,000 people in the region receive the Thermal Social Bonus, funded with more than 9 million euros and designed to help cover heating and hot water costs. Even so, charities warn that demand for help continues to rise as cold weather sets in.

 

 

Image: Katrina_S/Pixabay