The Emmer client council is not pleased with the action with energy-saving boxes of the municipality of Emmen. The campaign was destroyed by its own success. There was a run on the boxes with, among other things, LED lamps, draft strips and radiator foil, which meant that the municipality ran out of budget within two weeks.
The campaign was intended to temper the rising energy bill. Residents therefore received a letter containing a QR code to install the EnergieKnip app. With this app, points can be earned and these points can be exchanged at local hardware stores for energy saving boxes worth up to 50 euros.
Fiasco
The municipality received a subsidy of 150,000 euros for carrying out the action. You can earn and redeem points on the app until July 31, 2022. Chairman of the client council, Jakob van Vliet, describes the action as a fiasco. “The municipality had 49,000 letters ready, but just over 20,000 have been sent.”
The rest were not sent after the money ran out. So some of the residents of the municipality were left behind. “Only briefly was it mentioned that this was ‘out is gone’.” Van Vliet therefore speaks of a form of legal inequality towards the people who misunderstood.
lukewarm
Alderman René van der Weide says he is surprised by the success. There was only a lukewarm response to an earlier similar campaign last year. In addition, not every resident would be able to score a box: the maximum number was 3000.
Van der Weide acknowledged that sharper communication might have been in order here. As soon as there is a budget again, residents who have not received a letter will receive one, he promised.