Living with Energy Poverty

Paola Velasco-Herrejón is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) Research Fellow in the Department of Technology Systems, University of Oslo, Norway. Her research adopts an interdisciplinary perspective to examine socio-technical aspects of the global energy transition and decarbonisation, focusing on well-being, energy poverty, participation, power, and social justice. She was a co-investigator of the EnergyMeasures H2020 project, which aims to better understand the lived experience of energy poverty and support energy-poor households across seven European countries. Breffní Lennon is a Research Fellow at the Cleaner Production Promotion Unit, Environmental Research Institute at University College Cork, Ireland. He is a geographer researching the energy geographies of climate change and the energy transition. His research focuses on emerging cultural ecologies of place, human-environment dimensions of energy, and the intersectional experiences of citizens in relation to environmental and energy justice. He is a co-Principal Investigator of the EnergyMeasures H2020 project and a co-investigator on the ENCLUDE H2020 project. Niall P. Dunphy is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Engineering and Architecture and the Environmental Research Institute at University College Cork, Ireland. Niall has over 20 years’ experience in multidisciplinary research; he leads the Cleaner Production Promotion Unit, a research group working at the intersection of science and engineering with the social sciences and humanities. His scholarship has a focus on the social dimensions of energy, with the unifying thread being the place of the energy citizen. Niall is the project Coordinator of EnergyMeasures (H2020 2020–2024), which is working to provide tailored advice and bespoke small measures to energy-vulnerable households across seven European countries.

INTRODUCTION

1. The Global Face of Energy Poverty

Paola Velasco-Herrejón, Breffní Lennon and Niall P. Dunphy

PART I – METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES

2. Identifying Energy-Poor Households, Experiences from the Global North

Niall P. Dunphy, Breffní Lennon, and Paola Velasco-Herrejón

3. How do We Measure Energy Poverty? The Limitations of Energy Expenditure as an Indicator

María María Ibañez Martín, María Florencia Zabaloy, and Federico Dubois

4. Unveiling Hidden Energy Poverty in a Time of Crisis: A Methodological Approach for National Statistics

Roberto Barrella and José Carlos Romero

5. Reflections from Quantitative Characterisations of Energy Poverty in Mexico: Methods, Energy Justice, and Geographic Differences

Adolfo Mejía-Montero and Pável Soriano-Hernández

6. Understanding the Lived Experience of Summer Energy Poverty through Participatory Action Research

Marta Gayoso Heredia, Daniel Torrego Gómez, Miguel Núñez Peiró, and Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez

7. What Energy Poverty Looks Like: Methodological Insights from a Study in the Republic of Georgia

Nino Antadze

PART II – LIVED EXPERIENCES

8. Not Equal Before the Energy System: Can Energy Justice Principles Lift Women in Rural West Africa Out of Energy Poverty?

Laurent Jodoin and Carelle Mang-Benza

9. Connected Yet Suffering: The Lived Experiences of Czech Households through Energy Service Providers Bankruptcies

Dominik David and Hedvika Koďousková

10. Insights on Energy Poverty from Street Vendors in Indonesia

Dinita Setyawati

11. Understanding Energy Poverty in South Africa

Nthabiseng Mohlakoana and Peta Wolpe

12. Resources and Skills of Low-Income Households to Tackle Energy Poverty in France

Coralie Robert

13. Too Cool or Too Hot: Thermal Comfort in Low-Income Homes and Lived Experiences of Energy Poverty in India and Austria

Tania Berger

14. Heating Deprivation in Southern Cone: Sensitivities and Resilience Shaping the Vulnerability Experience

Paz Araya, Tamara Oyarzún, and Betina Cardoso

15. Female Voices of Energy Deprivation: The Lived Experience of Energy Vulnerable Women in North Macedonia and Austria

Ana Stojilovska and Mariëlle Feenstra

PART III PRACTICES, POLICIES AND SUSTAINABILITY

16. Transitioning Out of Vulnerability Using the Neighborhood Energy Center Model

Alison Kenner, Andrew Rosenthal, Briana Leone, Morgan Sarao, James Adams, and Abby Tzinberg

17. Demand-side Flexibility to Address Household Energy Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Burkina Faso and Madagascar

Marine Cornelis, Edmond VII Mballa Elanga, and Luc Richaud

18. Assessing Energy Poverty and Potential Retrofit Scenarios in Residential Stock in Tirana, Albania

Sokol Dervishi, Gliti Mazniku, Alessia Tafani, and Ina Dervishi

19. From Energy Poverty to Vulnerability: A Discourse Analysis of the European Union’s National Energy and Climate Plans

Ahmed Noaman El-Sherbini and Ingmar Lippert

20. What of Recognition Justice? An Empirical Analysis of the Role of Recognition Justice in Social Housing Smart City Projects in the Global North

Luca Lamonaca and Susana Batel

21. A Burning Desire: Trying to Achieve SDG 7 and Improving Access to Cleaner Cooking Fuels in Rural Ghana

Dickson Boateng, Julian Bloomer, and John Morrissey

CONCLUSION

22. Towards a Better Understanding of Energy Poverty

Niall P. Dunphy, Breffní Lennon, and Paola Velasco-Herrejón

Index