The document discusses energy poverty in Europe, highlighting its definitions, core drivers, and historical recognition within the EU. It outlines various national definitions of fuel poverty and presents findings from a European research project aimed at understanding urban energy poverty, particularly in post-socialist states. The document emphasizes the need for improved data, a broad EU definition of energy poverty, and tailored policy responses to address specific energy needs.

1. Energy poverty in Europe
Definitions and indicators
Dr Harriet Thomson
Professor Stefan Bouzarovski
Dr Saska Petrova
Dr Neil Simcock
University of Manchester

2. What is energy poverty?
When a household is unable to secure materially-
and socially-necessitated levels of domestic energy
services (Bouzarovski and Petrova, 2015)
Core drivers include:
• Energy needs and practices
• Affordability and ability to access cheaper fuels
• Efficiency of built fabric and equipment
• Household income
• Policy marginalisation

3. A potted history…
• 1979 - British civil servants identified the issue
• 1991 - Brenda Boardman published her seminal book
• 2001 - Concerns first raised at the EU-level in an ECSC
opinion document
• 2003 - Explicit recognition given to household
customers in revised gas/electricity market directives
• 2009 - Energy poverty given legal recognition in 3rd
energy package
• 2016 – ongoing Energy Union reviews, opportunity to
further incorporate energy poverty measures!

4. UK (2001-2013):
“A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it
needs to spend more than 10% of its income
on fuel to maintain an adequate level of
warmth”
England (new LIHC 2013-):
A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it
1. has required fuel costs that are above
average (the national median level)
2. were they to spend that amount, they
would be left with a residual income below
the official poverty line (60% median
income)
Ireland (2007-):
“the inability to afford adequate warmth in a
home, or the inability to achieve adequate
warmth because of the energy inefficiency
of the home”
France (2009-):
A person is considered fuel poor "if he/she
encounters particular difficulties in his/her
accommodation in terms of energy supply
related to the satisfaction of elementary
needs, this being due to the inadequacy of
financial resources or housing conditions”
Slovakia (2015-):
“Energy poverty under the law No. 250/2012 Coll. Of Laws is a status when average monthly
expenditures of household on consumption of electricity, gas, heating and hot water
production represent a substantial share of average monthly income of the household”
(Strakova, 2014: 3).

5. Pan-European data context
• No dedicated survey of energy poverty
• Main data source is the EU Statistics on Income and
Living Conditions:
1) Ability to afford to keep the home warm
2) Leaking roof, damp, and/or rot in home
3) Arrears on utility bills in the last 12 months
• As well as Household Budget Surveys
• Provides actual expenditure data at national level
• Not currently standardised across Europe

6. EVALUATE project
• Energy Vulnerability and Urban Transitions in Europe
(EVALUATE) www.urban-energy.org
• Five-year European Research Council funded project
• Aims to establish the driving forces of urban energy
poverty in the post-socialist states of Eastern and
Central Europe
• Multi-scalar: institutions, households, and buildings
• Multi-methods: interviews, energy diaries, local
surveys, statistical modelling and more

7. EVALUATE: An urban
and neighbourhood
level approach
• Focusing on dynamics within
two inner-city
neighbourhoods, while:
• Exploring national and city-
level processes
• Local support (Gdansk
University, Charles
University, CEU, CUW, Ss.
Cyril and Methodius
University)

8. Early findings
• Energy poverty is complex and dynamic, varying
spatially and temporally
• Summertime cooling is a significant issue
• Some households are switching to traditional fuels,
such as firewood, as a coping mechanism
• Typologies that challenge notions of vulnerability:
• Short-term residents - often renters and in early adulthood
• Working age families - often in full employment and with
school-aged children
• Highly educated households in poor quality and/or
expensive housing

9. Moving forward - policy
• Need to recognise specific energy needs and
all energy services (especially cooling)
• Focus on other energy carriers, e.g. heating oil
• Challenge MS vulnerable customer definitions
• Adopt a broad EU definition of energy poverty
• Review & address gaps in 3rd energy package

10. Moving forward - data
• Radically improve EU indicators to enhance
our understanding of energy poverty
• See Thomson and Snell (2014) for recommendations
• Increase technical and scientific capacity
• Promote data sharing and progression beyond
state-of-the-art:
• Data4Action – good example of data sharing
• EUFPN http://fuelpoverty.eu/findresource/ (350+ articles)

11. Thank you
www.urban-energy.org | www.fuelpoverty.eu
@harrimus
@stefanbuzar
@curemanchester

12. Further reading
• Bouzarovski, S., and Petrova, S. (2015). A global perspective on domestic energy deprivation:
Overcoming the energy poverty–fuel poverty binary. Energy Research & Social Science, 10: 31-40.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221462961500078X
• Bouzarovski, S., and Tirado Herrero, S. (2015). The energy divide: Integrating energy transitions,
regional inequalities and poverty trends in the European Union. European Urban and Regional
Studies, in press. http://eur.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/08/21/0969776415596449.abstract
• Bouzarovski, S., Tirado Herrero, S., Petrova, S., and Ürge-Vorsatz, D. (2015). Unpacking the spaces
and politics of energy poverty: path-dependencies, deprivation and fuel switching in post-
communist Hungary. Local Environment, in press.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13549839.2015.1075480#.V3vymVcg-8U
• Thomson, H., Snell, C., and Liddell, C. (2016). Fuel poverty in the European Union: a concept in
need of definition? People, Place and Policy. Available at: http://extra.shu.ac.uk/ppp-online/fuel-
poverty-in-the-european-union-a-concept-in-need-of-definition/
• Thomson, H. (2015). Exploring the incidence and intensity of fuel poverty in the EU. Available at:
• http://urban-energy.org/2015/07/02/workshop-report-fuel-poverty-and-energy-vulnerability-in-
europe/.
• Thomson, H., and Snell, C. (2014). Fuel Poverty Measurement in Europe: a Pilot Study. University
of York. Available at: http://fuelpoverty.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Fuel-Poverty-
Measurement-in-Europe-Final-report-v2.pdf