A Territorial Estimate for Household Energy Vulnerability: An Application for Spain

Abstract

This paper proposes a composite indicator intended to assess territorial differences in household energy vulnerability. Although the estimation of household energy vulnerability has received less attention in scientific literature than energy poverty, it is a key element for political action as it allows for the diagnosis and subsequent action to tackle potential situations of household poverty before they actually occur. In this sense, the principal contribution of this article is a proposal for a tool designed to quantify the abstract and multidimensional phenomenon of household energy vulnerability. The technique used for constructing this synthetic indicator allows for the participation of stakeholders, especially policy makers, in defining and calculating the index. The synthetic index for energy vulnerability has been estimated for Spanish provinces. The results allow for the creation of a map providing an approximate insight into the spatial distribution of household energy vulnerability in Spain.

Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: A Research and Policy Agenda

“…In the Italian case, Besagni and Borgarello [61] argue that geographical differences among regions are the main variable in explaining the distribution of households affected by energy poverty. The use of a composite indicator to assess territorial disparities in household vulnerability to energy poverty has led Murias et al [16] to conclude that understandings of the impact of energy poverty in Spain need to focus on "dimensions different from the economic ones, such as the decentralization of energy infrastructures and improvement of renewable energy access" (p. 19). For Portugal, Horta et al [62] find that "more affluent regions and households have lower levels of vulnerability to energy poverty" (p. 8), although they also note that many households feel it is "normal and acceptable to feel thermal discomfort at home" (ibid).…”

“…The roles that increasing energy prices [12] and low levels of energy efficiency [13,14] play in this context has also been extensively investigated. The types of countries, regions and neighbourhoods that are most affected by energy poverty have also been explored in the literature [15], along with the geographic features of associated inequalities and vulnerabilities [16][17][18]. Indicator frameworks have been examined and improved, highlighting new factors that need to be taken into consideration through innovative measurement and approaches [19,20].…”

Liveability Versus Sustainability in Spanish Cities: First Evidences Using Synthetic Indicators

“…Following this research, the goal concept was applied to the construction of composite indicators in an article by Blancas et al (2010), albeit not as an optimisation process. The diverse advantages of this aggregation technique explain the fact that it had been used in several works in various fields (Lozano-Oyola et al, 2012;Molinos-Senante et al, 2016;Pérez et al, 2016;Blancas et al, 2018;Murias et al, 2020). As it was explained, the aggregation of indicators based on goal programming used in this article does not involve an optimization procedure, so it is not necessary to define an objective function.…”

Energy Poverty: Measurement and Governance in Europe and Lessons for Australia

“…The spatial variation in energy poverty/ hardship requires greater analysis including the regions and neighbourhoods that are most affected and the geographic features of associated inequalities and vulnerabilities (Murias et al 2020 andRobinson andMattioli 2020). Relevant factors include climate and levels of economic development (Primc et al 2019); institutional structures and capabilities and the ways in which policy is influenced by private and third sector actors; the mediating role of social workers (Scarpellini et al 2017); policy, planning and infrastructure on energy efficiency (Teschner et al 2020); gender inequalities that shape household practices of responding to, preventing and resisting energy poverty (both gendered vulnerabilities and agencies) (Petrova and Simcock 2021); the sociodemographic and household-level determinants of poor health status, and the crucial role that poor housing and inadequate energy efficiency play in this context (Kose 2019); and the relationship between energy and transport and the interdependencies among the different forms of exclusion, infrastructural development, environmental policy and energy costs (Robinson and Mattioli 2020;Horta 2020;Martiskainen et al 2021).…”