Measuring energy poverty: Focusing on what matters

Abstract

The provision of modern energy services is recognised as a critical foundation for sustainable development, and is central to the everyday lives of people. Effective policies to dramatically expand modern energy access need to be grounded in a robust information-base. Metrics that can be used for comparative purposes and to track progress towards targets therefore represent an essential support tool. This paper reviews the relevant literature, and discusses the adequacy and applicability of existing instruments to measure energy poverty. Drawing on those insights, it proposes a new composite index to measure energy poverty. Both the associated methodology and initial results for several African countries are discussed. Whereas most existing indicators and composite indices focus on assessing the access to energy, or the degree of development related to energy, our new index-the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI)-focuses on the deprivation of access to modern energy services. It captures both the incidence and intensity of energy poverty, and provides a new tool to support policymaking.

Analysis of energy poverty intensity from the perspective of the regional administration: Empirical evidence from households in southern Europe

“…Taking into consideration the limitations of data availability, we do not consider the possibility of assigning different weights to the various indicators to generate a specific index, as described by Nussbaumer et al (2012).…”

Sustainable Energy Development Index: A multi-dimensional indicator for measuring sustainable energy development

“…The MEPI focuses on modern energy deprivation and captures both the incidence and intensity of energy poverty [1]. MEPI is calculated as a product of the ratio of people categorized as energy poor and their average intensity of deprivation.…”

“…The objective is to define the values of indicators such that each computed dimension can be expressed as a ratio that ranges between zero (0) and one (1). A zero value means no sustainability for that dimension and 1 mean full attainment of sustainability.…”

Are Australian Aboriginal Communities Adapting to a Warmer Climate? A Study of Communities Living in Semi-Arid Australia

“…Energy poverty has been defined by international energy agencies and energy researchers in a number of ways, depending on the aim and context of the study Nussbaumer et al, 2011). Some definitions use a relative measure, such as the International Network for Sustainable Energy (INFORSE) which states that 'energy poverty occurs if household energy costs are above 10 per cent of disposable incomes, transport fuels not included' (INFORSE, 2009, p.1).…”