Recognition of and response to energy poverty in the United States

Abstract

A household is energy poor when they cannot meet energy needs. Despite its prevalence, the US has not formally recognized energy poverty as a problem distinct from general poverty at the federal level, which limits effective responses. In this Review, we examine the measurement and evaluative metrics used by the two federally-funded energy programs focused on reducing high energy bills to understand how program eligibility requirements and congressional funding appropriations have shaped the national understanding and implementation of energy poverty assistance. We find that current measurement and evaluative metrics hinge on the distribution of government resources and the number of vulnerable households assisted, rather than improving household well-being and reducing overall energy poverty. We suggest that comparisons to formal food insecurity and fuel poverty recognition and national responses in the US and UK, respectively, can help inform the development of more comprehensive US responses to energy poverty going forward.

The carbon footprint of household energy use in the United States

“…The positive relationship between income and emissions suggests that Americans with the highest emissions are also best situated economically to bear these costs. Reducing the carbon footprint of US homes provides opportunities to combat energy poverty (43). For an estimated 25 million US households annually, energy bills supplant the purchase of food and medicine (24).…”

The impact of policies and business models on income equity in rooftop solar adoption

“…PV adoption inequity is an emerging energy justice issue [12]. Low-cost PV could reduce energy costs for LMI households who spend disproportionately more on energy [13]. However, historical deployment patterns limit LMI access to these benefits [2].…”

The persistence of high energy burdens: A bibliometric analysis of vulnerability, poverty, and exclusion in the United States

“…Temporary solutions such as bill payment forgiveness programs and other financial assistance are widely available; indeed, such assistance dwarfs funding for more sustainable solutions including grants for home retrofitting and the direct installation of weatherization measures [2] , [3] , [4] . Both types of programs (temporary assistance and subsidies for home retrofitting) both serve critical needs.…”