Energy Poverty : Computing the silent problem of developed countries

Abstract: Energy poverty is a new term in the Swedish context, though it is becoming increasingly more relevant because of inflation and higher prices for electricity. Because research on the matter is scarce in developed countries such as Sweden and similar contexts in the EU, it creates uncertainty whether there is a ‘correct’ way of conducting energy poverty research. This paper aims to come up with a definition of energy poverty in the Swedish context of Uppsala municipality and construct a model calculating energy poverty that is applicable for developed countries, with regard to local contexts and localities of datasets. Consequently, the results should support an estimate of the prevalence of energy poverty given the case study of Uppsala municipality, furthermore, what socioeconomic factors might be in correlation with energy poverty. The results were achieved through a collection of income and energy consumption datasets. First, each area's energy use was estimated, and then the cost for consumed energy use was calculated based on which energy carriers were most common. The proportion of household income relating to energy bill expenditure and a linear regression model of socioeconomic factors was then computed. Data collection on consumption and income data is challenging due to this information, to some extent, being confidential. The results include a definition of energy poverty as 10% of income spent on the energy bill, which means that 9,78% of the population of Uppsala municipality is in energy poverty. The affected areas are Tuna Backar, Ultuna, Bäcklösa, Kåbo, Flogsta Ekeby and Rosendal. Three socioeconomic factors showed to have the highest correlation rate with energy poverty including gross income, pre-high school has the highest education and whether someone is on social welfare provision. The conclusion of this paper is that energy poverty can be defined as A household that has problems accommodating their basic energy needs, and that inability negatively affects their everyday life. This inability must have a conjunction with limiting social or/and economic factors. Furthermore, a significant part of the household's income must go to cover energy bills. However, to fully capture the meaning of energy poverty further research is needed.