Energy poverty is an endemic phenomenon affecting millions of households around the world. An abu... more Energy poverty is an endemic phenomenon affecting millions of households around the world. An abundant literature, employing various single or combined methods, is dedicated to understanding its causes, symptoms, and the lived experiences of these households. This article explores the challenges raised when implementing qualitative research on energy poor households. We analyse a set of 33 research outputs - academic papers and reports - to identify methodological challenges raised by researchers and their possible resolves. By discussing the difficulties related to the operationalization of the concept of energy poverty, those linked to identifying and engaging energy poor households in research, or to the complex nature of their vulnerabilities, the study aims to develop a grounded theory articulated on the narrative of the findings and provide guidance for future qualitative work on energy poverty performed by researchers and stakeholders involved in alleviating it.
Energy poverty is a far-reaching concept that intrinsically bridges numerous fields of study, ran... more Energy poverty is a far-reaching concept that intrinsically bridges numerous fields of study, ranging from engineering to anthropology and medical science to social psychology. The profound implications of energy poverty on the quality of life globally have also led to a wide range of metrics and policies aimed at measuring it and alleviating it, albeit with limited success. Using a mixed methods approach, our network has conducted research to advance knowledge and interpretations of energy poverty and boost scientific outputs' capacity to shape knowledge-based policies. In this article, we critically review this extensive research endeavor, as well as its results. We build on the conceptual, methodological, and policy dimensions of energy poverty research to set up pathways toward a new, interdisciplinary research and policy agenda on energy poverty mitigation better equipped to provide meaningful answers to the challenges posed by the current ongoing energy crisis.
Abstract Trust is a fundamental ingredient of prosperous democracies. In Europe, trust in existin... more Abstract Trust is a fundamental ingredient of prosperous democracies. In Europe, trust in existing elected democratic institutions is fading while authoritarian nationalist movements grow. Experiences of neglect, ignorance, and inferiority are one explanation for this. This paper explores the link between the experiences of households in a state of energy poverty and their trust in institutions and social networks. Using qualitative data from ten different European countries, we show that a lack of trust in both public and private institutions is widespread among energy-poor households. Our interviewees show distrust in various dimensions. In their contacts with institutions, they report experiences of powerlessness, bad and unfair treatment, and feelings of inferiority. While some interviewees do trust single individuals within institutions, others trust only their own social networks and some have no trust in anyone. We further show how trust in networks or (people in) institutions can strengthen the coping capacities of energy-poor households while a lack of trust even cuts people off from the support they could attain and thus deepens their state of energy poverty.
Competitive electricity reforms have been implemented in Europe and the US for the last 18 years.... more Competitive electricity reforms have been implemented in Europe and the US for the last 18 years. None of the reform has been put in place in a sufficiently "complete " manner from the beginning and no reform has "survived " over several years without major changes. In the face of the changing nature of electricity reforms, adaptability is thus a central question. The aim of this paper is to propose an analytical framework of the adaptability of electricity reforms based on the concept of modularity. In the first part of this paper we show that a specific analytical framework is needed to analyse electricity reforms. These reforms have two characteristics which shape their adaptation. Firstly, electricity reforms are "modular " objects (Baldwin [2007]). Secondly, electricity reforms are produced in an institutional process which is neither “complete ” (Pistor and Xu [2003]) nor instantaneous. These characteristics explain that there is a need to adapt r...
Cet article propose une analyse critique des instruments et des pratiques des politiques de concu... more Cet article propose une analyse critique des instruments et des pratiques des politiques de concurrence europeennes en matiere de pouvoir de marche sur les marches de gros d'electricite. En raison des specificites des activites electriques, les politiques de concurrence se heurtent tout d'abord a des difficultes d'identification du pouvoir de marche, car il n'existe pas de methode permettant de detecter de maniere parfaite l'exercice potentiel, ou reel, d'un pouvoir de marche dans ce secteur. Comme de plus, les autorites de concurrence s'appuient sur des methodes d'intervention particulieres, leur capacite a limiter l'exercice d'un pouvoir de marche est relativement restreinte. Car une grande partie de leurs interventions concerne le controle des concentrations. A la lumiere de ce double constat, cet article discute des recentes evolutions des politiques de concurrence europeennes sur les marches de gros d'electricite. L'enquete sector...
The present paper discusses the concept of fuel poverty taking into account the arbitrages made b... more The present paper discusses the concept of fuel poverty taking into account the arbitrages made by households when they are facing economic constraints. Fuel poverty is still lacking a common definition throughout Europe: while the UK and France have (different) official definitions, there is still no definition in a country like Germany, or at the European level. Where definitions exist, they often consider that fuel poor households have high energy needs. The possibility of being fuel poor even without having high energy needs and the various arbitrage possibilities of households – i.e. to under-spend and use too little energy – are not systematically discussed. Our paper tries to fill that gap by putting fuel poverty into the larger context of constraints faced by households. Based on a graphical analysis , it shows that different situations of fuel poverty might occur. It results in the identification of two distinct fuel poverty problems: an “energy inequality” problem, reflect...
Overview Energy consumption is related to poverty reduction issues in various ways. Lacking acces... more Overview Energy consumption is related to poverty reduction issues in various ways. Lacking access to sufficient and clean energy sources has several consequences on the living conditions of people, on their health and on their ability to engage in productive activities and can result in situations where people are “trapped” in poverty. Therefore, giving people access to affordable and clean energy sources is an important lever of poverty reduction policies. Throughout Africa, there is a variety of situations regarding access of populations to modern energy sources. Whereas in North Africa, only 1% of people do not have access to electricity and 1% use biomass for cooking, in Sub-Saharan Africa, 68% of people do not have access to electricity and 79% still rely on traditional biomass for cooking. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the improvements of access to energy for the poorest people in a context of population growth and rapid urbanization mainly benefit urban households. Two thirds of pe...
It seems hard to believe that electricity transmission lines can be open to third party access ... more It seems hard to believe that electricity transmission lines can be open to third party access only with a negotiated access regime and no regulator supervision. It seems contradictory with the notion of ex post contractual hazards promoted by V. Goldberg and O. Williamson. If ...
Energy poverty is an endemic phenomenon affecting millions of households around the world. An abu... more Energy poverty is an endemic phenomenon affecting millions of households around the world. An abundant literature, employing various single or combined methods, is dedicated to understanding its causes, symptoms, and the lived experiences of these households. This article explores the challenges raised when implementing qualitative research on energy poor households. We analyse a set of 33 research outputs - academic papers and reports - to identify methodological challenges raised by researchers and their possible resolves. By discussing the difficulties related to the operationalization of the concept of energy poverty, those linked to identifying and engaging energy poor households in research, or to the complex nature of their vulnerabilities, the study aims to develop a grounded theory articulated on the narrative of the findings and provide guidance for future qualitative work on energy poverty performed by researchers and stakeholders involved in alleviating it.
Energy poverty is a far-reaching concept that intrinsically bridges numerous fields of study, ran... more Energy poverty is a far-reaching concept that intrinsically bridges numerous fields of study, ranging from engineering to anthropology and medical science to social psychology. The profound implications of energy poverty on the quality of life globally have also led to a wide range of metrics and policies aimed at measuring it and alleviating it, albeit with limited success. Using a mixed methods approach, our network has conducted research to advance knowledge and interpretations of energy poverty and boost scientific outputs' capacity to shape knowledge-based policies. In this article, we critically review this extensive research endeavor, as well as its results. We build on the conceptual, methodological, and policy dimensions of energy poverty research to set up pathways toward a new, interdisciplinary research and policy agenda on energy poverty mitigation better equipped to provide meaningful answers to the challenges posed by the current ongoing energy crisis.
Abstract Trust is a fundamental ingredient of prosperous democracies. In Europe, trust in existin... more Abstract Trust is a fundamental ingredient of prosperous democracies. In Europe, trust in existing elected democratic institutions is fading while authoritarian nationalist movements grow. Experiences of neglect, ignorance, and inferiority are one explanation for this. This paper explores the link between the experiences of households in a state of energy poverty and their trust in institutions and social networks. Using qualitative data from ten different European countries, we show that a lack of trust in both public and private institutions is widespread among energy-poor households. Our interviewees show distrust in various dimensions. In their contacts with institutions, they report experiences of powerlessness, bad and unfair treatment, and feelings of inferiority. While some interviewees do trust single individuals within institutions, others trust only their own social networks and some have no trust in anyone. We further show how trust in networks or (people in) institutions can strengthen the coping capacities of energy-poor households while a lack of trust even cuts people off from the support they could attain and thus deepens their state of energy poverty.
Competitive electricity reforms have been implemented in Europe and the US for the last 18 years.... more Competitive electricity reforms have been implemented in Europe and the US for the last 18 years. None of the reform has been put in place in a sufficiently "complete " manner from the beginning and no reform has "survived " over several years without major changes. In the face of the changing nature of electricity reforms, adaptability is thus a central question. The aim of this paper is to propose an analytical framework of the adaptability of electricity reforms based on the concept of modularity. In the first part of this paper we show that a specific analytical framework is needed to analyse electricity reforms. These reforms have two characteristics which shape their adaptation. Firstly, electricity reforms are "modular " objects (Baldwin [2007]). Secondly, electricity reforms are produced in an institutional process which is neither “complete ” (Pistor and Xu [2003]) nor instantaneous. These characteristics explain that there is a need to adapt r...
Cet article propose une analyse critique des instruments et des pratiques des politiques de concu... more Cet article propose une analyse critique des instruments et des pratiques des politiques de concurrence europeennes en matiere de pouvoir de marche sur les marches de gros d'electricite. En raison des specificites des activites electriques, les politiques de concurrence se heurtent tout d'abord a des difficultes d'identification du pouvoir de marche, car il n'existe pas de methode permettant de detecter de maniere parfaite l'exercice potentiel, ou reel, d'un pouvoir de marche dans ce secteur. Comme de plus, les autorites de concurrence s'appuient sur des methodes d'intervention particulieres, leur capacite a limiter l'exercice d'un pouvoir de marche est relativement restreinte. Car une grande partie de leurs interventions concerne le controle des concentrations. A la lumiere de ce double constat, cet article discute des recentes evolutions des politiques de concurrence europeennes sur les marches de gros d'electricite. L'enquete sector...
The present paper discusses the concept of fuel poverty taking into account the arbitrages made b... more The present paper discusses the concept of fuel poverty taking into account the arbitrages made by households when they are facing economic constraints. Fuel poverty is still lacking a common definition throughout Europe: while the UK and France have (different) official definitions, there is still no definition in a country like Germany, or at the European level. Where definitions exist, they often consider that fuel poor households have high energy needs. The possibility of being fuel poor even without having high energy needs and the various arbitrage possibilities of households – i.e. to under-spend and use too little energy – are not systematically discussed. Our paper tries to fill that gap by putting fuel poverty into the larger context of constraints faced by households. Based on a graphical analysis , it shows that different situations of fuel poverty might occur. It results in the identification of two distinct fuel poverty problems: an “energy inequality” problem, reflect...
Overview Energy consumption is related to poverty reduction issues in various ways. Lacking acces... more Overview Energy consumption is related to poverty reduction issues in various ways. Lacking access to sufficient and clean energy sources has several consequences on the living conditions of people, on their health and on their ability to engage in productive activities and can result in situations where people are “trapped” in poverty. Therefore, giving people access to affordable and clean energy sources is an important lever of poverty reduction policies. Throughout Africa, there is a variety of situations regarding access of populations to modern energy sources. Whereas in North Africa, only 1% of people do not have access to electricity and 1% use biomass for cooking, in Sub-Saharan Africa, 68% of people do not have access to electricity and 79% still rely on traditional biomass for cooking. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the improvements of access to energy for the poorest people in a context of population growth and rapid urbanization mainly benefit urban households. Two thirds of pe...
It seems hard to believe that electricity transmission lines can be open to third party access ... more It seems hard to believe that electricity transmission lines can be open to third party access only with a negotiated access regime and no regulator supervision. It seems contradictory with the notion of ex post contractual hazards promoted by V. Goldberg and O. Williamson. If ...
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