Who is "energy poor" in the EU?

The 2022–2023 surge in global energy prices and the fairness challenges of the green transition have revived debates on energy poverty in Europe. However, the lack of consensus on measuring energy poverty hinders effective policy formulation and evaluation. This paper analyzes the EU-wide distribution and profiles of the "energy poor" using four established indicators, two subjective and two expenditure-based, derived from statistically matched HBS and SILC household surveys. Our results suggest significant disparities: expenditure-based measures capture broader populations, particularly in middle- and high-income EU countries, with minimal overlap between indicators. Notably, only 0.3% of the population are simultaneously classified as energy poor by the four indicators, while 40% enter this group by at least one measure. By examining who is included or excluded under each indicator and their links to income and expenditure, we provide new insights into the potential heterogeneous distributional impacts of policies aiming at tackling energy poverty in Europe.

MAIER Sofia;  DREONI Ilda; 

2025-10-06

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

JRC143709

1873-6777 (online),   

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421525003763?via%3Dihub,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC143709,   

10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114869 (online),