The Governance of Energy Poverty in Southeastern Europe

Summary:

This report presents the outcomes of a recently-completed research project1 aimed at uncovering the different ways in which energy poverty – understood as a condition wherein the domestic energy services available to a household are below socially and materially- necessitated levels – is produced by, and mitigated through, the interaction of relevant decision-making institutions in the energy, social welfare, health and housing domains.

The project focused on conditions in Southeastern Europe, where energy prices have been recently on the rise despite falling incomes and poor access to efficient and adequate energy services. We explored the legal frameworks and governance practices that underpin energy poverty- related policies the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria: two neighboring countries at different development stages in terms of the state‟s regulatory capacity to support households vulnerable to energy deprivation. Data was gathered and analyzed with the aid of interviews with decision-makers, as well as a review of written legal and policy documents. The broad-level patterns of energy poverty in both countries were established with the aid of analyses of published statistical data, and findings from the secondary literature.

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