European energy poverty metrics: Scales, prospects and limits

Through a conceptual and analytical discussion, the paper sets out the theoretical problematic of the act of measurement and relate this to the general issue of measuring energy poverty. Based on strong emerging literature, we abstract out five dimensions for energy poverty metrology research. We then move into an empirical section that illustrates our analytical framework using multiple cases at varied spatial scales across three European country contexts. The application identifies numerous challenges and opportunities in three European country contexts – Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK) – which offer rich contrasts but also similarities. The concluding section reflects on the implications for energy poverty metrology research: the measurement of energy poverty must be informed by the politics of data and scale in order to institutionalise emerging metrics while safeguarding against their co-optation for purposes other than the deep and rapid alleviation of energy poverty.