Determinants of energy poverty: Trends in Spain in times of economic change

Abstract

The debate concerning energy affordability in Europe is more pressing than ever, not solely as an energy issue but also as a broader social concern related to climate change, poverty, and health deprivation. This paper empirically investigates the factors leading to household energy vulnerability and identifies new dimensions and profiles affected by this structural problem. To carry out this econometric analysis, we draw on an exhaustive sample of more than 300,000 households extracted from the Spanish Household Budget Survey (HBS) for the period 2006–2021. Our empirical results confirm that energy poverty in Spain remains a chronic problem with a tendency to worsen during times of economic crisis and, most particularly, during the global economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study identifies two main groups – the retired and women living alone – as being at greatest risk of energy poverty. Our results also point to the importance of the economic activity performed by household members in determining the probability of their being energy poor.