Being forced to skimp on energy needs: A new look at energy poverty in Greece

Energy poverty has been studied through different indices over time, focusing largely, among others, on the high energy cost of households. This paper sheds light on a rather neglected but crucial aspect of energy poverty, largely invisible in many of the existing indices: the aspect of compression of energy needs, i.e. the situation in which a household spends a small amount of money on energy, due to its inability to afford energy cost. With the development of a new index, the Degree of Coverage of Energy Needs (DCEN), which is expressed as the ratio of Actual/Required energy cost of a household, three important behavioral patterns are quantified: compression of energy needs, satisfaction of energy needs and energy wastage. The index was applied to two case studies: the country of Greece and the mountainous areas of Greece, a vulnerable population group with special characteristics. The outcomes were interesting: 45-51.5% of the two samples compress their energy needs, while 34.5-38% of them waste energy. Only a small proportion (14-17%) manages to adequately meet energy needs. The DCEN index introduces a different view of energy poverty, highlighting vital aspects of the problem that should be definitely taken into account by policy makers.