Capturing the multifaceted nature of energy poverty: Lessons from Belgium

Energy poverty is a major societal issue with both economic impacts and solidarity implications. Although its main drivers (e.g. insufficient income, bad quality housing, high energy prices) are widely recognised, there is no common definition of energy poverty at the European level, let alone a common way of measuring the phenomenon. The energy poverty barometer for Belgium has been developed accordingly. It draws on a set of complementary indicators with the aim of grasping the multifaceted nature of energy poverty: excessive energy bills compared to available income (measured energy poverty), restriction in energy consumption below basic needs (hidden energy poverty) and self-reported difficulties to heat the housing correctly (perceived energy poverty). This paper presents and discusses the methodology followed to design this new tool in the Belgian context and its main findings.