Ubóstwo energetyczne w Polsce: analiza skali i zróżnicowania na przykładzie gmin powiatu augustowskiego

Jan Wendt; Sylwia Mrozowska; Bartosz Duraj; Agnieszka Bógdał-Brzezińska

doi:10.56583/br.2188

Published : 2023-06-30

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2023)

Energy Poverty in Poland: Scale Analysis and Differentiation on the Example of the Communes of Augustów County

Jan Wendt

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1712-4926

Sylwia Mrozowska

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3032-9504

Bartosz Duraj

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6044-1196

Agnieszka Bógdał-Brzezińska

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0247-1941

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56583/br.2188

Abstract

Background: The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in a significant reduction in the supply of raw energy materials from Russia to Poland. Energy prices in Poland increased drastically in the second half of 2022. Thus, it seems necessary to investigate the scale of energy poverty in Poland in order to effectively support the affected households. As support policies are only meaningful at the commune level, the aim of the research undertaken by the authors was to analyze the factors and determine the extent of energy poverty in households in the selected area — i.e., Augustów County. The second aim of the study was to highlight that the choice of the research method and the criteria adopted may lead to significantly large discrepancies in the results, which may determine the choice of the survey method by political and economic factors. The following were used in order to verify the hypothesis of a greater extent of energy poverty in rural than in urban communes. Methods: the research used statistical calculation and analysis of the extensive literature on definitions and theories of poverty measurement. Results: the research showed spatial variation in energy poverty in the studied county (27.85%) and in its communes. In the town of Augustów, it was 11.00%, and in the commune of Płaska, with the highest poverty level, it reached over 64.00%. Conclusions: The research method chosen, based on the statutory definition of energy poverty, significantly reduces the incidence of the phenomenon compared to other methods. No consensus has been reached in the literature on the definition of energy poverty. This has led to the adoption of different methods and criteria for the study, resulting in significant differences in determining its scale, thereby obstructing the pursuit of support policies for households.

Keywords:

Augustów County, commune, definition, energy poverty (EP), energy transition, measuring method, objective factors, Poland

Details

References

Statistics

Authors

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

Wendt, J., Mrozowska, S., Duraj, B., & Bógdał-Brzezińska, A. (2023). Energy Poverty in Poland: Scale Analysis and Differentiation on the Example of the Communes of Augustów County. Regional Barometer. Analyses & Prognoses, 19(1), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.56583/br.2188

Altmetric indicators

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Alem, Y., and E. Demeke. 2020. “The Persistence of Energy Poverty: a Dynamic Probit Analysis.” Energy Economics 90:104789. doi: 10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104789. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104789

Allam, Z., S.E. Bibri, and S.A. Sharpe. 2022. “The Rising Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War: Energy Transition, Climate Justice, Global Inequality, and Supply Chain Disruption.” Resources 11 (11):99. doi: 10.3390/resources11110099. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/resources11110099

Arsenopoulos, A., V. Marinakis, K. Koasidis, A. Stavrakaki, and J. Psarras. 2020. “Assessing Resilience to Energy Poverty in Europe through a Multi-Criteria Analysis Framework.” Sustainability 12 (12):4899. doi: 10.3390/su12124899. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124899

Awaworyi Churchill, S., R. Smyth, and L. Farrell. 2020. “Fuel Poverty and Subjective Wellbeing.” Energy Economics 86:104650. doi: 10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104650. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104650

Baranowski, M. 2022. “Dialectic of Russia’s War in Ukraine: between Geopolitics and Energy Welfare.” Society Register 6 (3):7–18. doi: 10.14746/sr.2022.6.3.01. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/sr.2022.6.3.01

Betto, F., P. Garengo, and A. Lorenzoni. 2020. “A New Measure of Italian Hidden Energy Poverty.” Energy Policy 138:111237. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111237. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111237

Biernat-Jarka, A., P. Trębska, and S. Jarka. 2021. “The Role of Renewable Energy Sources in Alleviating Energy Poverty in Households in Poland.” Energies 14 (10):2957. doi: 10.3390/en14102957. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en14102957

Boardman, B. 1991. Fuel Poverty. From Cold Homes to Affordable Warmth. London – New York: Belhaven Press.

Bouzarovski, S., H. Thomson, and M. Cornelis. 2021. “Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: a Research and Policy Agenda.” Energies 14 (4):858. doi: 10.3390/en14040858. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en14040858

Bouzarovski, S., and S. Tirado Herrero. 2017a. “The Energy Divide: Integrating Energy Transitions, Regional Inequalities and Poverty Trends in the European Union.” European Urban and Regional Studies 24 (1):69–86. doi: 10.1177/0969776415596449. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776415596449

Bouzarovski, S., and S. Tirado Herrero. 2017b. “Geographies of Injustice: the Socio-Spatial Determinants of Energy Poverty in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.” Post-Communist Economies 29 (1):27–50. doi: 10.1080/14631377.2016.1242257. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14631377.2016.1242257

Chai, A., S. Ratnasiri, and L. Wagner. 2021. “The Impact of Rising Energy Prices on Energy Poverty in Queensland: a Microsimulation Exercise.” Economic Analysis and Policy 71:57–72. doi: 10.1016/j.eap.2021.03.014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.03.014

Clinch, J.P., and J. Healy. 1999. “Alleviating Fuel Poverty in Ireland: a Program for the 21st Century.” International Journal for Housing Science and Its Applications 23:203–215.

Deller, D. 2018. „Energy Affordability in the EU: the Risks of Metric Driven Policies.” Energy Policy 119:168–182. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.03.033. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.03.033

Deller, D., M. Giulietti, G. Loomes, C. Waddams Price, A. Moniche, and J.Y. Jeon. 2021. “Switching Energy Suppliers: It’s Not All About the Money.” The Energy Journal 42 (3):95–120. doi: 10.5547/01956574.42.3.ddel. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5547/01956574.42.3.ddel

Gerbery, D., and R. Filčák. 2014. “Exploring Multi-Dimensional Nature of Poverty in Slovakia: Access to Energy and Concept of Energy Poverty.” Ekonomický časopis 62 (6):579–597.

González-Eguino, M. 2015. “Energy Poverty: an Overview.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47:377–385. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.03.013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.03.013

Grzeszak, A. 2022. “Z zimnicy do cieplicy. Czy zdołamy się ogrzać? Jest biednie, będzie ciężko (Rozmowa z Jakubem Sokołowskim, ekspertem w dziedzinie ubóstwa energetycznego z Instytutu Badań Strukturalnych).” Polityka, 2022-11-28, 46–48, https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/rynek/2190198,1,z-zimnicy-do-cieplicy-czy-zdolamy-sie-ogrzac-jest-biednie-bedzie-ciezko.read.

Hagenaars, A., and K. de Vos. 1988. “The Definition and Measurement of Poverty.” The Journal of Human Resources 23 (2):211–221. doi: 10.2307/145776. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/145776

Halkos, G.E., and E.-C. Gkampoura. 2021. “Coping with Energy Poverty: Measurements, Drivers, Impacts, and Solutions.” Energies 14 (10):2807. doi: 10.3390/en14102807. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en14102807

Healy, J.D., and J.P. Clinch. 2002. Fuel Poverty in Europe. A Cross-Country Analysis Using a New Composite Measurement, Environmental studies research series working papers. Dublin: University College Dublin, Department of Environmental Studies.

Heindl, P. 2015. “Measuring Fuel Poverty: General Considerations and Application to German Household Data.” FinanzArchiv / Public Finance Analysis 71 (2):178–215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1628/001522115X14285723527593

Herrero, S.T. 2017. “Energy Poverty Indicators: a Critical Review of Methods.” Indoor and Built Environment 26 (7):1018–1031. doi: 10.1177/1420326x17718054. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326X17718054

Kahouli, S. 2020. “An Economic Approach to the Study of the Relationship between Housing Hazards and Health: the Case of Residential Fuel Poverty in France.” Energy Economics 85:104592. doi: 10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104592. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104592

Karásek, J., and J. Pojar. 2018. “Programme to Reduce Energy Poverty in the Czech Republic.” Energy Policy 115:131–137. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2017.12.045. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.12.045

Karpinska, L., and S. Śmiech. 2020a. “Conceptualising Housing Costs: the Hidden Face of Energy Poverty in Poland.” Energy Policy 147:111819. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111819. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111819

Karpinska, L., and S. Śmiech. 2020b. “Invisible Energy Poverty? Analysing Housing Costs in Central and Eastern Europe.” Energy Research & Social Science 70:101670. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101670. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101670

Karpinska, L., and S. Śmiech. 2021. “Escaping Energy Poverty: A Comparative Analysis of 17 European Countries.” Energies 14 (18):5761. doi: 10.3390/en14185761. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en14185761

Karpinska, L., S. Śmiech, J.P. Gouveia, and P. Palma. 2021. “Mapping Regional Vulnerability to Energy Poverty in Poland.” Sustainability 13 (19):10694. doi: 10.3390/su131910694. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910694

Libor, G., and S. Bouzarovski. 2018. “The Socio-Demographic Dimensions of Energy Poverty: a Case Study from Bytom, Poland.” Urban Development Issues 57:63–77. doi: 10.2478/udi-2018-0018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/udi-2018-0018

Longhurst, N., and T. Hargreaves. 2019. “Emotions and Fuel Poverty: the Lived Experience of Social Housing Tenants in the United Kingdom.” Energy Research & Social Science 56:101207. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2019.05.017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.05.017

Mamica, Ł., J. Głowacki, and K. Makieła. 2021. “Determinants of the Energy Poverty of Polish Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Energies 14 (11):3233. doi: 10.3390/en14113233. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en14113233

März, S. 2018. “Assessing the Fuel Poverty Vulnerability of Urban Neighbourhoods Using a Spatial Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for the German City of Oberhausen.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 82:1701–1711. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.07.006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.07.006

Moore, R. 2012. “Definitions of Fuel Poverty: Implications for Policy.” Energy Policy 49:19–26. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.01.057. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.01.057

Mrozowska, S., J.A. Wendt, and K. Tomaszewski. 2021. “The Challenges of Poland’s Energy Transition.” Energies 14 (23):8165. doi: 10.3390/en14238165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en14238165

Nussbaumera, P., M. Bazilianb, and V. Modi. 2012. “Measuring Energy Poverty: Focusing on What Matters.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16:231–243. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.150

Okushima, S. 2017. “Gauging Energy Poverty: a Multidimensional Approach.” Energy 137:1159–1166. doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2017.05.137. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.05.137

Owczarek, D., and A. Miazga. 2015. Ubóstwo energetyczne w Polsce. Definicja i charakterystyka społeczna grupy. Warszawa: Fundacja Instytut na rzecz Ekorozwoju.

Papada, L., and D. Kaliampakos. 2020. “Being Forced to Skimp on Energy Needs: a New Look at Energy Poverty in Greece.” Energy Research & Social Science 64:101450. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101450. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101450

Phimister, E., E. Vera-Toscano, and D. Roberts. 2015. “The Dynamics of Energy Poverty: Evidence from Spain.” Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy 4 (1):153–166. doi: 10.5547/2160-5890.4.1.ephi. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5547/2160-5890.4.1.ephi

Polimeni, J.M., M. Simionescu, and R.I. Iorgulescu. 2022. “Energy Poverty and Personal Health in the EU.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19 (18):11459. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191811459. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811459

Price, C.W., K. Brazier, K. Pham, L. Mathieu, and W. Wang. 2006. “Identifying Fuel Poverty Using Objective and Subjective Measures.” CCP Working Paper (07-11). doi: 10.2139/ssrn.911597. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.911597

Primc, K., M. Dominko, and R. Slabe-Erker. 2021. “30 Years of Energy and Fuel Poverty Research: a Retrospective Analysis and Future Trends.” Journal of Cleaner Production 301:127003. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127003

Recalde, M., A. Peralta, L. Oliveras, S. Tirado-Herrero, C. Borrell, L. Palència, M. Gotsens, L. Artazcoz, and M. Marí-Dell’Olmo. 2019. “Structural Energy Poverty Vulnerability and Excess Winter Mortality in the European Union: Exploring the Association between Structural Determinants and Health.” Energy Policy 133:110869. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.07.005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.07.005

Roberts, D., E. Vera-Toscano, and E. Phimister. 2015. “Fuel Poverty in the UK: Is There a Difference between Rural and Urban Areas?” Energy Policy 87:216–223. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2015.08.034. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2015.08.034

Rutkowski, J., K. Sałach, A. Szpor, and K. Ziółkowska. 2018. “Jak ograniczyć skalę ubóstwa energetycznego w Polsce?” IBS Policy Paper (1).

Sefton, T. 2002. “Targeting Fuel Poverty in England: Is the Government Getting Warm?” Fiscal Studies 23 (3):369–399. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-5890.2002.tb00065.x. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5890.2002.tb00065.x

Sokołowski, J., and J. Frankowski. 2020. Ubóstwo energetyczne w województwie łódzkim. Raport z badania. Łódź: Regionalne Centrum Polityki Społecznej w Łodzi; Regionalne Obserwatorium Integracji Społecznej.

Sokołowski, J., P. Lewandowski, A. Kiełczewska, and S. Bouzarovski. 2020. “A Multidimensional Index to Measure Energy Poverty: the Polish Case.” Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy 15 (2):92–112. doi: 10.1080/15567249.2020.1742817. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15567249.2020.1742817

Szeszko, A., ed. 2019. Podlaskie Voivodship 2019. Subregions, Powiats and Gminas. Białystok: Urząd Statystyczny w Białymstoku.

Thomson, H., S. Bouzarovski, and C. Snell. 2017. “Rethinking the Measurement of Energy Poverty in Europe: a Critical Analysis of Indicators and Data.” Indoor and Built Environment 26 (7):879–901. doi: 10.1177/1420326x17699260. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326X17699260

Thomson, H., C. Snell, and S. Bouzarovski. 2017. “Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: a Comparative Study of 32 European Countries.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14 (6):584. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060584