How policy instruments reproduce energy vulnerability - A qualitative study of Dutch household energy efficiency measures

Abstract

Rising energy prices threaten households' access to affordable energy services and increase the risk of energy vulnerability. One way to reduce the cost of access to energy is to implement energy efficiency measures at the household level (e.g. solar panels). However, not all households have the capacity to do this. Households that are unable to implement energy efficiency measures are vulnerable in two ways: 1) they may not enjoy the benefits of these measures (such as lower energy costs, healthier and more comfortable living conditions), and 2) they may face increasing costs due to fluctuating market prices for non-renewable energy sources or taxes on non-renewable energy sources. Although public authorities use different policy instruments to support citizens in implementing energy efficiency measures, it turns out that these policy instruments can (re)produce energy vulnerability in an uneven way. However, how exactly this happens remains unclear. The aim of this paper is to use the capability approach to identify mechanisms that explain how policy instruments (re)produce energy vulnerability. By combining three qualitative methods to analyse two Dutch neighbourhoods, this article illustrates how institutional arrangements affect capabilities unequally, depending on spatial scale, language skills, socio-economic characteristics and housing situation. Finally, it presents three subsequent mechanisms through which policy instruments may negatively affect citizens' capabilities and increase the risk of energy vulnerability: 1) by precluding citizens from relevant information about the energy transition; 2) by raising the thresholds for citizens to implement energy-efficient measures; and 3) by miscalculating policy consequences, i.e. citizens' poor anticipation of long-term policy implications, aggravated by legal and financial uncertainty or changing individual circumstances.