Irregular Connections: Everyday Energy Politics in Catalonia

James Angel

doi:10.1111/1468-2427.12729

Abstract

AbstractWhile questions of energy and energy transition have become hotly contested, the abstract and fetishized conception of energy that dominates contemporary political debates occludes connections to everyday life. By tracing the activities of Catalan activist network Alianza contra la Pobreza Energética (Alliance against Energy Poverty or APE), this article seeks to excavate the political possibilities opened up by a more everyday energy politics. The article addresses the practice of illegal utilities connections among the urban poor of Catalonia, arguing that this constitutes a form of makeshift urbanism resonant of that conceptualized from within ‘Southern’ cities. These ‘irregular connections’ to urban infrastructure networks are then distinguished from the ‘irregular connections’ formed between people within the collectivized social infrastructure of APE. APE, I argue, translate ‘energy’ as social reproduction, framing their struggle for the right to energy around the right to sustain life with dignity. This, I suggest, is the starting point for a feminist praxis capable of creating new and unruly subjectivities, reconfiguring reproductive relations in more caring and collective directions, and ultimately challenging the violence of the commodity form.

Highlights

The ‘energy’ of physics textbooks is usually defined as the ability to do work
The article addresses the practice of illegal utilities connections among the urban poor of Catalonia, arguing that this constitutes a form of makeshift urbanism resonant of that conceptualized from within ‘Southern’ cities
This article has sought to respond to a specific problematic that advocates of emancipatory energy alternatives and transitions must take seriously: the ways in which an abstract and technical conceptualization of energy obscures connections to everyday life

Summary

Introduction

The ‘energy’ of physics textbooks is usually defined as the ability to do work. It is energy that sets matter in motion, which makes things happen. Squatting has moved from a radical political movement into a widespread practice across the country in the aftermath of the financial crisis, which has left thousands without the means to cover rent or mortgage payments For those like Esther living in occupied homes, access to utilities is a complex struggle, with utility firms reluctant to reconnect without a legal housing contract. In Esther’s words: My fight for the meter isn’t so much to do with whether or not I can pay, it’s about the peace of mind that comes with knowing that I can go home and not worry about getting electrocuted Another of APE’s afectadas, Valeria––a woman living in council-owned accommodation in Terrassa (a city in the centre of Catalonia, northwest and inland from Barcelona), unable to work long hours due to a disease that affects her mobility––had a pinchazo electricity connection for a year and a half before securing a legal supply. The sections seek to excavate the detail of this feminist praxis further

Mutual support

Shifting subjectivities

Findings

Conclusion