Republic of Moldova: Assessment of energy poverty

Abstract

Energy poverty is a topic addressed every time when it comes to supplying residential customers with energy - either from traditional or from renewable sources. In the context of the preparations of the Republic of Moldova for the accession to the EU, it is relevant to evaluate the structure of energy consumption of households in the country, the level of related costs, as well as the level of energy poverty. The paper presents data on the evolution of household energy consumption for the period 2010-2020. For a reference year (2019), the level of poverty in the country was assessed under different aspects (by living environment – urban and rural, by socio-economic status (5 categories), by household size (5 cat.) etc.). From the calculations, the average value of the level of energy poverty, characteristic to the Republic of Moldova, as a whole, for the year 2019, was equal to 15.7 % and a slightly higher value for the urban area. The paper also presents the new government initiative to support energy-vulnerable households - the "Help at the meter" program.