Energy insecurity is a significant but frequently overlooked social and environmental health determinant. The inability of households to access reliable and affordable energy sources for basic needs such as heating, cooling, cooking, and lighting is referred to as energy insecurity. This lack of access has far-reaching consequences for both individuals and communities, negatively impacting their overall well-being and health outcomes.
Many long-standing programs to address energy insecurity must be refreshed in light of climate change and the impending transition to clean energy. A new paper published online in the journal Health Affairs adds to the growing body of evidence linking energy insecurity and poor health. The paper, by Diana Hernandez, PhD, associate professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, also offers an overview of current policy initiatives and discusses ways that current policies can be improved upon.
According to Hernandez, the average U.S. household spends 3.1 percent of its income on energy, but low-income households spend up to 8.1 percent. “This financial hardship frequently means that low-income households have fewer financial resources available for other basic needs such as housing, food, clothing, child care, medical expenses, digital access, and transportation.”
Energy insecurity encompasses much more than electricity, gas, or other power sources used for lighting, cooling, and heating. Instead, there are three primary dimensions of energy insecurity – the physical, economic, and coping which reflect financial hardship, housing quality issues and the adaptive strategies people use to manage unaffordable bills and subpar living conditions.
Diana Hernandez
Disconnection of electric or gas service is regarded as the crisis point of energy insecurity, and it is disproportionately common in low-income households headed by people of color. Earlier research by Hernandez was the first known prevalence study of shutoffs in the United States, with nearly 15% of households receiving at least one disconnection notice during the previous twelve months.
Energy insecurity or the “inability to adequately meet basic household energy needs has profound implications for health and health equity,” says Dr. Hernandez, who is also managing director of the Energy Opportunity Lab’s Domestic Program at the Center for Global Energy Policy in Columbia’s School of International and Policy Affairs.
“Energy insecurity encompasses much more than electricity, gas, or other power sources used for lighting, cooling, and heating. Instead, there are three primary dimensions of energy insecurity — the physical, economic, and coping which reflect financial hardship, housing quality issues and the adaptive strategies people use to manage unaffordable bills and subpar living conditions.”
Hernandez makes the following key points:
- As of 2020 more than thirty million U.S. households were energy insecure.
- Low-income households and those composed of people of color are disproportionately affected by energy insecurity.
- Structural racism, poor housing conditions, inflation, climate change, and the clean energy transition contribute to and exacerbate energy insecurity.
- Energy insecurity adversely affects physical and mental health and can be fatal.
- Policy and programmatic solutions exist to reduce and eliminate energy insecurity.
According to Dr. Hernandez, home renters, rural dwellers, residents of houses built before 1980 with inadequate insulation, and people living in the Northeast and Southern regions, as well as mobile home occupants and households with children, were at higher risk of experiencing energy insecurity than those with an elderly resident. “This is due, in part, to senior shutoff protections.”
“The somewhat good news is that recent global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, global social unrest, and the war in Ukraine may spur further investments in renewable energy,” Hernandez noted.
