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

Summary/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.

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