The problem of energy poverty in mountainous areas

Abstract

Energy poverty is a major socio-economic issue, developing fast in recent years, along with the global energy and economic crisis. The austerity oriented policies imposed, combine low incomes with increased fuel/energy prices, a fact that inevitably leads to the households' inability to adequately meet their energy needs. This phenomenon has currently become very intense in Greece, especially in mountainous settlements. In this paper, after a short review of the context of the problem, focus is given on the main causes of energy poverty in the mountainous areas of Greece. It is proved that mountainous settlements in Greece apart from having higher energy needs than urban areas, face, additionally, serious difficulties in covering their energy needs sufficiently. Therefore, a high percentage of 90% of the households in mountainous Greece is vulnerable to energy poverty. In addition, the current energy policies have proved to be insufficient since they cannot alleviate the problem and, therefore, need revision.