Dynamical assessment of multi-dimensional energy poverty at the national and sub-national levels in Pakistan

The primary objective of the current study is to examine the social issue of energy poverty from a multi-dimensional perspective in Pakistan’s national, sub-national, and urban-rural regions. The universally attributed Alkire and Foster indexing approach and globally organized PSLM (Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement) data from 2010–2011 to 2019–2020 were used to calculate numerical results. The study’s empirical findings emphasize that multiple-attribute energy poverty is primarily a rural phenomenon in Pakistan and its provinces. Furthermore, the time-variant situation reveals that with a shorter (longer) period, energy poverty exhibits a hybrid (declining) trend for Pakistan as a whole, its four provinces, and its regions. Finally, decomposability analyses of population subgroups and key dimensions show that households in two provinces (Sindh and KPK) and three attributes (cooking, home appliances, and entertainment) are the primary contributors to multi-dimensional energy poverty. Hence, to achieve the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, i.e., SDG7, by 2030, several measures must be implemented rapidly, particularly in rural areas and the provinces, especially Sindh and KPK, such as providing easy access to modern energy services, reducing load shedding and energy shortfalls through advanced technology adoption, and improving households’ living standards by reducing financial poverty. All of these solutions will assist in rapidly reducing energy poverty at all levels, paving the way for achieving the zero energy poverty goal (SDG7) by 2030.