The lived experience of energy vulnerability and social ... · The lived experience of energy...
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The lived experience of energy vulnerability and social housing competitionpolicy.ac.uk High quality independent research into competition policy and regulation competitionpolicy.ac.uk Twitter: @noellonghurst; @tom_hargreaves1 Fuel poverty, household experiences and policy seminar York, 7 th June 2018 Noel Longhurst and Tom Hargreaves University of East Anglia
Transcript of The lived experience of energy vulnerability and social ... · The lived experience of energy...
The lived experience of energy vulnerability and social housing
competitionpolicy.ac.uk
High quality independent research into competition policy and regulationcompetitionpolicy.ac.uk
Twitter: @noellonghurst; @tom_hargreaves1
Fuel poverty, household experiences and policy seminarYork, 7th June 2018
Noel Longhurst and Tom HargreavesUniversity of East Anglia
Structure of the presentation
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1.Overview of key findings2.The role of emotions in fuel poverty 3.Summary and recommendations
1. Overview of key findings
Equity and justice in energy markets
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• Origin and motivations: the most vulnerable groups, who could benefit the most from switching supplier, are among the least likely to do so.
• Multidisciplinary (NBS, LAW, ENV, PPL) project exploring interactions between retail energy markets and their distributional impacts on vulnerable and under-researched groups
• Seven Research Packages (2016-2018): i) Statutory and institutional contextii) Impact of devolved administrationsiii) Consequences of non-engagementiv) Energy expenditure shares in the long-runv) Subjective vs. objective indicators of affordabilityvi) SME engagement and satisfactionvii) Lived experience of energy vulnerability
Research Questions
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1. What is the lived experience of energy vulnerability for social housing tenants and in what ways do they express agency in relation to their energy usage? What factors support or undermine their agency?
2. In what ways do housing associations intervene in the energy consumption of their tenants, and why? What impacts do different kinds of intervention have on the lived experience of energy vulnerability?
3. What are the wider implications for the role of housing associations and other actors in tackling energy vulnerability?
Methods• 5 telephone interviews with expert stakeholders• 15 in-depth interviews with tenants• 9 interviews with Housing Association staff
Expensive Warmth and Unaffordable Warmth
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EXPENSIVE WARMTH“Objective” fuel poverty
based on modelled affordability based on ratio
of energy: income expenditure
UNAFFORDABLE WARMTHInability to secure desired
level of energy services(Subjective fuel poverty)
Pseudonym Gender Age Adults ChildrenEconomic situation Income EPC Ex
pens
ive
War
mth
Unaf
ford
able
War
mth
PPM
Ener
gy
debt
Prob
lem
de
bt
Colin Male 60 - 69 1 0 Unemployed Under 10K B ü ü ü
Barbara Female 30 - 39 1 2 Full time Under 10K D ü ü ü ü
Susan Female 1 1 P/t self employed
None (D?) ü ü ü ü
Tony Male 30 - 39 1 0 Unemployed / medical Under 10K None (C?) ü ü ü ü
Janet and Steve
Male 40 - 49 2 0 Medical Under 10K C ü ü ü
Michael Male 1 4 Unemployed Under 10K C ü ü ü ü
Lucy Female 20 - 29 1 0 Unemployed Under 10K C ü
Glenda Female 60 - 69 1 0 Retired 10 - 15K C
Fran Female - - - - - C - ü ü ü
Annette Female 20-29 2 3 Homemaker 10 - 15K B ü
Paulette Female 30 - 39 1 1 Unemployed 10 - 15K D ü
Rob Male 30 - 39 1 0 Unemployed Under 10K None (C?) ü ü ü
Sybil and Arthur
Female 60 - 69 2 0 Retired £15 - 20K None
Francis Female 60 -69 1 0 voluntary worker
£15 - 20K C
Bob Male 60 - 69 2 0 Full time Over £25K B
Employment status
State benefits
Private pensions
Savings and assets
Level of consumption
Payment method
Tariff
Heating system
Occupancy patterns
Thermal efficiency of home
Health
Household size and structure
Dispostition and attitude
Lifestyle and habits
Climate
Energy DebtTenure
Infrastructure
1.Energy
technology
2.Market
participation
3.Managing
income
4.Managing
consumption
Qualifications and skills
Local economy
Transport
Smart technology
Knowledge
Otherexpenditure
Energy expenditureIncome
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Fuel poverty as a complex problem
Debt
Unemployment
State benefits
Under consumption of energy services
PPM
Tariff
Gas central heating but self disconnection of gas led to use
of electrici panel heater
Home a lot during the day
Relatively efficient home but no carpets or curtains
Mental health
problems
Single
Energy debt build up on
PPM
Requested to go on a PPM but not permitted until debt had accumulated. Trusts British Gas as a known brand and doesn’t really understand how to switch.
Debt built up on PPM which is then subtracted when payment is made.
Not able to work due to mental health issues
Increasing debt leads to self-disconnection of gas. Use of electric panel heater. Spatial and temporal
rationing.
O t h e r
e x p e n d it u r e
E n e r g y
e x p e n d it u r eIn c o m e
Other debt
“Mark” – debt spiral leading to self-disconnection
Financial abuse
No EPC but fairly modern property
• Mental health issues as a risk factor for energy deprivation• Role of debt as a key driver • Example of ‘hidden’ fuel poverty?
Savings
Self employed childminder
State benefits
Managed Underconsumption
PPM Tariff
Storage heaters plus electric panel heaters.
Works from home
Sap rated D property
Single parent with one child at home
SAP rating D house. Off gas grid. Stoage
heaters
Chose to switch to quarterly arrears to save £20 per month
Self employed childminder means that income is variable. Current client recently lost her job so may
stop needing Anna’s services soon
Spatial and temporal rationing: No heating on upstairs. Using washing
machine after midnight (for economy 7). Batch cooking. Limited usage of
storage heaters. Topped up with panel heaters.
Local economy O t h e r
e x p e n d it u r e
E n e r g y
e x p e n d it u r eIn c o m e
“Anna” storage heaters and switching
Energy audit
Knowledge
Quarterly arrears
Martin Lewis
Time
• Storage heaters are a key risk factor• Example of energy rationing• Unusual because of switch away from PPM
Qualifications and skills
Employment status
Private pensions
Savings and assets
Level of consumption
Payment method
Occupancy patterns
Health
Household size and structure
Dispostitionand attitude
Lifestyle and habits
Climate
Tenure
Infrastructure
1.Energy
technology
2.Market
participation3.Managing
income
4.Managing
consumption
Qualifications and skills
Local economy
Transport
Smart technologyO t h e r
e x p e n d it u r e
E n e r g y
e x p e n d it u r eIn c o m e
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State benefits
Where does BHA intervene?
Tariff
Heating system
Thermal efficiency of home
Energy Debt
Knowledge
State benefits
Tariff
Energy Debt
Heating system
Thermal efficiency of home
Knowledge
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FUEL POOR(Thermal inefficiency
and low income)
1. Energytechnologies
2. Market participation
3. Managing income
4. Managing consumption
Housing Association
• Retrofit• Boiler
replacement • Fabric First /
Passivhaus• Asset disposal
• Limited advice on switching
• Benefits checks • Support with
W HD• Grant
applications • Employability• Support with
debt management
• Energy conservation tips
Tenants • Limited marketparticipation due to debt / preference for PPMs / lack of knowledge / confidence / trust
• Limited opportunities to improve income (in short term)
• Some control over level of (under) consumption
Activity in different spaces of agency
2. The role of emotions in fuel poverty
The role of emotions • Fuel poverty is predominantly understood as resulting
from technical (and market) failures: • Energy efficiency and switching are thus positioned as core
solutions. • For tenants energy vulnerability is an intensely
emotional experience, yet this has been neglected to date.• Energy vulnerability shapes and is shaped by multiple
emotions.• Emotions can cause energy vulnerability and hinder
attempts to address it.
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Fear, worry and control…Due to fear over bills, participants lives were marked by constant worry and active vigilance over their energy expenditure: • “If I’ve got my money coming then that’s alright, I can do
all my washing over the next 3 days…Whereas [if] it’s like ”I’ve got 2 weeks until I’ve got my money coming!”, my washing starts to pile up and stuff like that!” (Paulette)
This led many to choose Pre-Payment Meters to manage risk and gain control:• “Why people go on the key is they’re worried of getting in
big debt…if we hadn’t been on the key we probably would have done to be honest.” (Susan)
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Relations of care…Care relationships can both exacerbate or ameliorate energy vulnerability.
Using energy to care for others:• “If it was just me I’d probably have [the heating] switched off
during the night, but at her age, she can’t keep herself warm.” (Glenda, referring to her elderly cat)
Drawing on care relations for help with bills:• “Another single Mum….she’s got her nan always bailing her
out…where I don’t have family that can do that for me, so we suffer!” (Paulette)
Those with an absence of care relations seemed to be the worst cases, leading to both self-disconnection and social isolation.
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Stigma, embarrassment and trust…Embarrassment and stigma prevented people asking for help…• “Even if I go to my Mum…and say “Mum, can I borrow £20 for some
electric?” I find that embarrassing. So I try not to put myself in that situation.” (Barbara)
Lack of faith or trust in energy companies or housing associations prevented people from receiving potential help earlier: • “I just can’t see the point of swap, change, swap, change, keep trying
to find the best deal…they’re [Energy companies] all basically the same. They’re all in it for the same reasons.” (Annette and Pete)
• “You’re asking someone to actually divulge information with a complete stranger. We explain we’re tenancy support, we’re not the neighbourhood officer, we’re not the rent officer…we are there to offer support, but even with that, they still see you as somebody in authority, bureaucracy, whatever…you’ve got to chip that away and that takes ages.” (Tenancy Support Officer)
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5. Summary and Recommendations
Summary • Dominant approaches to fuel poverty often adopt a
technical, ‘expensive warmth’ framing with energy efficiency as the prime solution. • A focus on lived experience uncovers broader
issues of affordable warmth / energy vulnerability.• Energy vulnerability is a more complex problem
shaped by interrelations between technologies, energy markets, income and consumption. • Emotions shape and are shaped by energy
vulnerability and can significantly hamper attempts to address it.
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Recommendations
1. New tenancies (void management, more tenant support)
2. Switching and tariffs (collective switching, competitive PPM rates)
3. Develop separate economic inclusion and affordable warmth strategies.
4. Find ways to achieve earlier intervention.
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Discussion questions
1. In your role / organization can you think of any examples of how emotions have shaped experiences of energy vulnerability?
2. What do you think could or should be done to account for emotions in attempts to address energy vulnerability?
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