Energy poverty in the Energy Community region: Interrogating policy formulation and coverage

The capacity of the state to develop and implement policy at the complex nexus of energy infrastructure, social inequality and housing is indicative of the political priorities of governing structures and, by extension, the nature of statecraft more generally. We compare and contrast the energy poverty amelioration policies of two former Yugoslav and two post-Soviet states located outside the European Union, but seeking to join its regulatory sphere – Serbia, Montenegro, Ukraine and Georgia – against the background of deep and persistent patterns of domestic energy hardship. We are particularly interested in uncovering the time horizons, socio-technical systems and target constituencies of different policy measures, as well as energy sector–specific responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that most states in the region have done little to address some of the more substantive challenges around improving housing quality, energy efficiency and gender inequality. However, energy poverty is present in the policy lexicon of all case study countries, and Ukraine, in particular, has advanced a number of more sophisticated approaches and programmes.