From targeting to implementation: The role of identification of fuel poor households

• Published in: Energy policy 2012-10, Vol.49, p.107-115
• Main Author: Dubois, Ute
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Efficiency; Energy consumption; Energy policy; Fuel; Fuel poverty; Fuels; Households; Policy analysis; Poor; Poverty; Poverty relief; Public policy; Remediableness; Studies; Success
• ISSN: 0301-4215; 1873-6777
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2011.11.087

This paper proposes to evaluate the efficiency of fuel poverty policies by looking at them as a three-step process. These steps are policy targeting, identification of households and implementation of measures. Each of these steps are costly and can face feasibility problems. This is particularly true in the case of fuel poverty policies, because of the multidimensional aspect of fuel poverty. Therefore, public policies in that field are necessarily imperfect, and this should be taken into account in the analysis of policies. This three-step framework is applied to the French fuel poverty policy, which has been developed in 2010. As its practical modalities of implementation are still under discussion, we mainly discuss the choices made in terms of targeting and highlight the role of identification of fuel poor households as a key factor for the success of that policy. The general idea behind this discussion is that the efficiency of such policies has to be viewed in a comprehensive way, which includes the three policy steps. ► This paper analyses fuel poverty policy as a three-step process. ► The steps are targeting, identification and implementation. ► Feasibility and implementation problems should be considered in policy formulation. ► Errors of inclusion and exclusion limit the effectiveness of fuel poverty policy. ► We apply this framework to the recent French fuel poverty policy.