A Review: The Energy Poverty Issue in the European Union and Latvia

Energy poverty is a growing concern in the European Union. Following energy market liberalization, the problem of energy affordability has entered the political discussion, making it necessary to estimate its dimensions, develop and implement a policy and means for its mitigation. To evaluate the situation in Latvia, the paper reviews the way energy poverty is currently defined and measured, investigating the advantages and shortcomings of various definitions and approaches. It then provides a brief analysis of energy poverty in three char-acterising dimensions: low income, high costs of energy services and unsatisfactory housing conditions (primarily related to energy efficiency aspects), using available statistical data. The characterising indicators of energy poverty are compared with the EU average values. Finally, this paper highlights individual policy measures for diminishing energy poverty.