58.6 percent of households in Armenia are unable to adequately heat their homes in the cold months and, according to Eurostat's definition, can be considered energy poor. The final energy consumption per capita of the population of Armenia in the household sector is about 2 times lower than the average of EU 28 countries and is higher than the same indicator of only six countries among the 38 countries of the European family. This is what is stated in "Energy Saving and Renewable Energy 2022-2030 Program" approved by RA Government's decision N 398-L of March 24, 2022.
Energy poverty in Armenia can be exacerbated by climate change adaptation actions and investments contributing to energy price increases. This is mentioned in the draft decision of RA government "On approving the climate change adaptation program in the energy sector and the action plan for 2023-2027".
According to the document, it is planned to give a legal definition to the concept of "Energy poverty", to include legal provisions in legal documents, to define defining indicators, and to carry out gender-differentiated data evaluation, accounting and mapping.
Women are among the most vulnerable groups in terms of energy poverty. Problems of access to energy services will affect households and may increase the burden on women. Among a number of measures, it is proposed to develop women's capacity and involvement in sustainable energy solutions to contribute to the reduction of energy poverty.
According to the planned measures, it should be implemented in the 4th quarter of 2023:
- By defining indicators characterizing the adoption of a legal act on energy poverty that considers the characteristics of Armenia;
- Defining a mechanism for assessment and gender-disaggregated data collection;
- Gender-disaggregated data collection and evaluation;
- Enumeration of energy poor energy consumers by gender, household and mapping.
These actions were estimated at 25,000,000 AMD, which is planned to be allocated through RA state budget and international donor organizations.
February 13, 2023 at 16:55