The European Union (EU) is increasingly targeting energy poverty in its policy action, aiming to boost efforts towards the effective reduction of this issue within a framework of energy efficiency, decarbonisation of the economy, and a clean and just energy transition. Several Member States have developed national strategies to tackle energy poverty, advancing their own definition, methods for measurement and monitoring, and solutions to tackle it in terms of a national point of view. However, its causal multidimensionality, the variability of its expression over space and time, and its private nature make measurement a challenging procedure, with experts divided over the best indicators and metrics for measuring energy poverty.

Energy poverty requires holistic efforts at all levels of governance, from the European to the local level. This Energy Poverty Advisory Hub report conducts a thorough scientific literature review of studies that delve into energy poverty assessment and the identification and targeting of the energy-poor population at subnational spatial scales (smaller than national). This report aims to investigate, identify and analyse the variety of data sources, datasets, and methods used in the literature for assessing energy poverty at greater spatial resolution for specific contexts, territories, and populations. Ultimately, the goal is to collect helpful information and knowledge, and channel it in the direction of local governments and organisations to inform their local practice and initiatives. Frequently, local initiatives are supported by local datasets informally collected by local governments and providing a valuable contribution. By tapping into studies in academia, we complement and strengthen both the data resources available to local governments and the toolbox of methods to evaluate this issue and identify the different profiles of vulnerable people.