Page - 156 - in Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies - Conference Proceedings of the 17th STS Conference Graz 2018

- Two households living in a passive house in Vienna contrary to some findings do not have high income Energy efficiency as a measure to reduce energy poverty The findings on the use of energy efficiency as a measure to reduce energy poverty from the interviews and surveys are: - Most stakeholders find energy efficiency to be the best measure to alleviate energy poverty - Best way to prevent energy poverty is by adopting legislation requiring energy efficiency standards in new dwellings - Households data based on cross-tabulation between having or not energy efficiency measures and a set of different indicators of aspects of energy poverty shows mostly no relationship - Reasons for energy efficiency measures not being successful to address energy poverty in the household data include: partial installation of energy efficiency measures, incorrect application of energy efficiency, the type of energy efficiency measure used - Not every household can afford investment in energy efficiency - Energy efficiency does not result in energy savings due to households already reducing their energy needs - Energy efficiency increases the rent which chases away vulnerable households - Affordability issues prevent Macedonia’s households from accessing heat infrastructure; while low electricity price and under-heated dwellings make heat infrastructure projects unrealizable in Macedonia Conclusion It seems that energy efficiency is not a panacea for energy poverty in Macedonia and Austria due to barriers to energy efficiency, lack of quality of implementing energy efficiency measures, poor targeting, not tailor-made measures, priorities of households and legal framework which does not take into consideration the issue of energy poverty. It means that energy poverty per se is not the solution to energy poverty; it has to take all these challenges into consideration in order to be effective measure against energy poverty. It means energy efficiency measures need to be suitably chosen, wholesome and implemented with support of social measures, in order to achieve their goal of alleviating energy poverty. However, one persuasive argument is the use of energy efficiency to prevent energy poverty in the future. If there is energy poverty present in a household, energy efficiency measures need to complemented with social measures in order to be effective and sustainable in the long-term. Legislation and infrastructure projects which envisage high energy standards prevent future consumers from energy poverty. If in a need of immediate short-term action against energy poverty, allowing households to have control over their situation is a good approach even if it means they would continue to face energy poverty. In order to help make the EU energy transition inclusive and successful for all consumers, it needs to consider that energy efficiency on its own does not alleviate energy poverty, and there is need of targeted social measures to help households access adequate measure to improve their energy efficiency. 156