Fuel poverty, Slovenia, 2012

Households spend more and more on energy sources

In 2012, households in Slovenia spent on average 7.4% of their disposable income on electricity, gas and other fuels, which is 0.8 of a percentage point more than in 2000. The share was the lowest (6.3%) in 2003-2005 and the highest in 2012.

What is fuel poverty?

A frequently used definition is that when a household needs to spend more than 10% of its income to maintain its dwelling adequately warm and for other energy services, it is fuel poor. There is no internationally adopted definition of fuel poverty. Fuel poverty appears when a household is not able to afford to keep its dwelling adequately warm (or cannot afford other energy services such as water heating, lighting, etc.) at reasonable cost. Fuel poverty is primarily caused by low income, prices of energy sources and their consumption, which depends on the behaviour of people in the household and energy efficiency of dwellings.

The poorest households spend the largest share of disposable income on energy sources

Distribution of households by income quintiles shows that expenditure for electricity, gas and other fuels in 2012 in the first quintile (representing 20% of households with the lowest income) represented 18.9% of total disposable income, in the second quintile 12.1%, in the third quintile 9.2%, in the fourth quintile 6.6% and in the fifth quintile (representing 20% of households with the highest income) 4.4% of total disposable income.

Between 2000 and 2012 the mentioned share increased the most in the first income quintile, from 13.1% to 18.9%. The share increased in all quintiles; in the second it exceeded 10% in 2008. The smallest increase was observed in third and fourth income quintiles (by 0.1 of a percentage point).

The structure of consumed energy sources is changing

The increase in retail prices of energy sources is reflected in changing of the structure of energy sources consumed in households. From 2009 to 2014, the consumption of extra light heating oil in households decreased by 52% and the consumption of liquefied petroleum gas by 35%. Wood fuels represent a growing share and in 2014 they accounted for 59% of all energy consumed for space heating.