Energy Poor No More: Intelligent Approaches to Realizing Energy Well-Being

Access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy services is a key requirement for global sustainability. The United Nations reports that 91% of the world’s population had access to electricity in 2021, up from 87% in 2015 (
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7#progress_and_info
). However, grid connection does not guarantee energy well-being, which New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment defines as the situation “when individuals, households, and whanau are able to obtain adequate energy services to support their well-being in their home or kainga” (
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-hardship/defining-energy-hardship/
). When a household is unable to meet its energy needs, either because it does not have access to a reliable energy supply or cannot afford the necessary energy services, it suffers from energy hardship or, in the extreme, energy poverty. Our research addresses the latter situation; that is, when energy hardship exists despite a reliable energy supply.