Beyond the conflicts in the Middle East and the Caucus, energy policy and its more human side is on top of the agenda of most policymakers. After decades during which "poverty" was a term used almost exclusively in development policy and in connection to Third World countries, the European Union is waking up to the reality that not only are there poor people still living on the continent but that a new category is being created.
The main factor that is leading to the widening of those who can be considered as poor is that of energy prices. There is a whole range of families who, until now, could never be defined as "poor" and who are now finding themselves being squeezed beneath the infamous line. Thus, the debate on "energy poverty" is up and coming, with policymakers finally waking up to the reality that there is more to energy prices than just the price of crude oil. It is all about people not dollars.
The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) is campaigning to press the European Commission to tackle the issue. It is also urging member states to recognise the problem by defining energy poverty and develop national plans to eradicate it. A Written Declaration has been launched to stress this point and is doing the rounds among members of the European Parliament. I signed the declaration last week.
My good friend Eluned Morgan, Labour MEP for Wales and one of the promoters of the Written Declaration, produced a paper that gives a snapshot of the situation in the 27 member states. To date, despite the fact that the problem is being felt across the EU, only three member states - namely France, Ireland and the United Kingdom - have worked out a definition of "energy poverty".
Tony Blair's Labour government unveiled a strategy to fight energy and fuel poverty back in 2001. The document converged on the definition that a fuel/energy poor household is one which "needs to spend more than 10 per cent of its income on all fuel use and to heat its home to an adequate standard of warmth. This is generally defined at 21˚C in the living room and 18˚C in the other occupied rooms - the temperatures recommended by the World Health Organisation".
According to Energy Action Scotland, in some countries more than one family in three are suffering from energy poverty.
Submitting Maltese households to the test of the British definition of "energy poverty" might provide an interesting insight and help address the reality in a better manner. Unfortunately, we have a government that even laughed off our basic request of producing an economic and social impact assessment of the latest hike to a 95 per cent utility bill surcharge.
In her focus on Malta, Ms Morgan quotes a report on General Policy Towards Services Of General Economic Interest And Consumer Protection In The Energy Sector (ECORYS and ECOFYS for DG Energy and Transport. Rotterdam - October 2006.) which states that, although a social tariff is available (read surcharge reduction tokens), households eligible for social benefits are those most at risk.
While underlining that there is no national definition of energy poverty, the paper points out that it is not known how many Maltese said electricity services were not affordable since they were not included in the Eurostat survey 2007. Nevertheless, one can point out that the latest Eurobarometer put inflation as the top concern of Maltese and Gozitan households.
The paper also quotes a European Community Household Panel Study indicating that during the period 1994 - 1997, 21 per cent of households stated that they could not keep an adequate temperature in their households. Since then, one can only imagine what happened to that figure. There is a need for a serious discussion on this phenomenon in our country. This is an issue that goes beyond whether we get a bill topped up with a surcharge or a totally new tariff. As Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs put it: "While it is vital that levels of consumption need to decrease in order to deal with the issue of climate change, a basic level of energy can be considered as essential within the EU to attain a basic standard of living - in order to heat or cool a home and to live comfortably. Energy is a basic human need. However, the reality is that in many EU countries poor people are faced with a choice between paying excessive amounts for energy and accumulating debt or not paying bills which inevitably leads to other consequences".
I would beg to differ with the commissioner on his hint that the problem is confined to that sector we traditionally label as "poor". The problem goes beyond that.
Labour is working on a set of proposals for new water and electricity tariffs. As in the case of our initial reaction on rent reform, we aim at being positive and being proactive even when it comes to utility bills. In this regard, we will be giving the due importance to the emerging problem of energy poverty and the fact that energy is "a basic human need".
Dr Muscat is leader of the Malta Labour Party and a member of the European Parliament.
www.josephmuscat.com