IAEE Members and subscribers to The Energy Journal: Please log in to access the full text article or receive discounted pricing for this article.

A Welfare Measure of a New Type of Energy Assistance Program

Abstract:
The sharp increase in utility rates since the 1970s has inflicted great hardship on low-income households. For many, paying their utility bills means sacrificing the purchase of other commodities essential to their economic well-being.' Another symptom of this problem is exhibited by the increased number of low-income people whose utility service has been cut off. Energy assistance programs have been instituted to cope with this serious problem. The major objectives of these programs are: (a) to make energy more affordable to the poor, thereby reducing the number of service disconnections, and (b) to limit how much the poor must pay for energy so that more funds are available for purchasing other essential commodities.

Purchase ( $25 )

Energy Specializations: Energy Access – Energy Poverty and Equity

JEL Codes: Q40: Energy: General, Q41: Energy: Demand and Supply; Prices, D11: Consumer Economics: Theory, D12: Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

Keywords: Low income households, Energy poverty, IRAPP program, Illinois, Energy assistance

DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol9-No3-6

Published in Volume 9, Number 3 of the bi-monthly journal of the IAEE's Energy Economics Education Foundation.

 

© 2023 International Association for Energy Economics | Privacy Policy | Return Policy