Social constructs of energy poverty and the resulting capability deprivations in rural India

Abstract

This PhD project studies energy poverty in rural India in order to understand its underlying social constructs and effect on people's well-being. A core inspiration for undertaking this research stems from my profound interest in understanding the way in which people's energy demands, energy sources, and services interact with their social systems, such as their day-today routines, established norms, well-accepted traditions, and culture. In so doing, this project aims to contribute towards achieving India's goal to universalise modern energy access to all. Presently, India suffers from longstanding energy poverty, with about 239 million people unconnected to electricity and about 800 million relying on harmful solid fuels for cooking. This study has three objectives: (1) to understand the links between people's livelihood practices and household decisions in relation to energy sources and services; (2) to understand how the energy poor's capabilities are influenced by their choice of energy sources; and (3) to understand the role that social structure has on persistent energy poverty and find out ways to break the energy poverty cycle. This project represents a niche of studies that investigate energy poverty from an undervalued realm of social science. It benefits from an emerging conceptualisation that strongly argues for a research lens that navigates beyond the economic and technological influences of energy systems and unpack the relationship between energy and society. This novel concept acknowledges that demand for energy is not for energy itself, but for undertaking services required by people as members of society. Energy, therefore, is intricately intertwined with social systems that shape people's needs, choices, decisions, and opportunities. To unpack this complex connection between energy and society, this project applies two prominent social theories: the Capability Approach (CA) and Structuration Theory. This research employs a qualitative approach of inquiry. Techniques applied for data collection comprise a set of in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and observation. These techniques provide valuable groundwork for gathering a subjective understanding of people's life experiences, both individual and collective, values, societal dominations, and energy practices. Fieldwork for the study was undertaken in the Chittoor district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The theoretical peculiarities of energy poverty research: A systematic literature review

“…It recognizes that the causes and impacts of energy poverty and vulnerability are rooted in more profound and ankylosed society's structural problems, such as inequalities, discrimination, resource depletion, and stagnant development -see, e.g., Middlemiss et al [79] and Pellicer [80], which had not been explicitly included in the energy poverty discussion so far. In addition, this perspective expands toward human rights and human development perspectives, which seek to understand the consequences of energy poverty on the pursuit of a life free of limitations for development, see, e.g., Malakar [81] and Liang and Lu [82].…”

The theoretical peculiarities of energy poverty research: a systematic literature review

“…It recognizes that the causes and impacts of energy poverty and vulnerability are rooted in more profound and ankylosed society's structural problems, such as inequalities, discrimination, resource depletion, and stagnant development -see, e.g., Middlemiss et al [79] and Pellicer [80], which had not been explicitly included in the energy poverty discussion so far. In addition, this perspective expands toward human rights and human development perspectives, which seek to understand the consequences of energy poverty on the pursuit of a life free of limitations for development, see, e.g., Malakar [81] and Liang and Lu [82].…”