It’s a lifeline: A long-term approach to improving energy support programs for households facing vulnerability
Energy Efficiency Services work with individuals and families on low-incomes and those experiencing energy hardship to support households to better understand and manage their energy use and costs.
They work with people to modify energy use behaviour as well as maximise access to financial supports such as rebates, concessions, retrofits and appliance replacement schemes.
The Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University was engaged to collaborate on a research project with Uniting Vic.Tas, CSIRO and GEER to understand the benefits and gaps of the Uniting Energy Support Service .
The research project, ‘It’s a lifeline’, aims to determine ‘what works’ and what actions are needed to address the drivers and effects of energy hardship. It also provides design-insights into a suitable model for an energy efficiency service.
What is energy hardship?
Energy hardship manifests in a variety of ways including difficulty paying bills, energy rationing, and negative effects on health and other life areas.
Rates of energy hardship are increasing in Australia and are particularly prevalent among those on the lowest incomes, as well as those on income support, people with a disability, and single parent households.
There is a body of research that identifies the value of Energy Efficiency Services in reducing household electricity use (by a median of 7.9% across programs), as well as contributing to ‘co-benefits’ such as increased health and wellbeing through increased thermal comfort and reduced stress (McAndrew et al., 2021).
How was the research undertaken?
The research drew on three datasets about households that utilised the Uniting Energy Efficiency Service:
1. Household energy use and billing data for 847 households across three States (NSW, Victoria, and QLD) between 2018 and 2022, including data both before and after the Uniting Energy Efficiency Service intervention;
2. Interview data from 40 households (NSW and Victoria)
3. Survey data from the 40 interviewed households.
The energy use and billing data were analysed by a research partner at CSIRO.
The interview and survey data were thematically analysed by researchers from the Centre for Social Impact and ‘journey maps’ were produced to capture the events and intervention points along the pathway of energy hardship that led to and went beyond engagement with the Uniting Energy Efficiency Service.
[insert journey map – Montana VIC during COVID]
What did the research find?
Overall, households experienced a complex set of factors that contributed to their energy hardship.
While the Uniting Energy Efficiency Service produced a range of energy, health and wellbeing outcomes, energy hardship often persisted due to a range of factors beyond the control of households.
The report provides insights on:
- Drivers of energy hardship including at the macro, meso and micro levels of the ecosystem
- Types of support accessed by people experiencing energy hardship
- Individual outcomes related to Uniting’s Energy Efficiency Service
- Implications for making support more effective