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The impact of the Bono Social de Electricidad on energy poverty in Spain

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 00:50 authored by Guillermo Garcia Alvarez, Richard TolRichard Tol
The Bono Social de Electricidad (BSE) is a government programme, introduced in 2009, to reduce energy poverty in Spain. The BSE is a discount on the price of electricity, available to vulnerable households who applied. Applying differences-in-differences and propensity score matching to household data between 2008 and 2011, we find no statistically significant impact of the intention to treat on two indicators of energy poverty, viz. the ability to keep the house adequately warm, and the presence of damp walls, rotting windows and leaking roofs. This may be because eligible households did not apply. A third indicator, delays in paying electricity bills, showed a statistically significant deterioration. That is, the BSE has not reduced energy poverty, if anything it has made it worse. This is not because eligible households transferred income to relatives hit harder by the financial crises, but it may be because the BSE discount did not fully compensate for the cold of 2010.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Submitted version

Journal

Energy Economics

ISSN

0140-9883

Publisher

Elsevier

Article number

a105554

Department affiliated with

  • Economics Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2021-09-02

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