Understanding Energy Burden and Energy Inequity

Outreach survey results from Southwood Residents 2019

This month’s climate policy update focuses on energy burden and energy inequity -- Caetano de Campos Lopes answers what it is and how we can promote climate solutions that relieve this particular inequity that resides in our community.

Q1: Can you explain Energy Burden and Energy Inequity?

Energy Burden refers to the portion of your household income spent on paying for energy, including your electricity, natural gas, or propane bill. So, when household energy use increases or income decreases, your energy burden rises. A household’s energy burden is considered to be high if 6% or more of its income is spent on energy costs. Elevated energy burdens have a direct impact on a region’s housing affordability, as energy costs can represent a significant amount of a household’s total housing-costs. Conversely, a lower incidence of high energy burden is usually tied with a greater access to clean and affordable energy in a certain area. 

Energy Equity is defined as a context in which all households have equitable access to clean, affordable, and secure energy services, regardless of their demographic characteristics (such as ethnic background, income levels, geographic location, etc.). Energy Equity may overlap with Climate Justice as communities without equitable access to energy may not be able to combat the effects of climate change (such as rising temperatures), despite historically contributing less to human-led global warming.

Q2: What have you been working on as our Director of Climate Policy to address Energy Inequity as a part ofC3’s local climate action?

To help our community begin to address energy burden and energy inequity, C3 analyzed neighborhood-level data of Charlottesville and is working on a report due out next month. We will subsequently develop a map of the City’s most energy-burdened hotspots to pinpoint how different housing stock and demographic features relate to energy burden levels. This innovative report can help to identify comprehensive solutions, inform decision-makers about the benefits of addressing energy inequity, and open a dialogue among community residents, leaders, and the organizations who serve these energy-burdened residents. 

C3 will host a series of webinars with the findings from our analysis in July.

Q3: What are things individuals can do to engage on climate policy and equity right now?

This March the County published their Draft of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) - Phase I. Community engagement is of paramount importance to ensure that Albemarle’s CAP is effective and provides the leadership-level ambition that we all expect. C3’s Highlights and Recommendations - Albemarle Climate Action Plan (Draft - Phase 1) is a summary of key highlights and suggestions that we hope might be useful for community stakeholders who want to provide feedback to the County and engage in other CAP-related advocacy such as endorsing C3’s Letter to the Albemarle Board of Supervisors - Climate Action Plan (Draft - Phase 1). Currently 160 people have signed it. Join them and make your voice be heard, too!

One of C3’s recommendations to the County is to set more explicit targets for the equitable implementation of County Climate Action Planning and policy implementation. Consider also providing your feedback at the *virtual* Wednesday, June 17th (1:00 pm) Board of Supervisors meeting. County staff will be presenting the Phase I draft climate action plan and input from residents will be important in shaping a final version. Citizens can deliver a comment, or sign up for a virtual 3-minute comment on a first-come, first-served basis. Please email policy@theclimatecollaborative.org if you are interested, or check out Albemarle County's webpage for instructions on participating in the virtual meeting.

Q4: We’ve seen that COVID-19 has exacerbated pre-existing inequities within vulnerable and underserved people across the board. What does this mean for the direction of our climate policy efforts here in Charlottesville?

In the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, governments at all levels will be required to act decisively on recovering the physical and economic health of communities. Among the solutions that the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County might follow, are efforts to enhance access to energy efficiency and renewable energy. These types of investments can improve households’ quality of life, begin to alleviate energy burden, while supporting local well-paying jobs. Additionally, energy efficiency improvements could also improve community members’ health and diminish risks associated with respiratory diseases like the COVID-19. This is especially true for those residents living in poor housing conditions without access to renewable energy or energy efficiency upgrades.

Targeted programs designed to relieve the most significant levels of energy burden could help program beneficiaries free up money that could be used for other basic needs (such as health-care) and potentially provide considerable improvements in the City’s housing affordability levels.

Q5: The City of Charlottesville also began work on their Comprehensive Plan. Can you explain how the City’s Comprehensive Plan works or why Charlottesville residents who care about climate should be involved?

Every 5 years, Charlottesville goes through a comprehensive planning process to determine the community goals, aspirations, and visions in terms of community development. The result is called a Comprehensive Plan, a key document that lays out the City's future vision and drives future decision and policy making. Charlottesville’s plan this round has a special focus on equity and affordability. 

So the City Government has launched the “Cville Spring 2020 Community Process” including a Cville Plans Together website and various webinars, video-conferences, and survey opportunities for the community to learn more about the project, provide input and collaborate on this updated Comp Plan. Make your voice be heard by expressing why climate action is important for you and let the City know that promoting energy equity will increase equity overall, making homes more affordable and helping Charlottesville achieve its leadership-level climate goals!

One extra note, this year Virginia’s General Assembly approved HB585 which requires cities like Charlottesville and County’s like Albemarle to include considerations for reducing GHG emissions through transit-oriented development in their comprehensive plans. Help the City remember it!