Thesis

Thesis supervisor

• Dr Carolyn Snell

Research topic

Qualifying and quantifying fuel poverty across the 27 EU member states using consensual indicators.

Summary of thesis

Fuel poverty is currently a developed policy concept within the United Kingdom and Ireland only; however, with the accession of numerous Former Soviet Union countries to the European Union (EU), rising fuel prices, and the move towards a liberalised energy market, fuel poverty is being increasingly recognised as a European wide concern.

By analysing EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), my PhD primarily explores whether fuel poverty exists beyond the United Kingdom and Ireland, and if so, what levels of fuel poverty exists?

A secondary purpose of my PhD is to explore how fuel poverty is conceptualised across the EU by undertaking content analysis of policy documents within each Member State, and potentially conducting key stakeholder interviews.

My PhD is conducted in collaboration with National Energy Action, an independent charity that aims to eradicate fuel poverty and campaign for greater investment in energy efficiency to help those who are poor or vulnerable.

Profile

Research interests

• Fuel poverty
• Energy policy (with particular reference to energy efficiency and consumer protection)
• Comparative social policy
• Quantitative and qualitative comparative research methods
• The European Union: policymaking and institutions

Brief biography

My interest in fuel poverty and affordable warmth first emerged during an internship at a not-for-profit energy organisation where I was project managing a solar thermal grant for able-to-pay customers and a ground source heat pump scheme for specific household types.

After this internship, I graduated from the BA Social Policy and MRes Social Policy degrees. My eaga Charitable Trust funded MRes dissertation quantified fuel poverty across the EU using proxy indicators from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, and explored definitions of fuel poverty through an academic and grey literature review.

Teaching

• Introducing Social Policy
• Social Media for Social Policy

Other roles

Founder of the EU Fuel Poverty Network, www.fuelpoverty.eu which aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from across the European Union who are working in the field of fuel poverty.

Publications

Presentations

Qualifying and quantifying fuel poverty across the European Union using consensual indicators. Coalition for Energy Savings, debate on fuel poverty and energy efficiency. Brussels, November 2011.