Different dimensions, different vulnerabilities: Intersectional energy poverty in India

A new paper in Energy Research & Social Science examines how overlapping social and economic disadvantages shape different dimensions of energy poverty in India. Using nationally representative household data, the study finds that intersectional vulnerabilities vary substantially across access, affordability and energy services, and between electricity and cooking fuels. The same disadvantage can therefore have different, and sometimes opposing, effects depending on the dimension being measured.

One striking example comes from cooking fuels: rural households can appear to face lower monetary affordability burdens because they can substitute collected biomass for purchased fuels. This apparent advantage, however, can conceal substantial unpaid fuel-collection burdens borne disproportionately by women.

The findings have wider relevance for the integrated assessment and scenario community. Analyses of distributional outcomes during energy transitions can miss important vulnerabilities when household welfare is represented primarily through income, expenditure or aggregate access indicators. The study highlights the value of distinguishing both who is vulnerable and along which dimension when assessing the equity and human-development implications of transition pathways.

George, M., Clarke, L., Hultman, N.,  Pachauri, S., Patwardhan, A., Pelz, S.,  McJeon, H. Different dimensions, different vulnerabilities: Intersectional energy poverty in India, Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 140,
2026.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2026.104930