Which households are energy insecure? An empirical analysis of race, housing conditions, and energy burdens in the United States
Which households are energy insecure? An empirical analysis of race, housing conditions, and energy burdens in the United States
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DOI：
10.1016/j.erss.2021.102144
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发表时间：
2021-06-18
影响因子：
6.7
通讯作者：
Memmott, Trevor
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Graff, Michelle;Carley, Sanya;Memmott, Trevor
能源无保障是指一个家庭无法满足其基本能源需求。以前的研究表明，这种物质困难会导致负面的心理和身体健康结果，特别是对儿童和老年人。本研究分析了一个具有代表性的低收入家庭样本，以评估有色人种家庭是否比白色家庭更容易出现能源不安全，以及原因是否是住房条件差或能源负担较高。我们发现能源不安全现象普遍存在。在一年的时间里，30%的受访者无法支付至少一笔能源账单，33%的受访者收到至少一份断电通知，13%的受访者与电力服务断开连接。回归分析进一步表明，黑人和西班牙裔家庭比白色家庭更有可能能源不安全。此外，住房条件差和能源负担高都是家庭能源无保障的独立预测因素。然而，通过中介变量分析，我们发现，住房条件和能源负担只能解释种族和能源不安全之间的关联的一小部分。这些结果表明，仍然有相当大的不确定性的原因，家庭的颜色体验能源不安全的比率高于白色家庭，未来的研究是必要的，以揭示这些差异的机制。
Energy insecurity refers to a household's inability to meet its basic energy needs. Previous research has shown that this type of material hardship can lead to negative mental and physical health outcomes, especially for children and the elderly. This study analyzes a state-representative sample of low-income households to evaluate if households of color are more likely than white households to be energy insecure, and, if the reasons are either poor housing conditions or higher energy burdens. We find that energy insecurity is widespread. Over a year period, 30 percent of respondents were unable to pay at least one energy bill, 33 percent received at least one disconnection notice, and 13 percent were disconnected from their electric utility service. Regression analysis further suggests that Black and Hispanic households are more likely than white households to be energy insecure. Additionally, deficient housing conditions and higher energy burdens are both independent predictors of household energy insecurity. Through a mediating variables analysis, however, we find that housing conditions and energy burdens only explain a small proportion of the association between race and energy insecurity. These results indicate that there remains considerable uncertainty about the reasons that households of color experience energy insecurity at higher rates than white households and that future research is needed to uncover the mechanisms underlying these disparities.