Emerging spatial clusters of energy poverty vulnerability in rural Finland-Byproducts of accumulated regional development

This geospatial research on Finnish energy poverty reveals that rural areas have potentially higher energy poverty vulnerability than urban areas. The analyses focus on household energy expenditures (HEE) in postcode areas and detect local high or low HEE determinants. The urban-rural typology is applied and found relevant when studying energy poverty and identifying spatial dependencies. The findings demonstrate that rural areas are more vulnerable to energy price increases than urban areas, and the spatial clustering of vulnerability to energy poverty is evident and temporally permanent. The main reason for energy poverty is related to postcode areas' socioeconomic status and building stock characteristics, indicating the accumulation of the negative impacts of regional development on energy poverty vulnerability. The results also suggest that monitoring not only levels of energy poverty but also the temporal dynamics of energy poverty is essential to ensure the effectiveness of policy measures and solutions.