Enerji Yoksulluğu ve Covid-19 Salgını: Artan Eşitsizlikler ve Ülkeler Tarafından Alınan Önlemler

Year 2022, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 28 - 42, 31.03.2022

Cemre Pehlivanoğlu Mutlu Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.15869/itobiad.907423

Abstract

Covid-19 salgını yalnızca sağlık alanında yaşanılan küresel bir kriz durumunu değil, aynı zamanda eşitsizliklerin derinleştiği adalet/eşitlik krizlerini de temsil etmektedir. Eğitim, sağlık ve gelir alanında geçmişten günümüze devam eden eşitsizlikler Covid-19’un dünya genelinde yayılması ile birlikte giderek artmış ve bu eşitsizliklerin geniş çaplı önlemlerle ele alınması gerektiğini ülkelere bir kez daha hatırlatmıştır. Küresel ölçekte yaklaşık olarak 940 milyon insanın enerjiye erişimi olmadığı veya var olan erişimlerin de yetersiz bir seviyede olduğu bilinmektedir. Covid-19 salgını döneminde bireyleri evde kalmaya zorlayan önlemler ve ekonomik daralma sonucu azalan veya tamamen kaybedilen gelir, artan ev içi enerji talebini karşılamak açısından hanehalkını çıkmaza sokmaktadır. Ülkelerin bu tip durumlarda tüketicileri korumaya yönelik politik müdahaleleri özellikle ekonomik tabanlı değişimlere uyum sağlama kapasitesi düşük olan haneler için hayati bir önem taşımaktadır. Çalışma, enerji yoksulluğu ve Türkiye’nin de içinde bulunduğu 6 Avrupa ülkesinin salgına yönelik aldığı önlemlere ilişkin kapsamlı bir literatür taraması sonucu elde edilen bilgilerin analizine dayanmaktadır. Bu kapsamda Covid-19 salgınının enerji yoksulluğu ile olan ilişkisi ele alınarak, salgın sürecinde ülkelerin almış olduğu politika önlemleri irdelenmiş ve bu politikaların enerji yoksulluğu ile mücadele boyutundaki etkisi üzerinde durulmuştur. Yapılan inceleme sonucunda, mevcut ülkelerin doğrudan enerji alanına yönelik müdahalelerinin yetersiz olduğu görülmüştür. Ülkeler daha çok nakit bazlı yardımlara odaklanmış ve sadece birkaç ülke enerji alanında tüketicileri korumak için bağlantı kesme yasakları, enerji faturalarına yönelik fiyat düzenlemesi ve borç erteleme gibi önlemlere başvurmuştur. Yapılan nakit yardımlar tüketiciler için önemli bir destek görevi görse de sonuçları eğitim, sağlık ve sosyal yaşam gibi alanlarda eşitsizliklere yol açan enerji yoksulluğu, bu yardımlar arasında geri planda kalmaktadır.

Keywords

Enerji Yoksulluğu, Covid-19, Enerji Politikası, Kırılgan Tüketiciler, Eşitsizlik

Energy Poverty and Covid-19 Pandemic: Increasing Inequalities and Measures Taken by Countries

Abstract

Covid-19 Pandemic represents not only global health crisis, but also justice/equality crisis in which inequalities deepened. Spread of Covid-19 around the world has gradually increased the ongoing inequalities in education, health and income since the beginning, and also reminded countries that these inequalities must be handled through widespread measures. It is known that 940 million people do not have access to energy or their access is at insufficient level. Decreasing or lost incomes due to measures forcing individuals to stay at home and economic recession, put household at a dead end in terms of meeting increased energy demand at home. Countries' political intervention to protect consumers in such cases, plays crucial role for households having low capacity to adapt to economic changes. This study is based on information analysis obtained as a result of extensive literature review on energy poverty and measures taken against the pandemic by 6 EU countries including Turkey. Considering the relationship between Covid-19 pandemic and energy poverty, this study examines political measures taken by countries and dwells on their effect in terms of fight against energy poverty. It was concluded that measures were insufficient in terms of diminishing households' energy poverty risk. As a result of the examination, it was seen that the interventions of the existing countries in the energy field were lacking. Countries have focused more on cash subsidies, and only a few countries have found ways to protect consumers in the energy field, such as disconnection bans, price regulation on energy bills, and debit delays. Even though the monetary supports are an important support for consumers, inequalities occur in areas such as education, health and social life as a result of energy poverty and falls behind among these aids.

Keywords

Energy Poverty, Covid-19, Energy Policy, Vulnerable Consumer, Inequality

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