Impact of the macroeconomic factors on the level of energy poverty-case of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia

Energy poverty is a socio-economic topic that is not only related to the sustainability problem of natural resource extraction but also human activities. It reflects a situation in which households are unable to fully meet their energy needs. It mainly affects countries with a lower level of development, as well as those whose energy mix is largely based on non-renewable sources (such as coal). These undoubtedly include the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Investigations are still being conducted to explain the causes of the problem of energy poverty. The paper’s main aim is to assess the impact of selected macroeconomic factors on the level of energy poverty. A backward stepwise regression procedure was used to achieve this aim. Models have been developed for each of the three countries: the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia separately and for all of them together. These models are intended to identify the most prominent macroeconomic factors across all three countries. Results from all four models have highlighted two prominent variables which may impact the level of energy poverty in selected countries. They are following: electricity prices for household consumers with all taxes and net electricity imports. In three of the four developed models, they explained the level of energy poverty in a statistically significant manner. In conclusion, it can be suggested that the governments of these countries take action on these variables, which can help manage energy poverty. Their identification and subsequent impact may help to reduce this problem in the analysed post-coal economies.