Coherent, credible and comprehensive or diffuse and ineffective? The energy poverty policy mix in Norway during geopolitical changes

Unlike numerous European Union member states, Norway lacks an explicit definition of energy poverty and targeted alleviation policies. Historically associated with energy abundance thanks to its early capitalisation on hydropower attributes, the country offers a fertile context to investigate the changing impact of Europe's turn towards energy security amid geopolitical turbulence and resultant impacts at household level. We report on the first study to address this directly in Norway by analysing its energy poverty policy mix. The policy mix literature has identified coherence, credibility and comprehensiveness as desirable aspects for effectiveness. Based on a top-down approach through a desk study of relevant policies, and a bottom-up approach using an expert focus group discussion, we identify and explain the implications of Norway's diffuse energy poverty policy mix. Measures address symptoms rather than underlying causes through short-term populist policies and misdirect support in ways that risk increasing inequity while failing to ameliorate energy poverty for vulnerable households. While Norway's broader welfare system offers social protection, the lack of a definition of energy poverty, ambiguous institutional responsibility, and weak coherence of policy measures limit policy mix effectiveness, while failing to furnish a firm base for its credible and comprehensive treatment.