Comprehensive energy poverty index: Measuring energy poverty and identifying micro-level solutions in South and Southeast Asia

The absence of adequate modern sources of energy impedes the presence of decent living conditions. This very lack of modern sources of energy is Energy Poverty. Lack of availability, accessibility, and affordability are the main reasons behind this problem. In the literature, all three aspects were not covered together. In this paper, we have developed a composite index of energy poverty to measure the magnitude of energy poverty in the ASEAN region and India, where we capture all three elements. The measure revealed the degree of problem in each country, with Cambodia being the most energy poor amongst the countries in the study and Thailand being the least energy poor. To dig deeper into the problem at the micro level and to deliberate the policy implications, we developed detailed village-level case studies and analysed region-specific energy poverty. We thus identify the key root causes and propose effective solutions to eradicate the prevailing problem in these regions.