The first Atlas of Energy Poverty in Spain, developed by researchers at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), enables the exploration of domestic energy expenditure neighborhood by neighborhood. Furthermore, it introduces for the first time an indicator to identify the most vulnerable neighborhoods by relating the cost of bills to families' annual income.
In Gipuzkoa, the burden of energy bills relative to income ranges from 1.5% to 4.7%, without reaching the 5% threshold considered concerning. The Spanish average is 3.6%, placing Gipuzkoa in a favorable position. Getaria (1.5%) shows the lowest burden, while Belauntza (4.7%) registers the highest, due to its higher bills.
The atlas aims to identify the most vulnerable neighborhoods, where families face greater difficulties in meeting their homes' electricity and heating needs. Until now, only general indicators were available, but this new tool delves into the detail of census units. «This leap in indicators allows us to much better identify where the neighborhoods are most likely to have people struggling to pay their bills at the end of the month,» explains Manuel Tomás, a BC3 researcher.
Even within the same city, «significant differences» can exist in the cost of energy bills and the burden they place on households. «People living in the same city can experience different levels of energy vulnerability, mainly because, despite being in a climatic zone with similar heating needs, there are different conditions between neighborhoods, particularly related to housing quality or family income,» states Tomás.
In Donostia, the census unit corresponding to the Intxaurrondo neighborhood shows the highest energy burden (4.18%), while the Ondarreta-Igeldo area has the lowest (1.52%). The difference is 2.66 percentage points. Regarding annual bill costs, they range from 1,075 euros in Aiete to 636 euros in Herrera-Larratxo. The average annual bill in Donostia is 785 euros.
Analyzing the data at the Gipuzkoa level, the maximum difference between census units is 3.2 percentage points. The lowest energy burdens are found in Getaria (1.5%), Ondarreta (1.52%), and Segura (1.55%), while the highest are in Belauntza (4.7%), Larreaundi (4.46%), and Amute (4.44%).
Regarding bill costs, the highest figures in Gipuzkoa are recorded in Belauntza (1,187 euros), Sokoa (Hondarribia, 1,075 euros), or a part of Aiete (Donostia, 1,075 euros). At the lower end are Lizartza (431 euros), Asteasu (434 euros), and Zegama (445 euros). The average annual bill for Gipuzkoa amounts to 738 euros.
