Why Are Pwd More Vulnerable to Rising Energy Costs, and What Should Be Done?

Why PWD are More Vulnerable to Rising Energy Costs

Compared to non-disabled people, people with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty. In addition to this, over a quarter of disabled individuals experience fuel poverty, with the additional financial responsibilities placed on them as a result of the rising energy costs. These individuals suffer from costs associated with increased mobility, such as those allied with equipment like wheelchairs or hoists in the home and a greater need for taxis or public transportation. Secondly, they suffer from a rise in the price of specialized goods and/or services, like home modifications to items like wet rooms and ongoing therapies. Another reason why people with disabilities are more vulnerable to rising energy costs is the increased usage of energy, whereby they are likely to require to have assistive-powered technology as well as heat in their homes (Gitonga, 2021). These might include health or technological equipment such as a heater or fans. For instance, people with disability living with certain health conditions need heat devices to keep themselves warm to manage their pain levels.

What Should Be Done

Over the last few months, the PWD population in Kenya has faced potentially devastating financial, physical, and mental health impacts. As a result, much of the population is left without food and other essential requirements such as mobility, housing, taxes, and housing (The World Bank, 2022). In response to this, immediate and long-term measures should be taken to alleviate the burden of energy costs on people with disabilities.

Immediate Measures

Suppose the Kenyan government takes the initiative to avoid the catastrophic impact the crisis of the rising energy costs will have on the disabled population in the country. In that case, a lot will have to be done with immediate effect.

1. Preserving advantages as the cost of living is continually increasing. According to National Council for Persons with Disabilities, about 2.1 million people with disabilities will fuel poverty if bills hit £3000 a year. This calls for the government to devise and implement energy-cost incentives for people with disability to ease their movement and cost of living and improve their living conditions (Perera & Management, 2019).
2. Development of a separate support package tailored for disabled people. The support package should acknowledge that a large number of people with deniability depend on energy to manage their conditions.

Creation of social tariff programs for people with disability by the government.

Long Terms Measures

The disproportionate number of persons with disabilities affected by the rising energy costs suggests that there needs to be a systematic shift in the energy sector to improve their likelihood. Industry and the government could take the following actions to enhance the system:

1. Putting more emphasis on updating and enhancing the vulnerable population in question requires assistance in terms of energy.
2. Ranking and rewarding suppliers based on their treatment of consumers with disabilities, such as how easily accessible their communication techniques are and how much assistance they provide to those with severe energy costs.
3. Re-evaluating the approach taken to solve the issue of rising energy costs in favor of people with disability. The present Low-Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) definition of fuel poverty runs the risk of bandaging many wounds with the same size bandage. There is not enough attention paid to the unique experiences of fuel poverty that structural disparities, including those involving disability and those involving gender, race, and class, can produce. Solutions for these unique experiences must be grounded in disabled people’s circumstances (Ryan, 2022).
4. Putting into place a nationwide initiative to drastically increase improvements in energy efficiency, particularly fuel-poor households with disabled residents being given top priority.

Conclusion

Everyone is concerned about the impending stratospheric increases in energy prices. The upcoming winter, however, is especially harsh because people with disabilities already face significant disadvantages in the energy system. If quick, improved financial help is not given, many lives will be in danger. The promised support will barely scratch the surface of ensuring the maintenance of life-saving services and equipment.

References

Emily Gitonga. (2021). ENERGY INCLUSION – ARE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ENERGY EFFICIENT? EnergyzedWorld. https://energyzedworld.com/energy-financial-calculator/energy-inclusion-are-assistive-technologies-energy-efficient/

Frances Ryan. (2022, March 15). Disabled people face “impossible choices to survive” in a cost of living crisis—the Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/mar/15/disabled-people-face-rising-energy-fuel-and-food-costs-say-uk-charities

Perera, A., & Management, O. (2019). Energy and disability Energy Insight. https://www.energyeconomicgrowth.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/EEG%20Insight%20Paper%20on%20Energy%20%20Disability%2012.4.2019%20CLEAN%20COPYEDITED%20adjus….pdf

The World Bank. (2022, April 14). Disability Inclusion Overview. World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/disability