Catalysts and Barriers to Energy Poverty Program Participation

Dr. Das used a Research and Professional Development grant for a research project that examines communication of energy service programs for the energy poor.

Energy services are not equally available to everyone, even in Canada. The proposed research will subsequently examine programs that are available to the energy poor, and the methods by which these are communicated; both are understudied in the Canadian context. It is hypothesized that program uptake may depend on the methods by which they are communicated to the public, including energy poor populations. The proposed research builds on ongoing study of energy poverty program typologies and will contextualize previous findings. Further, this study will benefit professionals and practitioners by providing them with the necessary knowledge to modify and deliver currently available programs, thus influencing program uptake.