Energy Poverty Endangers 12% of Households in Slovakia, Even 49% in Summer

Bratislava, 26 October (TASR) – According to 2024 data, one in eight Slovak households is at risk of energy poverty and long-standing, across-the-board energy price subsidies have failed to address the problem. In addition, in summer 2025, 49 percent of households surveyed were unable to keep their homes sufficiently cool, the third-worst result in Europe, it follows from the Energy Poverty 2026 study authored by Dusana Dokupilova of the Institute of Forecasting at the Slovak Academy of Sciences' Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences (SAV). Large and multigenerational households account for the largest share of energy-poor households, at 26.3 percent, often comprising more than 10 members. They include 35.1 percent of all people affected by energy poverty. Together with families with dependent children and single-parent households, they make up the vast majority of those affected. Half of energy-poor households live in rural areas, where older, unrenovated family homes are prevalent. Projections based on demographic forecasts by Infostat suggest that the number of households at risk of energy poverty could increase. While the most vulnerable districts in 2024 were in southern and eastern Slovakia, energy poverty is expected to rise across all regions by 2040. Dokupilova believes, however, that this trend can be reversed if the state introduces effective subsidy schemes and households take timely steps to insulate their homes, replace windows, upgrade heating systems, install shading and switch to more energy-efficient appliances. In terms of summer cooling, Slovakia ranks third-worst among European countries, with 49 percent of households surveyed unable to keep their homes sufficiently cool. Only Poland, at 52.1 percent, and Lithuania, at 50.7 percent, recorded worse results. An average of 37 percent of households in southern and western Europe report the same problem, compared with 30 percent in northern Europe. Heat poses the greatest threat to low-income households, families living in overheating flats, people with cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and those working outdoors, for example on construction sites or in agriculture. "Urban planning is partly to blame, as it still fails to account for the changing climate, but the main problem is the inadequate quality of our buildings. They overheat in summer and accumulate heat. Yet the solution is much the same as in winter. High-quality building renovation protects against both frost and extreme heat," the researcher said. mf