About 60,000 people in Drenthe may find themselves in financial difficulties due to rising energy prices. This is evident from an analysis of figures from, among others, the Central Bureau of Statistics.
These are people who belong to the 25 percent poorest households and whose gas consumption is higher than average. Each month, these households have less than 2,000 euros to spend (without surcharges). They also spend at least 400 euros per month on their energy bill.
Translated to households, there are more than 25,000 households in Drenthe, which amounts to 11.6 percent of the total. Relatively speaking, Borger-Odoorn is at the top of the list. There, 15 percent of households run the risk of being in acute financial distress.
Most households at risk of financial problems come in an absolute sense from the municipality of Emmen. This concerns 6,811 households, about 14 percent. After Emmen, Hoogeveen (2,781) and Assen (2,546) follow. The municipality with the lowest number of households that may run into problems is Westerveld (1,083).
61 percent of Emmen residents also do not have the financial means to make significant improvements to their home. Think, for example, of good insulation or investing in solar panels or a heat pump. In Emmen, almost two thirds of the cases concern owner-occupied homes. Households that do not have the resources for such investments have less than 10,000 euros in assets in this case. In Emmen, 39 percent of the cases concern a rental home.
Within the municipality of Emmen there are also big differences when you look at the villages and the individual neighborhoods in the city. Within the city, 19 percent of households in the Emmermeer district threaten to run out of money, in Angelslo it is 17 percent. The district with the least threat of energy poverty is Rietlanden (4 percent).
If you look at other villages in the municipality, you also see many differences. In Veenoord, even a quarter of the inhabitants in the lowest income category are at risk of getting into financial problems. That is also the highest percentage in all of Drenthe. In Zwartemeer this is one in five, just like in Nieuw-Weeringe.
There are also differences in Assen. While Kloosterveen (2 percent) and Marsdijk (3 percent) have relatively little energy poverty, this does not apply to the districts of Lriks (15 percent) and Noorderpark (12 percent).
The lowest percentage in Drenthe is in Eelderwolde. There, 1 percent of the lowest incomes may run into problems due to high energy prices.
The above research will not be superseded by the likely introduction of the energy price cap. The data clearly shows that people live in poorly insulated houses, resulting in higher than average consumption. Moreover, there is no money in reserve for sustainability.