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Translating energy equity from a sociological concept to an electric power engineering perspective

Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering volume 2, pages 694–702 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

The implementation of energy equity is a pivotal goal of the global energy transition, driven by widespread recognition of energy inequities worldwide. Energy equity has been broadly regarded as a sociological concept rather than an engineering one. The absence of technical engineering methods necessitates the development of a justified and sound approach to making energy equity an actionable practice in the broader realms of energy, environment and sustainability. In this Perspective, we propose a generalized definition of energy equity from the engineering perspective of electric power systems. We look at policies for energy equity that have already been introduced in Europe and the USA, noting their limited effectiveness, and provide four categories of classification for current energy-equity research: quantifying energy equity, improving equity in the accessibility of electricity, improving equity in the affordability of electricity, and improving equity in the resilience of power systems. We then set out a roadmap to address ongoing research challenges in energy equity.

Key points

  • Energy equity means fair and just access to energy for everyone: the challenge of energy inequity worldwide is urgent.

  • Energy equity is a sociological concept, and current research often fails to integrate that concept in the engineering perspective of electric power systems.

  • Although some policies to tackle energy equity have been enacted, they lack guidelines for actionable engineering solutions.

  • Energy equity has been defined in several ways, but here we make a generalized definition based on power system characteristics.

  • Our roadmap for achieving energy equity in electric power systems incorporates both technical and application challenges.

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Fig. 1: Energy inequity in electric power systems.
Fig. 2: Quantitative indices of energy equity.
Fig. 3: A roadmap for implementing energy equity in electric power systems.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the facility of the CURENT research centre at the University of Tennessee and by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Office, award number DE-EE0010724. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the US Department of Energy or the US Government.

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  1. Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, CURENT Engineering Research Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Chenchen Li, Fangxing Li, Sufan Jiang & Jinning Wang

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  1. Chenchen Li
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  2. Fangxing Li
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Contributions

F.L. conceived the idea for the study, revised the manuscript and supervised the project. C.L. conducted the research and led the writing of the initial manuscript. S.J. and J.W. participated in the discussion and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fangxing Li.

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Related links

European Commission Just Transition Mechanism: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/finance-and-green-deal/just-transition-mechanism_en

United Nations Global Goal 7, affordable and clean energy: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7

US Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program: https://www.energy.gov/scep/wap/weatherization-assistance-program

US Department of Health & Human Services Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/programs/liheap

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Li, C., Li, F., Jiang, S. et al. Translating energy equity from a sociological concept to an electric power engineering perspective. Nat Rev Electr Eng 2, 694–702 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44287-025-00210-5

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