The experience of darkness: Introducing energy uncertainty

Unstable access to energy leads to experiences of powerlessness and stress in addition to physical hardship because it disrupts the routines that individuals and households depend on. Existing research has deepened understanding of how insufficient energy is experienced and technically measured through concepts such as energy poverty, insecurity, and unreliability. This paper combines insights from energy deprivation literature with literature on uncertainty to introduce a new concept. Energy uncertainty constitutes the experience of not knowing when, how, or whether adequate energy will be available due to forces beyond the household's control. Such a focus accounts for events including infrastructure instability, extreme weather events, geopolitical disruptions, and pressures associated with energy transitions. Energy uncertainty provides a new analytical lens for understanding individual and household experiences with energy. The proposed conceptual framework outlines energy uncertainty through system reliability indicators, individual experiences of instability, and household coping strategies. Analysis highlights the harms to well-being from energy uncertainty, linking this concept with aims of equitable energy policy and sustainable development. By conceptualising uncertainty as distinct from insufficiency, the framework advances debates on energy hardship and offers a new lens for analysing household experiences and policy responses in increasingly volatile energy systems.