ABSTRACT
This chapter describes that the inability to pay for energy costs results from a complex state of deprivation, in which a variety of disprivileging characteristics of a household intersect and further interact with external conditions. It focuses on theoretical work combined with an exploratory secondary analysis of existing data on households in a state of energy-related deprivation. The German debate reveals the necessity to think beyond the classic 'triad' of energy poverty drivers to include other social characteristics of households, the overlap of these characteristics with policies and institutional practices, and how this leads to a constellation of energy deprivation. Qualitative research has an important place in intersectional research because it allows for the detection of mechanisms of deprivation via in-depth studies. The intersectionality approach proves to be rich in inspiration. The question about how intersectionality thinking can be integrated into empirical work that tries to depict deprivation or discrimination thus arises.
