Energy poverty is not being able to afford adequate warmth, cooling, lighting, or the energy to power appliances that guarantee a decent standard of living and health. One shorthand rule is that a household is energy poor if it must spend more than 10 percent of its income on power. As renewable energy mandates are rising 'ecological' taxes have driven up electricity prices, and increases in energy poverty have become a problem in countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. It is estimated that 50 million European households now qualify. 1