Introduction to Energy Access

Introduction to Energy Access: Energy Poverty and Energy Insecurity Lesson

This lesson introduces students to energy access, energy poverty, and energy insecurity by helping them examine what it means for energy to be available, affordable, reliable, and safe. Students explore how communities can still struggle with energy needs even when electricity infrastructure exists nearby, and how those gaps shape health, education, work, and daily life.

The lesson combines multiple types of learning activities. Students begin with bell ringers and vocabulary work that define core terms such as energy poverty, rural electrification, biomass, and energy access. They then interpret real-world data on global electricity access, including how international statistics define “access” and how that definition may still fall short of what households need for modern life.

A scenario-based lab activity deepens the lesson by shifting from global energy access to household energy insecurity. Students evaluate realistic situations faced by city renters, rural homeowners, and small business owners, and make decisions about cost, reliability, health, and safety under pressure. This gives the lesson strong relevance for teachers looking for environmental science activities high school, social studies energy lessons, or energy poverty lesson plans that move beyond simple definitions into real-world tradeoffs.

This resource works well in units on energy systems, environmental justice, human development, public health, or infrastructure. It is especially useful for classrooms that want to connect energy systems to everyday life and policy decisions.

Extend the Lesson:
Use the Student Guide and Data Set to build background knowledge, then move into the Energy Insecurity lab for applied decision-making. Teachers may also want to connect this lesson to Indoor Air Pollution, The Electric Grid, or Environmental Impacts of Energy.