28.04.2018
Definition and relevance of affordability in relations to gas; countries fall into 2 categories of affordability:
- An absolutely price level, such as $5/MMBtu, above which customers in a country cannot afford to purchase the fuel either because of their income level, or because the end-user price level of the final product (especially electricity) for which gas is being purchased would be too high.
- A competitive price level, above which customers in a country will purchase (or switch to) a competing fuel (such as coal or renewables), or will invest in demand-side measures to avoid purchasing the fuel
In practice, anywhere there is a competitive fuel these two definitions may overlap.