The paper develops a framework for monitoring the effectiveness of energy policies with regard to the poor, rural and urban, and women. This framework is based on the axes of Availability, Access, End-use and Impacts. Suitable indicators have been identified for each level of monitoring. With regard to data collection it is suggested that the large amount of consumption data already available be used, before designing additional data collection. Data collection, however, should be followed by data analysis; and patterns that emerge should then be analysed. Finally, the concluding section suggests a minimal set of three indicators that could be used to monitor the effectiveness of energy policies.