Abstract Energy justice has reached a critical mass of contributions in recent years; nevertheless, different definitions of what energy justice is, appear to be competing, or at least they seem to be devoid of a theoretical effort at systematization of the concepts, an effort which could find a common theoretical root underpinning the current energy justice definitions. While tracing a common theoretical root might appear unnecessary to some, we argue that it contributes to strengthening the concept of energy justice and improves its suitability to application in policy design and policy evaluation. In this paper, we attempt to fill this gap, discussing how energy justice is embedded in the tradition of philosophical and political thought, with reference to the concept of equality. Further, we discuss the implications of this thesis.