Households’ access to electricity and energy consumption pattern in Nigeria

Access to substantial quantity and quality energy infrastructures is essential to rapid and sustainable economic development. Access to modern energy services directly contributes to economic growth and poverty reduction through the creation of wealth. No country can develop and sustain beyond subsistence means without having at least minimum access to energy services for the larger portion of its population. The present study examines the households’ access to modern energy (electricity) services and pattern of energy consumption in Nigeria. It was found that the access to modern form of energy in the country is very low despite the country's abundant energy endowment. Greater proportions (over 40%) of Nigerian households do not have access to electricity and still depend largely on traditional forms of energy (e.g., firewood and kerosene) as energy sources.     

Measuring energy poverty: Focusing on what matters

The provision of modern energy services is recognised as a critical foundation for sustainable development, and is central to the everyday lives of people. Effective policies to dramatically expand modern energy access need to be grounded in a robust information-base. Metrics that can be used for comparative purposes and to track progress towards targets therefore represent an essential support tool. This paper reviews the relevant literature, and discusses the adequacy and applicability of existing instruments to measure energy poverty. Drawing on those insights, it proposes a new composite index to measure energy poverty. Both the associated methodology and initial results for several African countries are discussed. Whereas most existing indicators and composite indices focus on assessing the access to energy, or the degree of development related to energy, our new index - the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) - focuses on the deprivation of access to modern energy services. It captures both the incidence and intensity of energy poverty, and provides a new tool to support policy-making.     

Multi-objective assessment of rural electrification in remote areas with poverty considerations

Rural electrification with renewable energy technologies (RETs) offers several benefits to remote areas where diesel generation is unsuitable due to fuel supply constraints. Such benefits include environmental and social aspects, which are linked to energy access and poverty reduction in less-favored areas of developing countries. In this case, multi-objective methods are suitable tools for planning in rural areas. In this study, assessment of rural electrification with renewable energy systems is conducted by means of goal programming towards fuel substitution. The approach showed that, in the Non-Interconnected Zones of Colombia, substitution of traditional biomass with an electrification scheme using renewable energy sources provides significant environmental benefits, measured as land use and avoided emissions, as well as higher employment generation rates than diesel generation schemes. Nevertheless, fuel substitution is constrained by the elevated cost of electricity compared to traditional biomass, which raises households’ energy expenditures between twofold to five times higher values. The present approach, yet wide in scope, is still limited for quantifying the impact of energy access improvements on poverty reduction, as well as for the assessment of energy system's technical feasibility.     

The challenge of energy poverty: Brazilian case study

In recent years successive Brazilian governments have actively pursued economic and social policies aimed at reducing poverty and promoting social equality and inclusion. In the field of energy, this has meant introducing and implementing programs aimed at expanding the supply of safe and reliable energy to the poorest sectors of Brazilian society, including those living in remote rural areas. This paper draws attention on the findings of extensive field research to evaluate the impact of rural electrification on energy poverty in the context of government policies aimed at promoting energy equity. The authors re-examine the concept of an energy poverty line, seeking to fine tune its application to Brazilian social and economic realities, and then apply an analytical framework (Lorenz Curve, Gap Poverty, Gap Quadratic, Gini Coefficient and Sen Index) to evaluate the effectiveness of recent efforts in Brazil to expand access to electricity. One of the main conclusions of this study is that is that rural electrification leads to a significant reduction of the energy poverty level and a consequent improvement in energy equity.     

Policy framework on energy access and key development indicators: ECOWAS interventions and the case of Ghana

Energy has become the main driver for development as industries grow, agricultural sectors become more modernized, economies boom and countries become wealthy. There are still vast majority of people living under the poverty line especially in the ECOWAS region. The purpose of this study is to explore how improvements in energy access can be a key driver in economic development and progress in the ECOWAS region. Data for the study was obtained from the database of the World Bank. A regression analysis was carried out to establish the relationships between energy access and development indicators. The paper suggests the need for policy makers in the ECOWAS region to focus on targets, such as household access, consumption of electricity, and ease of use instead on supply targets that focus merely on physical coverage. A case on how Ghana is improving energy access is presented.     

The delivery of low-cost,low-carbon rural energy services

The provision of both electrical and mechanical energy services can play a critical role in poverty alleviation for the almost two billion rural users who currently lack access to electricity. Distributed generation using diesel generators remains a common means of electricity provision for rural communities throughout the world. Due to rising fuel costs, the need to address poverty, and consequences of global warming, it is necessary to develop cost efficient means of reducing fossil fuel consumption in isolated diesel microgrids. Based on a case study in Nicaragua, a set of demand and supply side measures are ordered by their annualized costs in order to approximate an energy supply curve. The curve highlights significant opportunities for reducing the costs of delivering energy services while also transitioning to a carbon-free electrical system. In particular, the study demonstrates the significant cost savings resulting from the implementation of conventional metering, efficient residential lighting, and electricity generation using renewable energy sources.     

Energy-microfinance intervention for below poverty line households in India

More than 72% of India's population resides in rural India¹ and it also has a high concentration of people living under abject poverty. Of the total rural population 27.1–28.3% lives below the poverty line² (BPL). A lack of energy-finance options is hampering the “quality of life” of the BPL community. The members of this disadvantaged household which forms 27.1% and 23.6% of the India's rural and urban population³ has no ready access to mainstream finance or know—how of sustainable energy products nor do they have access to energy service providing agency. This lack of energy-finance options has provided the marginalized population little means to break the conventional energy paradigm and the corresponding poverty cycle.     

Assessment of access to electricity and the socio-economic impacts in rural areas of developing countries

The purpose of this study is to reveal relations between access to electricity and advancement in a socio-economic condition in rural areas of developing countries. Recently, multi-dimensional aspects of poverty, for example, economy, education, and health, has been increasingly focused on, and access to modern energy such as electricity is one possible solution. As a case study, we have analyzed unelectrified rural areas in Assam state, India. We have developed an energy-economic model in order to analyze the possibility of electrification through dissemination of electric lighting appliances as well as applied multiple regression analysis to estimate the socio-economic condition, a literacy rate above 6 years old, in the areas. As a result of the case study, the household electrification rate, the 1000 km² road density, and sex ratio have been chosen as the explanatory variables of the literacy rate. Moreover, the model analysis shows that complete household electrification will be achieved by the year 2012. In combination with the multiple regression and model analysis, the literacy rate in Assam may increase to 74.4% from 63.3%.     

农村家庭能源贫困问题研究——基于贵州省盘县的问卷调查

我国的能源消费城乡差距大,能源消费结构极不合理,农村地区是能源贫困的重灾区。文章在文献综述的基础上,对农村地区目前使用的电力、煤炭、薪柴、汽油／柴油、煤油、液化气、沼气、太阳能等九种能源结构分析发现,受访地区农村家庭能源贫困主要体现为家庭能源消费支出贫困和家庭能源消费结构贫困。从解决途径来看,发展农村地区绿色电力、提高农村家庭经济收入、优化农村家庭能源消费结构、实施农村家庭能源贫困救助是值得提倡和可行的。     

Determinants of household energy consumption in India

Improving access to affordable modern energy is critical to improving living standards in the developing world. Rural households in India, in particular, are almost entirely reliant on traditional biomass for their basic cooking energy needs. This has adverse effects on their health and productivity, and also causes environmental degradation. This study presents a new generic modelling approach, with a focus on cooking fuel choices, and explores response strategies for energy poverty eradication in India. The modelling approach analyzes the determinants of fuel consumption choices for heterogeneous household groups, incorporating the effect of income distributions and traditionally more intangible factors such as preferences and private discount rates. The methodology is used to develop alternate future scenarios that explore how different policy mechanisms such as fuel subsidies and micro-financing can enhance the diffusion of modern, more efficient, energy sources in India.     

Energy poverty in rural Bangladesh

Energy poverty is a well-established concept among energy and development specialists. International development organizations frequently cite energy-poverty alleviation as a necessary condition to reduce income poverty. Several approaches used to measure energy poverty over the past 20 years have defined the energy poverty line as the minimum quantity of physical energy needed to perform such basic tasks as cooking and lighting. This paper uses a demand-based approach to define the energy poverty line as the threshold point at which energy consumption begins to rise with increases in household income. At or below this threshold point, households consume a bare minimum level of energy and should be considered energy poor. This approach was applied using cross-sectional data from a comprehensive 2004 household survey representative of rural Bangladesh. The findings suggest that some 58 percent of rural households in Bangladesh are energy poor, versus 45 percent that are income poor. The findings also suggest that policies to support rural electrification and greater use of improved biomass stoves might play a significant role in reducing energy poverty.     

The validity of the index of vulnerable homes: evidence from consumers vulnerable to energy poverty in the UK

ABSTRACT

Energy poverty is a multidimensional issue, and this means that it is difficult to understand the different levels of vulnerability to this phenomenon and its relationship with households’ quality of life. This paper presents the validation of an innovative index for the analysis of vulnerability to energy poverty according to monetary, energy, and thermal comfort factors: The Index of Vulnerable Homes (IVH). The IVH goes beyond the use of single self-reported indicators of thermal comfort, and instead uses the adaptive thermal-comfort model defined in the normative UNE EN 15251:2007 to assess thermal comfort in relation to energy poverty. Furthermore, it has the potential to evaluate the societal impacts of current energy poverty policies by providing the economic analysis of different situations of vulnerability. The IVH is validated by comparing its results to those obtained from a survey conducted in a small-scale study undertaken in Salford, UK. To this end, evidence from households living in terraced houses built before 1980 is used to analyze health status in terms of vulnerability to energy poverty vulnerability according to their monetary situation and the characteristics of the dwelling. In the end, the results show good agreement between both the IVH’s assessment and households’ evidence, leading to consider the IVH as a suitable approach to understanding different levels of vulnerability to energy poverty.     

Dynamics of rural energy access in India: An assessment

India’s rural energy challenges are formidable with the presence of majority energy poor. In 2005, out of a rural population of 809 million, 364 million lacked access to electricity and 726 million to modern cooking fuels. This indicates low effectiveness of government policies and programs of the past, and need for a more effective approach to bridge this gap. However, before the government can address this challenge, it is essential that it gain a deeper insight into prevailing status of energy access and reasons for such outcomes. Toward this, we perform a critical analysis of the dynamics of energy access status with respect to time, income and regions, and present the results as possible indicators of effectiveness of policies/programmes. Results indicate that energy deprivations are highest for poorest households with 93% depending on biomass for cooking and 62% lacking access to electricity. The annual growth rates in expansion in energy access are gradually declining from double digit growth rates experienced 10 years back to just around 4% in recent years. Regional variations indicate, on an average, cooking access levels were 5.3 times higher in top five states compared to bottom five states whereas this ratio was 3.4 for electricity access.     

Determinants of electricity demand for newly electrified low-income African households

Access to clean, affordable and appropriate energy is an important enabler of development. Energy allows households to meet their most basic subsistence needs; it is a central feature of all the millennium development goals (MDGs) and, while a lack of access to energy may not be a cause of poverty, addressing the energy needs of the impoverished lets them access services which in turn address the causes of poverty.     

Causal links between renewable energy,environmental degradation and economic growth in selected SAARC countries: Progress towards green economy

The objective of the study is to investigate the short-run and long-run causality relationship among energy (electricity production from renewable sources), carbon dioxide emissions, natural resource depletion, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and poverty in selected SAARC countries, namely, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, over a period of 1975–2010. The results show that there is bidirectional Granger causality between carbon dioxide emissions & natural resource depletion in Nepal and between energy production & poverty in Pakistan. For the other three countries, the Granger causality runs from energy production to poverty in Bangladesh and India, and from poverty to energy production in Sri Lanka. The results of panel group Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) indicates that GDP and poverty has a positive impact while carbon dioxide emission has a negative impact on energy production. Similarly, an increase in energy production leads to decrease in carbon emissions, where as, natural resource depletion increase carbon emissions in selected SAARC countries. Subsequently, an increase in energy production leads to increase in GDP which further increase carbon dioxide emission in SAARC region.     

Transforming shortcomings into opportunities: Can market incentives solve Lebanon's energy crisis?

Over the past decades Lebanon's energy sector has been largely ignored and this has led to high economic and environmental costs. The sector is characterized by electricity poverty, an expanding and mainly unregulated transport sector and a lack of energy savings spanning through all sectors of the economy. Recently, the Government of Lebanon has committed to increase the share of renewable energy to 10% of the total energy supply by 2013 and to 12% by the year 2020; it also aims at reducing energy consumption by 6% by the year 2013. This paper aims at contributing to the formulation of a more comprehensive energy strategy for Lebanon by analyzing the recent changes in policy direction and by recommending legal, regulatory and policy measures in order to transform current shortcomings into opportunities allowing the country to become a regional ‘success story’ in the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency.     

中国能源贫困问题现状分析

改善能源贫困是国家可持续发展、建立社会公平体系的重要内容.本文通过对中国能源贫困现状的分析,发现我国能源贫困人群以依赖传统生物质能的农村居民为主,主要聚集在东北、西部省市且学历层次较低,同时能源贫困导致了我国严重的健康损失.本文通过分析农村家庭经济条件改善与能源贫困的关系发现,改善能源消费结构并非经济水平较低时农村居民...     

Measuring energy poverty in Greece

A comprehensive research in the field of energy poverty is undertaken in this paper, in an attempt to highlight the great vulnerability of Greek households on energy poverty, in the middle of a severe economic crisis. Till now, Greek energy policy has been considered insufficient to tackle energy poverty issues, as focusing mainly on short-term rather than permanent solutions. A primary survey has been conducted, recording objective data of energy expenses as well as subjective perceptions about housing conditions. The findings showed that, under the objective expenditure-based method, 58% of Greek households are energy poor. Among households under the poverty threshold, the energy poverty rate exceeds 90%. Existing and new subjective indicators shed light on other aspects of energy poverty, such as the level of thermal comfort at home, damp problems detected, restriction of other essential needs in order to manage energy payments, etc. Some interesting conclusions are also drawn by exploring the relationship between various indicators. It appears that households considered energy poor are not identical when examined by objective and subjective indicators. However, different indicators complement each other by capturing different aspects of the problem and provide a broader overview of the issue.     

中国能源贫困的区域差异探究

近年来,随着经济不断发展和人民生活水平持续提高,中国能源贫困总体状况有所改善,但能源贫困区域差异仍较为明显,主要体现在东部地区与中西部地区的人均电力消费和人均生物质能消费的差距较大.影响中国能源贫困区域差异的主要因素包括地区经济发展水平、地区能源基础设施建设状况和教育普及程度等.因此,有必要从经济、基础设施投资、教育政策着手,进一步缩小区域差异,促进各地区能源消费和经济社会协调发展.     

Measuring energy poverty in Japan, 2004–2013

This paper first examines energy (or fuel) poverty in Japan from 2004 to 2013, especially around the time of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE). To analyze the issue, the paper employs various poverty and vulnerability measures with the assistance of our unique dataset. The results indicate the aggravation of energy poverty among lower-income and vulnerable households during the past decade, resulting from both the escalation of energy prices and lowering of income. The analysis also employs a new decomposition technique and identifies the explanatory factors associated with the increase in energy poverty. These results suggest there were major changes in the forces driving the increase in energy poverty before and after the GEJE. After 2011, income alleviates energy poverty in Japan, with energy prices becoming the main driving factor.