There is need to encourage users to shift to modern energy sources by encouraging marketers as well as providing incentives to increase production and use and creating an enabling environment to achieve low and affordable prices for fuels, appliances and equipment, gadgets and apparatus among the majority of the citizens, says a recent study in Kenya. The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research And Analysis in its recent study "A Comprehensive Study and Analysis on Energy Consumption Patterns in Kenya" says that since fuel wood has been the main fuel in the rural areas, there is need to encourage and enforce adoption of wood saving cookers, outside the traditional three stones. According to the study, energy consumption pattern in Kenya portrays more of fuel stacking than fuel switching, where households are observed to be using multiple fuels (the use of more than one or various fuels to meet different energy demands). Fuel switching occurs when a household opts or chooses to completely shift and use a new fuel. (fuel mixes). This is classically the case when there isnt a significant increase in incomes and the tendency is for multiple fuel use.
The analysis also revealed that affordability was the main reason why majority were not willing/ able to pay for improved energy services for example kerosene, electricity and charcoal were viewed to have high cost. Lack of information deterred households from willing to pay for improved LPG products and services, while petrol and lubricants, were viewed to be dangerous, unsafe and of poor quality.
The findings of the study carried out by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) on “A Comprehensive Study and Analysis on Energy Consumption Patterns in Kenya”, commissioned by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) point out that fuel usage is as much a result of household size as the geography of presence but not necessarily linked to an inherent movement towards cleaner fuels.
According to the study, as the household size increases, the budget share on kerosene declines. This could be explained by the fact that as the household size increases, the household switches to other fuel types such as charcoal, fuel wood and even LPG to meet increased demand for energy for example in food preparation.
From the results, households in urban areas are likely to demand more kerosene than those in rural areas. This is expected since rural households have at their disposal other types of fuels such as fuel wood and charcoal.
The study says about 70% of the consumers use biomass while 30% use other fuels. This supports well known studies that biomass provides 70% of the energy requirements. The study showed kerosene to be mostly used for lighting (52%) while biomass was widely used for cooking (60%). Fuel wood had the highest energy budget share on average for both rural (11.6 %) and urban (9.34 %) compared to the other fuels.
The energy choice model results showed that demand for cooking fuels such as fuel wood, charcoal, kerosene, electricity and liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) are driven by certain key factors and vary depending on whether the household is located in rural or urban areas. The key determinants for kerosene choice at the household were occupation, total energy expenditure, household size, fuel wood price, education level and price of LPG. With regard to fuel wood choice, important factors included the price of fuel wood which has a negative coefficient, household size and total expenditure. The key determinants of choice for use of charcoal included household size, price of charcoal, price of fuel wood, education level, and both formal and informal employment.
Photo courtesy: United Nations Environment Program
