Energy Poverty in Rural and Urban India : Are the Energy Poor Also Income Poor?

Energy poverty is a frequently used term among energy specialists, but unfortunately the concept is rather loosely defined. Several existing approaches measure energy poverty by defining an energy poverty line as the minimum quantity of physical energy needed to perform such basic tasks as cooking and lighting. This paper proposes an alternative measure that is based on energy demand. The energy poverty line is defined as the threshold point at which energy consumption begins to rise with increases in household income. This approach was applied to cross-sectional data from a comprehensive 2005 household survey representative of both urban and rural India. The findings suggest that in rural areas some 57 percent of households are energy poor, versus 22 percent that are income poor. For urban areas the energy poverty rate is 28 percent compared with 20 percent that are income poor. Policies to reduce energy poverty would include support for rural electrification, the promotion of more modern cooking fuels, and encouraging greater adoption of improved biomass stoves. A combination of these programs would play a significant role in reducing energy poverty in rural India.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Khandker, Shahidur R., Barnes, Douglas F., Samad, Hussain A.
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	2010-11-01
Subjects:	ACCESS TO LIGHTING, ACCESS TO MODERN ENERGY, AGRICULTURAL LAND, AGRICULTURAL RESIDUE, AIR CONDITIONERS, AIR POLLUTION, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF ENERGY, APPROACH, ATMOSPHERE, AVAILABILITY, BASIC ENERGY, BIOMASS, BIOMASS BURNING, BIOMASS COLLECTION, BIOMASS CONSUMPTION, BIOMASS ENERGY, BIOMASS FUELS, BIOMASS USE, CARBON, CLIMATE CHANGE, CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, COMMERCIAL FUELS, CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY, COOKING, CROP RESIDUES, DEMAND FOR ENERGY, DEMAND FOR ENERGY SERVICES, ECONOMIC GROWTH, EFFICIENCY OF ENERGY, EFFICIENCY OF ENERGY USE, ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION, ELECTRICITY SYSTEM, ELECTRICITY USE, EMISSIONS, EMPLOYMENT, END USE, END-USE, END-USE ENERGY, END-USE ENERGY CONSUMPTION, END-USE SERVICES, ENERGY CONSUMPTION, ENERGY DEMAND, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, ENERGY EXPENDITURE, ENERGY EXPENDITURES, ENERGY NEEDS, ENERGY OUTLOOK, ENERGY POLICIES, ENERGY PRICE, ENERGY PRICES, ENERGY PROVIDERS, ENERGY REQUIREMENT, ENERGY REQUIREMENTS, ENERGY SOURCE, ENERGY SOURCES, ENERGY STRATEGY, ENERGY USAGE, ENERGY USE, ENERGY USE PATTERN, ENERGY USERS, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, FOOD ITEMS, FOOD-FOR-WORK, FUEL, FUEL TYPE, FUEL WOOD, FUELS, GENERATION, GREENHOUSE, GREENHOUSE GASES, GRID ELECTRICITY, HEALTH HAZARD, HEAT, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, HOUSEHOLD HEAD, HOUSEHOLD HEAD AGE, HOUSEHOLD HEADS, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HOUSEHOLD WELFARE, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, IMPACT ON ENERGY DEMAND, INCOME, INCOME POVERTY, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, KEROSENE, KEROSENE CONSUMPTION, KEROSENE LAMPS, KEROSENE WICK, LAND ASSETS, LIQUID FUELS, LIVING STANDARDS, MODERN FUELS, OIL, OIL EQUIVALENT, POOR, POOR HOUSEHOLDS, POOR PEOPLE, POOR POPULATIONS, POVERTY ESTIMATES, POVERTY INDEX, POVERTY LINE, POVERTY LINES, POVERTY MEASURES, POVERTY PROFILE, POVERTY REDUCTION, POVERTY SITUATION, POVERTY STATUS, POWER, PRICE OF ELECTRICITY, PRICES OF ENERGY, QUALITY ENERGY, RENEWABLE ENERGY, RURAL, RURAL AREAS, RURAL COUNTERPARTS, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, RURAL ELECTRIFICATION, RURAL ENERGY, RURAL HEALTH, RURAL HOUSEHOLD, RURAL HOUSEHOLDS, RURAL INCOME, RURAL POOR, RURAL VILLAGES, SAVINGS, SOCIAL POLICIES, SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY, SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY, TOTAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION, TRADITIONAL BIOMASS, TRADITIONAL FUELS, TYPES OF ENERGY, WELFARE INDICATORS, WORLD ENERGY, WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20101101152446 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3944
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!