Energy Use and Energy Access in Relation to Poverty

Abstract

This paper looks at how access and use of energy are related to poverty. Different approaches to how energy poverty might be measured are presented. One approach involves the estimation of basic energy needs of a household based on engineering calculations and certain normative assumptions. The second looks at poverty in relation to access to different energy sources. An alternative approach is then provided that combines the elements of access and consumption of energy in order to examine how these relate to the well being of households. Examining well being in terms of both these dimensions – access to clean and efficient energy sources; and sufficiency in terms of the quantity of energy consumed, could be an important complementary measure of poverty. The consumption dimension includes non-commercial consumption and thus includes self-produced and bartered products. The access dimension can serve as an indicator of the extent of market integration, or more specifically, as an indicator of the opportunity to join the modern market economy. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to acknowledge the National Sample Survey Organisation, Department of Statistics of the Government of India, for making available to us the unit level, household consumer expenditure survey data. We would also like to gratefully acknowledge the essential contributions made by Adrian Müller and Andreas Kemmler. The usual disclaimers apply. 1