Resource detail

Title: Modelling household energy access in India
Organization:International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Year:2009

Improving access to affordable modern energy is deemed to be a critical factor in improving living standards in the developing world. Particularly rural households in India are relying mostly on traditional biomass to satisfy their basic energy needs with adverse effects on human health through indoor air pollution, but also on land degradation and labor productivity. This study presents a new generic modeling approach with the aim to explore response strategies for energy poverty eradication for India. The modeling approach explores characteristics of fuel consumption of the poorest through explicit representation of the main determinants of urban and rural energy fuel choice, including the effect of income distributions and capital scarcity on energy use as well as traditionally more intangible factors such as ”inconvenience costs” or private discount rates. The methodology is applied to explore how different policy mechanisms such as fuel subsidies and micro financing can enhance the diffusion of clean and affordable energy in India. This draft summarizes preliminary initial results focusing on the attainable transition to clean and modern fuels.




Read more