Are Urban Rwandan Households Using Modern Energy Sources? An Exploration of Cooking Fuel Choices

Abstract

This study employed a discrete choice framework to explore cooking energy use patterns amongst urban Rwandan households using the latest EICV 5 microeconomic survey dataset. Specific analysis focused on choices for three primary cooking fuels namely: firewood, charcoal and liquidified petroleum gas. The findings show that ordered model provided better prediction for primary fuel choices rather than the secondary choices for multiple fuel users with income as a key determinant. Furthermore, asset index, house ownership, geographical location, number of rooms, household size and household head labor market participation were some of the non-price factors that significantly affected the choice probability for using charcoal as transitional fuel and liquidified petroleum gas as a modern fuel in Rwandan country context. Robustness test of the results emphasizes the need for government in collaboration with modern energy suppliers to have clean energy use campaigns and do market segmentation through repackaging of smaller gas cylinders so that many low-and middle-income households become aware and use modern energy services. This is essential to ensure good prospect of energy transition for the developing country case context amidst urbanization and climate change.

Examining the state of energy poverty in Rwanda: An inter-indicator analysis

“…These include regional gaps in terms of access to new modern energy services such as LPG ( Chapman and Okushima, 2019 ). For instance, an exploratory study on cooking fuel choices in urban Rwanda found that fuelwood still dominates in poor households, while charcoal as a transitional fuel remains the most dominant primary cooking fuel not only for the middle class but also for the richest households ( Khundi-Mkomba, 2021 ). Regarding policy implications, the paper also discussed the need to promote an all-inclusive approach.…”

Tax-benefit microsimulation model in Rwanda: A feasibility study

“…Like other previous EICVs, the EICV5 (2016/17) has been used in various academic studies and research projects (Diao et al 2021;Khundi-Mkomba 2021;Maniriho et al 2020: 21-41;Muremyi et al 2019;Nsabimana et al 2021Nsabimana et al , 2022. For instance, Maniriho et al (2020) use EICV5 to evaluate rural household savings and their implications on welfare in Rwanda.…”