Fuel energy switching and its socio-economic consequences in rural households in Oye-Ekiti local government area

Abstract

The access to affordable, clean and modern energy is key to advancing standards of living and environmental health in the economy. This study investigated the socio-economic implications of switching from crude to clean energy for cooking in Oye local government area of Ekiti State. This paper employed a multinomial logit (MNL) model. The result shows that though, cooking is majorly done using fuelwood, the form of fuel usage corroborates the “energy stacking” theory which states that crude energy is used in varying quantities with clean energy in the studied households. The result also shows that increased education and rising income influenced transition from crude to clean energy, as those women with high level of education and increasing income prefer using clean energy to fuelwood for cooking (climbing the energy ladder). It was therefore recommended that women’s education be encouraged. Electricity and natural gas should also be made available and affordable in the rural areas. These actions may encourage the switching from fuelwood to clean energy usage.