In urban areas of developing countries the poor pay more per unit of energy consumed and are most vulnerable to price hikes. Are they forever doomed to use expensive, inefficient and unsafe fuels for cooking, heating, power and light? What can be done to increase access to higher grade and more sustainable forms of energy?

Research by the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) looks at current energy use patterns and how new policies, credit provision and technology could allow the urban poor to start using more efficient equipment. Case studies from India, South Africa, Kenya, Mali and Peru analyse fuel use in urban communities at different states along the global transition from biomass fuels (wood and charcoal) to fossil fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas – LPG (bottled gas), kerosene, and coal.

At one extreme are countries still highly dependent on wood and charcoal. Charcoal production uses substantially more wood than is used by direct burning. Charcoal and wood both require long distance transport which itself uses a lot of energy (often fossil fuels). Biomass fuels are frequently burnt in inefficient stoves, creating smoke emissions which the World Health Organisation has shown are linked to the deaths of the three million children who each year succumb to acute respiratory infections.

Deforestation caused by the over-use of biomass especially in areas of increasing populations is one of the factors behind increased use of kerosene and the more versatile LPG. While the poor may desire LPG, the high cost of equipment and cylinders, and the ease with which small quantities of kerosene can be bought on a daily basis, often prevents them moving higher up the energy chain.

The problem is not limited to rural areas as substantial proportions of the urban poor lack electricity or are only able to use it intermittently. Thus, while South Africa has the fifth largest electricity utility in the world, 30 per cent of urban residents are not connected. In many countries, residents of non-recognised settlements are denied the chance to connect. In much of India, entire slums are connected by a variety of illegal and often dangerous methods.

Other points made by the report include:

• Insufficient attention has been paid to the energy needs of small-scale enterprises. Street vended food is extremely significant – in Thailand 20 per cent of all households get most of their meals from such outlets.
• Fuel subsidies and taxes currently benefit those with easier access and ability to buy in bulk.
• The informal economy has played a significant role in energy provision.

There are a host of practical country-specific and globally applicable recommendations. They argue the need for:

• More informed analysis: well-intentioned interventions can easily disturb currently functional energy use patterns
• Finance and credit arrangements to help households, street vendors and other small enterprises to move to higher-grade fuels and afford up-front entry costs for equipment purchase
• Encouraging the use of smaller cylinders for LPG
• Prepayment meters, prefabricated wiring systems and load limiters
• Publicity campaigns to promote improved charcoal production, more efficient stoves, safer use of electricity and LPG and greater attention to food safety issues.

Source(s):
‘Energy provision to the urban poor: issues paper written for Department of International Development, Knowledge and Research’, Intermediate Technology, by Alison Doig October 2000.

Funded by: DFID (IUDD)

id21 Research Highlight: 28 June 2002

Further Information:
Alison Doig
Intermediate Technology
The Schumacher Centre for Technology and Development
Bourton Hall
Bourton-on-Dunsmore
Rugby
Warwickshire CV23 3QZ
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1926 634400
Fax: +44 (0)1926 634401
Contact the contributor: alisond@itdg.org.uk

Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG)

Other related links:
'Is cooking a waste of energy? Promoting more efficient household stoves'

See the Improved Household Stoves & Poverty Reduction site from DfID

DfID also hosts Fuel substitution: examining the impacts on traditional fuel suppliers

SPARKNET is an interactive Knowledge Network focusing on energy for low-income households in Southern and East Africa

ITDG specialises in helping people to use technology and sustainable energy

The World Bank focuses on Energy

See also Energy for Sustainable Development Ltd