Consumer Preferences for Cooking and Lighting Fuels and Domestic Energy Transition: A Nyeri Town, Kenya, Perspective

Abstract

Improving access to modern fuels in developing countries is crucial in mitigating unfavorable environmental and health impacts caused by the continued use of traditional fuels. Use of modern fuels lead to improved standards of living and gender equity of women and children. This paper estimates preferences for domestic fuels and reasons thereof by households in urban areas in Nyeri town, Kenya. The study uses Nyeri town micro-data to perform correlation analysis to determine the relationship between fuel preference and domestic energy transition. Transition is considered along three categories of domestic fuels: traditional -firewood and charcoal; transitional fuels- kerosene; modern fuels – Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), biogas, solar and grid electricity. The result findings show that urban residents use traditional, transitional and modern fuels through energy stacking theory with the transition to modern fuels following a consistent pattern. The major reasons for fuel preference were established as fuel convenience, affordability, ease of accessibility and cultural beliefs by 46.5%, 37.2%, 10.5% and 5.8% of the respondents respectively.