Domestic Energy Consumption Patterns of Households in Kaniga Area, Rwanda

Most of Rwandan households depend primarily on traditional means as a source of energy. However, the consumption patterns and intensities remain poorly understood. The aim of the present study was therefore to provide a better understanding of households on renewable energy consumption. Stratified random sampling design was used in order to capture energy consumption patterns between rural, peri-urban and urban populations and across household wealth categories. Households in each randomly selected site were stratified into poor, low, medium and high wealth categories. Data were collected using pre-tested and pilot-tested questionnaires, direct measurements, direct observations, interviews and focus group discussions as the best research method that resulted to the dependable output in this primary study. A total of 1 000 households were sampled: rural area (768); peri-urban area (183) and urban center (49). This is a good number to represent the whole population of the study area since each category of them were fully represented to avoid missing and misrepresentation. This sample was drawn from across all wealth categories: poor-39 household (3.9%), low-392 households (39.2%); medium-400 households (40.0%) and high-169 households (16.9%). Several hypotheses were found to be true: (1) Socio-economic and demographic factors have effects on household energy choice; (2) There is significant household preference to Kaniga as source of energy. Factors which were found to be important in influencing choice of energy are: location of household, residence ownership, dwelling/house category, household income, and education level of household head; (3) Household survey revealed the insufficient electricity in Kaniga Sector. Household dependency on traditional and hydro-electrical power sources of energy is irresistible and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Promotion of improved renewable energy and improved electrification, and promotion of alternative sources of energy has been proposed to alleviate the available energy related problems.