A Study On The Factors Characterizing Willingness To Conserve Energy Among Urbanites

This study attempts to analyse the willingness to conserve electricity among urbanites of Bhopal city in centralIndia. Willingness to conserve electricity is one of the core aspects of adopting a sustainable and energy-efficientlifestyle. Five hundred and fifty (n=550) energy-sufficient households having valid electricity meters weresurveyed from different locations in Bhopal city. Data on energy conservation behaviour were analysed usingbinary logistic regression. Findings suggest that energy conservation willingness was higher among individualswho were educated, had high power and fuel expenditure with larger house space and size, with a high degree ofinteraction about energy conservation in the neighbourhood, demonstrating higher orientation of individual values,greater belief for energy conversation, higher subjective norms, sharper energy conservation attitude, higherperceived behaviour control and stronger behaviour intention. Psycho-social factors outweigh the socio-economicfactors in predicting the willingness to conserve electricity. Policy implications of the findings have been discussed