Energy poverty and access to modern energy of urban poor: a case of Dhaka, Bangladesh

The energy access status of urban poor in Dhaka is low inspite of being in an urban setting where the physical availability of modern energy like electricity and natural gas is prevalent. A demand-based approach of estimating energy poverty showed that more than one third of population in Dhaka slums are poor and a monthly minimum 2.38 kgOE of useful energy is needed per person to sustain their basic needs. However, the distribution of income and energy poor reveals that not all energy poor are income poor and vice versa, and there are more income poor than energy poor in the community. A closer look at the energy consumption pattern shows that the energy consumption of both energy and income poor are heavily reliant on traditional energy sources with minimal usage of modern energy. Adequate access to modern energy plays an important role in addressing energy poverty as well as income poverty.