Switching off or switching source: energy consumption and household response to higher energy prices in the Kyrgyz Republic

Abstract

\Access to energy is fundamental to improving quality of life and is a key imperative for economic development" (Energy Poverty Action). This is particularly true in Central Asia where winters are harsh and long. Changes in energy prices aect the purchasing power of households, hitting the poor in particular. The impact very much depends on a household's energy basket and the available strategies for switching to alternative energy sources. Using data from the Kyrgyz Integrated Household Survey (KIHS) 2011, this paper analyzes the prole of household energy consumption and the impact of electricity tari increases on the probability that households would switch to alternative energy sources. Results suggest that households would respond to an electricity price increase by increasing consumption of fuels: households would tend to move away from electricity-only heating source towards the use of stove-only.JEL classication: H23, I38, P22

Mr Light and people's everyday energy struggles in Central Asia and the Caucasus: an introduction

“…In the absence of more qualitative studies of consumption, this issue focuses on the intersections between regional, national and local energy policies and their effects, the kind of demands people make in relation to what they judge to be fair energy tariffs and what they do in their absence. 16 Gassmann and Tsukada (2014) in this issue use data from the Kyrgyz Integrated Household Survey of 2011 to model the impact of electricity tariff increases on how poorer households in particular would cope, likely switching to other forms of heating fuel, as in Tobias Kraudzun's example, also in this issue, of Pamiris partially switching to solar power.…”

Why Is Energy Access Not Enough for Choosing Clean Cooking Fuels? Sustainable Development Goals and Beyond

“…For the Kyrgyz Republic, only a few studies present a profile of household energy consumption and households' fuel choice (Gassmann and Tsukada 2014;Sabyrbekov and Ukueva 2019). Sabyrbekov and Ukueva (2019) argued that high income itself does not guarantee the use of clean energy, but rather results in the consumption of multiple fuels.…”

“…However, effective public policy aiming to increase large-scale access to clean fuels needs to be coupled with an effective transition. This has been a concern of many middle-income countries, including India, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic, where 'dirty' solid fuels are still used, especially in rural areas (Gassmann and Tsukada 2014;Kerimray et al 2018;Ravindra et al 2019). In India, 78% of rural households rely on solid biomass for cooking due to poor quality of life, equity, and economy (Ravindra et al 2019).…”

“…Despite almost universal access to electricity, solid fuels are used for heating and cooking needs by 60% of households in the Kyrgyz Republic (Gassmann and Tsukada 2014) and by 40% of households in Kazakhstan (Kerimray et al 2018). In Kazakhstan, solid fuels are rarely used for cooking, electricity, natural gas, and LPG being more commonly used (Kerimray et al 2018).…”

Még egyszer a lakossági hatósági energiaárakról. Egy hungarikum átfogó hatáselemzése

“…Haas [1997] úttörő munkája óta számos tanulmány született a lakossági energiafelhasználás változásának tényezőkre bontásáról (Achao-Schaeffer [2009], Chung és szerzőtársai [2011], Liu-Zhao [2015]). Külön csoportot alkotnak azok a tanulmányok, amelyek egy adott országban, így Kínában, Iránban vagy Kazahsztánban a lakossági energiaárak reformját, liberalizációját követően vizsgálták ezeknek az állami intézkedéseknek a hatását (Yuan és szerzőtársai [2010], Zhao és szerzőtársai [2012], Gassmann-Tsukada [2014], Du és szerzőtársai [2015], Moshiri [2015]). A vizsgálathoz input-output, ökonometriai vagy indexdekompozíciós módszert használtak.…”