Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
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Supply and Consumption of Household Energy in Central Ethiopia: The Case of Debre Berhan Town

Solomon Ayele Tadesse and Demel Teketay

Energy crisis resulting from complete dependency on biomass fuel is becoming a major challenge for the conservation of forest resources in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to quantify the main biomass fuel supply and also examine the household energy consumption pattern in Debre Berhan town, Ethiopia. It was hypothesized that there is spatial and temporal variation of biomass fuel entering into the town. Moreover, it was expected that socioeconomic variables affect the energy consumption pattern at a household level. Point census was conducted to quantify the amount of biomass fuel brought into the town. As a complement, a structured questionnaire comprised of open- and closed-ended questions was developed and administered to a total of 117 households. This was carried out to collect information on domestic energy consumption pattern in the town. The results revealed that the amount of biomass fuel brought into the town was significantly affected by spatial and temporal factors. Compared with the Addis Ababa direction, the amount of fuel wood brought into the town from Dessie point of entry was statistically higher. Moreover, the amount of biomass fuel entering the town during the market days was significantly greater than that of the non-market days. The multiple linear regression models revealed that several socioeconomic variables significantly affected ‘the shortage of energy supply for household consumption’ and ‘the energy consumption pattern at a household level’ in the town. The results revealed that there is a remarkable deficiency of energy supply in the town. Therefore, creating public awareness about natural resources conservation, disseminating energy-efficient technologies (e.g. energy saving stoves), issuing strict government energy policy and providing alternative energy from the government with less taxation may decrease the undesirable consequences of environmental degradation.