An Economic Analysis of Household Energy Consumption in India

Indian per-capita energy consumption is low when it is compared with developed countries. Household energy consumption is often related to development of economy and growth of income in society. Indian households consuming nearly one-fourth of energy consumption at national level. So, consumption pattern of energy in households also noteworthy for taking important policy decisions related to energy sector. In this context, this paper attempted to analyse economics of household energy consumption in India. This paper is based on primary data collected from 325 sample respondents randomly selected from all over India. The primary data was collected through a well-structured questionnaire including questions related to income and size of family, expenditure on electricity and fuel, measures taken to reduce consumption of electricity and fuel, awareness about emissions associated with use of household appliances and their behaviour towards energy consumption. It is concluded that though per-capita energy consumption of Indian households are much lower than developed countries, efforts are taken by people to reduce their consumption of fossil fuel based energy. The awareness level on associated emissions of household appliances and openness to accept new technological solutions to reduce use of fossil fuel based energy among public will help India to reduce dependence on fossil fuel based energy in near future.