Urban energy transition and technology adoption: the case of Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia

Urban centers have long been dependent on the rural hinterlands for about 90 per cent of their fuel needs in Ethiopia. This paper investigates urban energy transition and new technology adoption in Ethiopia as a way of reducing the pressure of urban centers on the rural hinterlands.

The paper indicates that the following factors are important variables explaining household’s choice of a particular fuel:

• prices of related goods
• household income
• family size
• age and education of head of households.

Nonetheless, the paper points that the relative importance of factors varies from one fuel source to the other.

The paper finds that raising the level of education and income of households will enhance the use of electricity adoption and urban energy transition. On the other hand, enhancing education levels of households tends to reduce the level of wood consumption. Thus, policy interventions would help to facilitate the energy transition from fuel wood to electricity.

In addition, the paper underlines the importance of disseminating improved wood stoves in the short-run and electric mitad cooking appliance in the medium- and long-run. This would ultimately result in fully switching from fuel-wood to electricity over time.

Lastly, the paper reveals that a growing role of modern fuels such as electricity and kerosene do not support for the energy ladder hypothesis. This could be because Ethiopia is at the bottom of the energy ladder.