Rural household energy demand modelling: A case study of Nepal

Abstract This paper describes the methodology adopted to arrive at a casual linear multiple regression to estimate and project end-use energy requirements of a rural household of Nepal. The general model developed is capable of estimating and projecting the total end-use energy requirements if eight variables are known. These are: standard population, household expenditure, agricultural commodity, number of livestock, number of cookstoves, area covered by housing, topography and forest accessibility condition, of a particular village. The method has been applied to estimate primary energy requirements in the household sector of a few surveyed villages typical of Nepal's different physiographical regions. Total useful energy is estimated considering the end-use efficiency of the devices employed for specific end-use activities. Relevance of the socio-economic variable for estimating end-use energy requirements for different villages varies according to the availability, price and choice of specific fuels for different end-use activities.