Socioeconomic and environmental impact of rural household energy supplies

Abstract

Majority of the households in Sri Lanka, as in the case of many developing countries, is concentrated in the rural areas of the country. But unfortunately, very little attention has been paid until recently to analyse and address various issues associated with the rural energy supplies particularly those with regard to barriers to penetration of clean and convenient sources of energy. This paper presents the results and analysis of a study carried out through a sample study on the domestic energy supplies in the rural Sri Lanka with emphasis on cooking and lighting energy requirements. The paper has attempted to highlight policy issues associated with rural energy supplies and possible solutions to them in the context of the country's overall picture of energy sector.