Reducing energy poverty: Characteristics of household electricity use in Vietnam

Despite increased access to modern energy services being a key development priority, few studies have examined whether improved access is sufficient to facilitate universal energy use at the household level. Using micro data from Vietnam, we study how a national grid expansion is translated into households' electricity use over time. Our analysis reveals that household income is an important determinant of electricity consumption, and that this relationship is highly nonlinear with respect to income. We find a greater degree of inequality in electricity expenditure than we do in income. This finding suggests that a rapid increase in electricity access may not translate directly into increased use of electricity for low income households and could potentially increase the gap in energy use between high income and low income households. Lastly, we find that household characteristics, such as the education level of the household head, household size, as well as the type of housing (quality), are important factors that influence electricity consumption.