IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v151y2025ics0140988325007340.html

Electricity consumption: The role of grid reliability in appliance ownership and usage in Rwanda

Author

Listed:
  • Mugyenyi, Joel
  • Sutil, Gabriel Gonzalez
  • Modi, Vijay

Abstract

Using household survey data and electricity reliability data, this study analyzes the relationship between grid reliability and appliance ownership and usage in Rwanda, a low-income country in Sub-Saharan Africa. We estimate the effect of reliability on household appliance ownership by employing lightning as an instrumental variable for grid reliability. The findings reveal that while grid reliability has a limited effect on the total number of appliances owned, it significantly influences the types of appliances households choose to acquire. Higher outage frequencies are linked to reduced ownership of entertainment devices, such as televisions and decoders, particularly in low-income households. Conversely, high-income households in low-reliability areas tend to reduce their ownership of high-energy, costly appliances, like fridges and cookers. The study further explores how appliance ownership affects electricity consumption by estimating the conditional demand. The findings suggest that improving grid reliability could modestly enhance electricity consumption among wealthier households, though complementary policies targeting the affordability gap are needed to encourage low-income households to increase their consumption as well. Consistent with prior research, income remains a significant barrier to both appliance ownership and usage in low-income households.

Suggested Citation

  • Mugyenyi, Joel & Sutil, Gabriel Gonzalez & Modi, Vijay, 2025. "Electricity consumption: The role of grid reliability in appliance ownership and usage in Rwanda," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:151:y:2025:i:c:s0140988325007340
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108907
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988325007340
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108907?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sally Smith & Ian Prates & Martha Anker & Richard Anker, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Cameroon (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-21, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    2. Sally Smith & Richard Anker & Martha Anker & Ian Prates, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Peru (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-14, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    3. Cameron,A. Colin & Trivedi,Pravin K., 2013. "Regression Analysis of Count Data," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107667273, November.
    4. Tammy Harris & Joseph M. Hilbe & James W. Hardin, 2014. "Modeling count data with generalized distributions," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 14(3), pages 562-579, September.
    5. Hilbe,Joseph M., 2014. "Modeling Count Data," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107611252, Enero-Abr.
    6. Catherine Wolfram & Orie Shelef & Paul Gertler, 2012. "How Will Energy Demand Develop in the Developing World?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 119-138, Winter.
    7. Kerr, Amanda, 2019. "Household investment in durable appliances and outcomes for children: Evidence from China," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 110-127.
    8. Debnath, Ramit & Bardhan, Ronita & Sunikka-Blank, Minna, 2019. "How does slum rehabilitation influence appliance ownership? A structural model of non-income drivers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 418-428.
    9. Dubin, Jeffrey A & McFadden, Daniel L, 1984. "An Econometric Analysis of Residential Electric Appliance Holdings and Consumption," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(2), pages 345-362, March.
    10. Maximilian Auffhammer & Catherine D. Wolfram, 2014. "Powering Up China: Income Distributions and Residential Electricity Consumption," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(5), pages 575-580, May.
    11. Malhi, Fareena Noor & Hassan, Hashibul & Su, Qinghe, 2025. "Time-saving appliances and educational pitfalls: Evidence from Pakistan," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    12. Shigeru Matsumoto, 2016. "Household Income Structure and Electrical Appliance Ownership: Evidence from Japanese National Household Survey," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 6(1), pages 14-19.
    13. Sowmya Dhanaraj & Vidya Mahambare & Poonam Munjal, 2018. "From Income to Household Welfare: Lessons from Refrigerator Ownership in India," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 16(2), pages 573-588, June.
    14. Omotoso, Kehinde O. & Obembe, Olufemi B., 2016. "Does household technology influence female labour force participation in Nigeria?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 78-82.
    15. Richmond, Jennifer & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2019. "Electrification and appliance ownership over time: Evidence from rural India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    16. Rema Hanna & Paulina Oliva, 2015. "Moving Up the Energy Ladder: The Effect of an Increase in Economic Well-Being on the Fuel Consumption Choices of the Poor in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 242-246, May.
    17. Dang, Duc Anh & La, Hai Anh, 2019. "Does electricity reliability matter? Evidence from rural Viet Nam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 399-409.
    18. Azfar Khan & Ian Prates & Martha Anker & Richard Anker, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Turkey (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-26, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    19. Lenz, Luciane & Munyehirwe, Anicet & Peters, Jörg & Sievert, Maximiliane, 2017. "Does Large-Scale Infrastructure Investment Alleviate Poverty? Impacts of Rwanda’s Electricity Access Roll-Out Program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 88-110.
    20. Masselus, Lise & Ankel-Peters, Jörg & Sutil, Gabriel Gonzalez & Modi, Vijay & Mugyenyi, Joel & Munyehirwe, Anicet & Williams, Nathan & Sievert, Maximiliane, 2024. "10 Years After: Long-term Adoption of Electricity in Rural Rwanda," OSF Preprints 96xr8_v1, Center for Open Science.
    21. Mensah, Justice Tei, 2024. "Jobs! Electricity shortages and unemployment in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    22. Sally Smith & Richard Anker & Martha Anker & Ian Prates, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Madagascar (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-12, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    23. O'Doherty, Joe & Lyons, Sean & Tol, Richard S.J., 2008. "Energy-using appliances and energy-saving features: Determinants of ownership in Ireland," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(7), pages 650-662, July.
    24. Ama Baafra Abeberese & Charles Godfred Ackah & Patrick Opoku Asuming, 2021. "Productivity Losses and Firm Responses to Electricity Shortages: Evidence from Ghana," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(1), pages 1-18.
    25. Muza, Olivia & Debnath, Ramit, 2021. "Disruptive innovation for inclusive renewable policy in sub-Saharan Africa: A social shaping of technology analysis of appliance uptake in Rwanda," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 896-912.
    26. Sally Smith & Richard Anker & Martha Anker & Ian Prates, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Tanzania (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-04, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    27. Mugyenyi, Joel & Muhwezi, Bob & Fobi, Simone & Massa, Civian & Taneja, Jay & Williams, Nathaniel J. & Modi, Vijay, 2025. "Post-connection electricity demand and pricing in newly electrified households: Insights from a large-scale dataset in Rwanda," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    28. Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck & Dalgaard, Carl-Johan, 2013. "Power outages and economic growth in Africa," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 19-23.
    29. Kenneth Lee & Edward Miguel & Catherine Wolfram, 2016. "Appliance Ownership and Aspirations among Electric Grid and Home Solar Households in Rural Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 89-94, May.
    30. Sally Smith & Richard Anker & Martha Anker & Ian Prates, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Nigeria (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-23, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    31. Hausman, Jerry & Hall, Bronwyn H & Griliches, Zvi, 1984. "Econometric Models for Count Data with an Application to the Patents-R&D Relationship," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(4), pages 909-938, July.
    32. Khandker, Shahidur R. & Barnes, Douglas F. & Samad, Hussain A., 2009. "Welfare impacts of rural electrification : a case study from Bangladesh," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4859, The World Bank.
    33. Chen, Hao & Jin, Lu & Wang, Mingming & Guo, Lin & Wu, Jingwen, 2023. "How will power outages affect the national economic growth: Evidence from 152 countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    34. Sally Smith & Richard Anker & Martha Anker & Ian Prates, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Rwanda (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-03, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    35. Irina Klytchnikova & Michael Lokshin, 2009. "Measuring Welfare Gains from Better Quality Infrastructure," Journal of Infrastructure Development, India Development Foundation, vol. 1(2), pages 87-109, December.
    36. Matsumoto, Shigeru, 2016. "How do household characteristics affect appliance usage? Application of conditional demand analysis to Japanese household data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 214-223.
    37. King, Gary & Zeng, Langche, 2001. "Logistic Regression in Rare Events Data," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 137-163, January.
    38. De Cian, Enrica & Falchetta, Giacomo & Pavanello, Filippo & Romitti, Yasmin & Sue Wing, Ian, 2025. "The impact of air conditioning on residential electricity consumption across world countries," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    39. Daniel Himarios, 2000. "How Forward Looking Are Consumers? Further Evidence for the United States," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 66(4), pages 991-1000, April.
    40. Su, Qinghe & Azam, Mehtabul, 2023. "Does access to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) reduce the household burden of women? Evidence from India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    41. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 1997. "Multiplicative Panel Data Models Without the Strict Exogeneity Assumption," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(5), pages 667-678, October.
    42. Robin Burgess & Michael Greenstone & Nicholas Ryan & Anant Sudarshan, 2020. "The Consequences of Treating Electricity as a Right," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(1), pages 145-169, Winter.
    43. Meeks, Robyn C. & Omuraliev, Arstan & Isaev, Ruslan & Wang, Zhenxuan, 2023. "Impacts of electricity quality improvements: Experimental evidence on infrastructure investments," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    44. Hunt Allcott & Allan Collard-Wexler & Stephen D. O'Connell, 2016. "How Do Electricity Shortages Affect Industry? Evidence from India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(3), pages 587-624, March.
    45. Azfar Khan & Ian Prates & Richard Anker & Martha Anker, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Argentina (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-28, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    46. Eliana Carranza & Robyn Meeks, 2021. "Energy Efficiency and Electricity Reliability," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(3), pages 461-475, July.
    47. Paul J. Gertler & Orie Shelef & Catherine D. Wolfram & Alan Fuchs, 2016. "The Demand for Energy-Using Assets among the World's Rising Middle Classes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1366-1401, June.
    48. Morgan Hardy & Jamie McCasland, 2021. "Lights Off, Lights On: The Effects of Electricity Shortages on Small Firms," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(1), pages 19-33.
    49. Bruckmeier, Kerstin & Riphahn, Regina T. & Wiemers, Jürgen, 2019. "Benefit underreporting in survey data and its consequences for measuring non-take-up: new evidence from linked administrative and survey data," IAB-Discussion Paper 201906, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    50. Sievert, Maximiliane & Steinbuks, Jevgenijs, 2020. "Willingness to pay for electricity access in extreme poverty: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    51. Larsen, Bodil Merethe & Nesbakken, Runa, 2004. "Household electricity end-use consumption: results from econometric and engineering models," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 179-200, March.
    52. Junhui Shi & Fang Wang & Huan Wang, 2022. "The Effect of Household Technology on Child Health: Evidence from China’s “Home Appliances Going to the Countryside” Policy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-19, September.
    53. Fabricio Bonilla & Koen Voorend & Richard Anker & Martha Anker & Ian Prates, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Papua New Guinea (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-20, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    54. Sinha, Paramita & Caulkins, Martha L. & Cropper, Maureen L., 2018. "Household location decisions and the value of climate amenities," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 608-637.
    55. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Occhiali, Giovanni & Strobl, Eric, 2018. "Power outages and firm performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 150-159.
    56. Khanna, Shefali & Rowe, Kevin, 2024. "The long-run value of electricity reliability in India," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    57. Daniel Himarios, 2000. "How Forward Looking Are Consumers? Further Evidence for the United States," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 66(4), pages 991-1000, April.
    58. Gary Chamberlain, 1980. "Analysis of Covariance with Qualitative Data," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 225-238.
    59. Nielsen, Lene, 1993. "How to get the birds in the bush into your hand : Results from a Danish research project on electricity savings," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(11), pages 1133-1144, November.
    60. Yapo G. N’Guessan & Richard Anker & Martha Anker & Ian Prates, 2020. "Anker Living Income Reference Value: Rural Mozambique (2020)," Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) 20-03-27, Universidad Privada Boliviana.
    61. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    62. Robin Burgess & Michael Greenstone & Nicholas Ryan & Anant Sudarshan, 2020. "The Consequences of Treating Electricity as a Right," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(1), pages 145-169, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Filippo Pavanello & Ian Sue Wing, 2025. "Adaptation Technology Choice and Implications for Heat-Related Health Risk," CESifo Working Paper Series 12365, CESifo.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Richmond, Jennifer & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2019. "Electrification and appliance ownership over time: Evidence from rural India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    2. Bajo-Buenestado, Raúl, 2021. "The effect of blackouts on household electrification status: Evidence from Kenya," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    3. Richard S. J. Tol, 2023. "Navigating the energy trilemma during geopolitical and environmental crises," Papers 2301.07671, arXiv.org.
    4. Meeks, Robyn C. & Omuraliev, Arstan & Isaev, Ruslan & Wang, Zhenxuan, 2023. "Impacts of electricity quality improvements: Experimental evidence on infrastructure investments," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Meles, Tensay Hadush & Mekonnen, Alemu & Jeuland, Marc & Beyene, Abebe D. & Klug, Thomas & Hassen, Sied & Sebsibie, Samuel & Pattanayak, Subhrendu K., 2025. "Does the payment vehicle matter for valuing improved electricity reliability? A discrete choice experiment in Ethiopia," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    6. Poblete-Cazenave, Miguel & Pachauri, Shonali, 2021. "A model of energy poverty and access: Estimating household electricity demand and appliance ownership," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Lin, Yatang & Kassem, Dana, 2025. "The environmental cost of power outages: Evidence from Delhi," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    8. Deutschmann, Joshua W. & Postepska, Agnieszka & Sarr, Leopold, 2021. "Measuring willingness to pay for reliable electricity: Evidence from Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    9. Hao, Xinya & Huang, Yongying & Zhang, Lin, 2025. "High temperature, power rationing, and firm performance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    10. Apeti, Ablam Estel & Ly, Alpha, 2024. "Power constraints and firm-level total factor productivity in developing countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    11. Poblete-Cazenave, Miguel & Pachauri, Shonali, 2020. "A simulation-based estimation model of household electricity demand and appliance ownership," MPRA Paper 103403, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Berha, Andu & Khemani, Stuti, 2026. "Unreliable Electricity in Developing Countries : The Role of Weak Institutions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11290, The World Bank.
    13. Jamil, Faisal & Islam, Tanweer Ul, 2023. "Outage-induced power backup choice in Pakistan," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Shi, Tie & Chen, Hanyi & Liu, Yanzhen, 2025. "Extreme temperatures and residential electricity reliability in China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    15. Debnath, Ramit & Bardhan, Ronita & Sunikka-Blank, Minna, 2019. "How does slum rehabilitation influence appliance ownership? A structural model of non-income drivers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 418-428.
    16. Bhorat, Haroon & Köhler, Timothy, 2025. "Watts happening to work? The labour market effects of South Africa’s electricity crisis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    17. Mensah, Justice Tei, 2024. "Jobs! Electricity shortages and unemployment in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    18. Xia, Fang & Gao, Xuwen & Fan, Shenggen & Song, Feng, 2025. "The impact of reliable electricity access on agricultural income and land utilization in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    19. Li, Yating & Fei, Yinxin & Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Qin, Ping, 2019. "Household appliance ownership and income inequality: Evidence from micro data in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-1.
    20. Sedai, Ashish Kumar & Jamasb, Tooraj & Nepal, Rabindra & Miller, Ray, 2021. "Electrification and welfare for the marginalized: Evidence from India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:151:y:2025:i:c:s0140988325007340. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.