HOUSEHOLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION PATTERN IN PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES IN MAIDUGURI, NORTH-EAST NIGERIA: AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study analyzed the economic and socio-demographic characteristics of households in relation to their energy consumption pattern in public housing estates, Maiduguri, North-east Nigeria. A survey questionnaire was administered on a sample of 355 respondents using systematic sampling technique. The data collected were analyzed descriptively. The results obtained indicated that 72.96% of the residents were males while 27.04% were females. Similarly, 66.76% were married, 44.23% had tertiary education while 50.14% were civil servants .Households with family size of 5

to 8 constituted the majority accounting for about 50.42% of the total sampled population. Majority

(31.27%) had monthly income of N50,000 – N99,999. Additionally, the results show that 67.89%

of households use external kitchen facilities for the preparation of meals. Electricity supply was

found to be low with about 53.24% having supply for between 1 -5 hours per day. Further analysis

revealed that charcoal and fuelwood were the dominant primary cooking energy source accounting

for about 37.18% and 27.61% respectively. The findings indicated multiple fuel use pattern among

households with majority of households combining two or more energy sources for both cooking

and lighting end uses consistent with the energy mix model. Although all households are connected

to electricity from the national grid, its use for household cooking and lighting is limited due to

constant outages. It is recommended that policy makers and stakeholders should take into

consideration the economic and socio-demographic characteristics of its population in any policy

or strategy geared towards providing clean, efficient and affordable energy sources if maximum

success is to be achieved so as to engender sustainable energy use and environmental

sustainability.