Urban household cooking energy choice: an example of Bauchi metropolis, Nigeria

Background: The use of traditional energy sources such as wood, animal dung and agricultural residue by households has been in practice since time immemorial. This has however been identified as a cause of environmental problems such as excessive deforestation and the cause of the premature death of about 4.3 million people yearly; it caused the death of about 396,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Nigeria is located, in 2002. It was also responsible for 2.7 % of the global burden of disease in that year. The reasons for fuel choice are different for different locations. This paper presents the results of a study in the factors affecting the cooking energy choice of households in Bauchi metropolis, North-east Nigeria. The aim of the study was to provide site-specific information that will aid the formulation of an effective energy policy which will result in safer and sustainable energy behaviour among households in Bauchi and Nigeria as a nation. The study therefore determined the cooking energy consumption pattern of the household and whether it follows the energy ladder model and also determined the factors that influence cooking energy choice. Methods: Two-step random sampling was used along with a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data. Descriptive statistics, T test and regression analysis were used to analyse the data through the help of Microsoft excel T and SPSS. Results: The results show that biomass fuel is still being used heavily while the use of LPG has improved. Electricity and solar energy are only used by households as secondary cooking energy. The fuel use pattern is characterized by multiple fuel use, conforming more to the fuel stacking hypothesis than energy ladder hypothesis. Change in household size, dwelling ownership status, change of season, income, level of education, dwelling location, availability and affordability are the factors that were found to influence household cooking energy choice. Conclusions: This paper concludes that the heavy use of biomass for cooking in Bauchi metropolis is not environmentally healthy and requires serious attention. The major recommendation of the study is that policies encouraging the availability and use of efficient and environmentally friendly energy sources should be formulated and implemented.