Assessment of the potential for electricity savings in households in Cameroon: A stochastic frontier approach

Promoting cost-effective energy efficiency actions is an important objective for many countries, as this appears to be one of the ultimate and effective strategies to ensure reliable access to energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As this is a key challenge facing developing countries, assessing the potential for energy savings in households appears as a crucial action to be considered by local policymakers, given the growing importance of residential electricity demand and the difficulties they face in managing the supply/demand balance of electricity. The literature review reveals a shortage of knowledge on residential electricity consumption behaviours in sub-African developing countries. Noting this gap, an energy demand frontier function is used to assess the potential for electricity savings in the residential sector in Cameroon, taking as a case study. The result showed that: households have an average efficiency of 62.4% with a range of 71%, which implies a significant potential for reducing electricity consumption. Rural households emerged more efficient than urban households. The study also clarify the potential for demand management at the household level which confirms that the efficiency level varies according to technical and social standards. This assessment is the very first of its kind in Cameroon. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.