Clean energy consumption in newly poverty-relieved villages: Limited adaptability to external shocks

Abstract

Billions of people lack access to inexpensive clean energy and live in energy poverty. However, exogenous shocks like pandemics or extremely high temperatures can exacerbate such challenges, particularly in newly poverty-relieved villages. We demonstrate empirically how external shocks can weaken newly poverty-relieved villages' ability to use clean energy—in this case, residential electricity consumption. A household electricity consumption dataset in over 700 poverty-stricken villages spanning from January 2016 to June 2020 has been compiled. The results show that there is a significant socioeconomic heterogeneity in the capacity of electricity consumption in poverty-relieved villages. Specifically, electricity consumption in newly poverty-relieved villages has an increasing trend, while areas with a poorer peripheral economy or a greater proportion of poor households show a muted increase. What's more, such an increase in newly poverty-relieved villages is lacking in strength due to their limited adaptability to extreme temperatures, no matter high or low temperatures. Additionally, compared to their counterparts with no pandemic, the growth of electricity consumption in newly poverty-relieved villages significantly decreased during the national COVID-19 pandemic. This study provides insights for policymakers to adjust policy designs to address the limited adaptability of this vulnerable group to clean energy consumption. This paper adds to the policy discussion of the increased costs of electricity generation due to low carbon transition in energy systems, and the urgency for policy to address this issue to avoid social injustice.