Energy efficiency in postpaid-prepaid metered homes: analyzing effects of socio-economic, housing, and metering factors in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Advances in automated energy metering system over the years have engendered transparency, self-control, efficiency, and equity in energy use especially among residential households globally. Despite this development, only few studies have shown the disaggregated effects of household attributes, dwelling characteristics, and metering systems on residential energy efficiency in the Global South. This paper argues that apart from household contextual factors—socio-economic and housing—the metering systems could indirectly account for energy disparities among urban households. This study therefore compared electricity consumption by urban households under the postpaid meter system and the prepaid meter system using electricity utility data obtained from residents in Ojo Lagos, Nigeria. Findings indicated that electricity consumption levels differed significantly between the postpaid and the prepaid metered households. Further analyses showed that the prepaid meter households used 47% less electricity kWh per annum compared with the postpaid meter households, intra-group variations in domestic electricity use were attributed to the household socio-economic and residential characteristics, and inter-group variations in electricity use rates were attributed to the metering system used by households. This study has both practical and policy implications for urban energy management especially with regard to the metering systems put in place for residential energy use and the need to ensure energy justice in socio-economically polarized cities.