Urban Households' Biomass Energy Fuel Stacking and Its Implications for Sustainable Development Goal Seven: The Case of Jimma Town, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Sustainable development goal seven aims to provide access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030, but its progress and energy stacking conditions have not been evaluated. This study aims to assess the urban household energy profile and link its state to sustainable development goals. This study employs a cross‐sectional study design on 265 households selected by systematic random sampling from a town called Jimma in Ethiopia and collects the data using interview‐based semi‐structured questionnaires. The study obtains information from all the selected households. The results show that more than 80% of the households have a grid electricity connection, but more than 85% of the households regularly use firewood and charcoal for cooking. On average, households use about 1236 kg of firewood and 630 kg of charcoal per year. Most households report power interruption, inability to afford electricity costs, and personal preferences for relying on biomass energy for cooking. Over 98% of the households use electricity for lighting, but few use it for appliances. This shows an inherent challenge attributed to the cooking energy services provided by biomass energy sources despite the accessibility of electricity. This shows the significant impacts of biomass energy stacking which connection to electricity alone cannot solve.