Estimations of Multidimensional Energy Poverty in Tanzania

Abstract

This study assesses the level of multidimensional energy poverty in Tanzania. The study uses descriptive and inferential statistics based on data from the 2015-2016 Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), as they provide the most comprehensive datasets for this analysis. The analysis revealed that 74.1% of households were in rural areas, while the remaining 25.9% were in urban areas. Moreover, the study found that 80.6% of household heads were considered multidimensionally energy-poor. For inferential statistics, the Alkire-Foster estimates found that 81.2% of households in Tanzania were multidimensionally energy-poor, with higher rates of energy poverty in rural areas (94.2%) and among female-headed households (84.0%). Moreover, the findings show that the dimension of modern fuel contributes the most to the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) (43.6%) compared to the asset (17.9%) and education (38.5%) dimensions. The study recommends that Tanzania invest in expanding access to modern cooking fuels and electricity, improving asset ownership, and enhancing educational opportunities to address multidimensional energy poverty. We recommend that the government emphasize and focus on both renewable energy and energy efficiency development in the country by implementing energy initiatives based on National Energy Policy 2015 to increase access to modern energy services and share renewable energies in the electricity generation mix to enhance availability, reliability, and security of supply.