ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the impacts of electricity consumption on the welfare of households and the environment in Cambodia. Biomass is the dominant energy source in the residential sector, at 87 percent, followed by electricity (7 percent) and oil (6 percent). Cambodia’s biomass is sourced from wood and forestry, and its consumption for household cooking and heating is dangerous to health because of indoor pollution. Access to electricity helps reduce households’ consumption of biomass and decrease deforestation and forest encroachment. The study argues that accessing and using electricity will create direct and indirect opportunities for productivity and income generation. It uses the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey Data 2015 as the basis of the household analysis to investigate the impacts of electricity consumption on household welfare, such as earnings and the school performance of children in the households, and to investigate its impacts on the environment via a reduction in biomass consumption. The findings lead to policy implications that would improve affordable access to electricity to ensure that all households can use electricity for their basic needs and productivity.
