An Analysis of Household Energy Consumption Patterns and Environmental Implications in Enugu Urban

Household energy consumption patterns in Nigerian urban centres are shaped by unreliable grid electricity supply, energy poverty, and the dominance of biomass fuels, with significant implications for indoor air quality, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions. This study analyses household energy consumption patterns and their environmental implications in Enugu Urban, South East Nigeria. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted with 220 households stratified by income level across six wards in Enugu Municipal Local Government Area, capturing primary and secondary fuel types, appliance ownership, monthly expenditure, and cooking practices. Charcoal and firewood consumption volumes were converted to biomass equivalents and biomass carbon estimates using standardised conversion factors. Results reveal that charcoal is the dominant cooking fuel across all income quintiles, accounting for 68 percent of cooking energy consumption despite availability of bottled liquefied petroleum gas. Kerosene use for lighting remains significant among lower-income households given persistent electricity supply failures averaging 18 hours of outage per day in surveyed areas. The study estimates that household biomass combustion in Enugu Urban releases approximately 14,200 tonnes of carbon equivalent annually. Indoor air pollution from biomass combustion disproportionately affects women and children. Recommendations include targeted LPG distribution subsidies, improved electricity reliability as a demand-side intervention, and urban forestry enhancement to partially offset biomass-related carbon emissions. Keywords: household energy, biomass fuel, indoor air pollution, Enugu, energy poverty.