Rural Electrification and Energy Poverty in Maza Village, Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Access to adequate, clean reliable, sustainable and modern energy sources is a priority for economic development and poverty alleviation, provision and access to such energy sources has continued to be a challenge in many rural communities in Plateau State. This paper sought to assess rural electrification and energy poverty in Maza village. Systematic random sampling techniques was adopted where 150 houses hold out of the estimated 1250 households were selected for questionnaire administration. Apart from the structural questionnaire, the paper made use of interviews and reconnaissance survey for data collection. Simple descriptive statistics was used to analyse and present the result of the data collected and coded. The paper found out that the residents of Maza village are energy poor as they have limited energy options, in the absence of electricity, residents are forced to rely on traditional energy source like firewood and charcoal for heating and cooking. The paper recommend that government should partner with private sector to extend power supply to rural areas and also device and also advice other sustainable and renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy.