Urban Energy Transition and Technology Adoption: the Case of

Urban centers have long been dependent on the rural hinterlands for about 90 % of their fuel needs in Ethiopia. Whereas dependence of urban centers on rural hinterlands is one of the causes of deforestation, the later in return has resulted in growing fuel scarcity and higher firewood prices. One response to reducing the pressure of urban centers on their rural hinterlands could be switching from one fuel source to another, known as energy transition. Switching from fuelwood to electricity, for instance, leads to reduced pressure on the forest resources and lower indoor air pollution. However, such a transition is conditioned by the adoption of the relevant cooking appliance or stove technology by the majority users. This paper tried to investigate urban energy transition and technology adoption conditions using a dataset of 350 urban households in Tigrai, northern Ethiopia. Results suggest that the transition to electricity is conditioned by holding electric ‘mitad ’ cooking appliance, which is in turn influenced by the level of education and income, among other things