World Bank2012-03-192012-03-192011-02-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/2742The objective of this paper is to shed some light on the benefits of improved access to electricity supply, specifically the benefits referred to as, 'consumer's surplus', which is the difference between what customers are willing to pay for the utilities associated with electricity access and the price that they actually pay. The paper leads to several important policy messages for the preparation of investments aiming to increase energy access in developing countries: consumer surplus as the measure for estimating benefits of enlarged access by households to public electricity supply needs to be used with caution; make sure that benefits of increased access to electricity are measured both in terms of gains in consumer surplus and gains in real income from electrification; plan electricity access expansion taking into account that reinforced electricity access may increase consumption of electricity modestly; plan electrification along with accompanying measures to ease access to electricity consuming appliances; and strengthen public data on energy consumption. The paper leads to specific conclusions relative to: the methodology to calculate benefits of increased electricity access; demand patterns for lighting purposes; demand patterns for entertainment and information purposes, and (4) other uses of energy.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO ELECTRICITYAGRICULTURAL WASTEAGRICULTUREAIRALLOCATIONALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTSAPPROACHAVAILABILITYAVERAGE PRICEAVERAGE PRICESBALANCEBANK LENDINGBENEFIT STREAMSBIOMASSBUDGET CONSTRAINTSCALCULATIONCAPITAL COSTCAR BATTERIESCARBONCARBON EMISSIONSCLIMATECLIMATE ZONECOCOMPETITIVENESSCONDITIONERSCONNECTED HOUSEHOLDSCONSUMER SURPLUSCONSUMPTION INCREASESCONSUMPTION OF ENERGYCONSUMPTION PATTERNSCOST ANALYSISCOST OF ELECTRICITYCOST-BENEFITCOST-BENEFIT ANALYSISDEMAND CURVEDEMAND CURVESDEMAND FOR ELECTRICITYDEMAND FORECASTINGDEMAND FUNCTIONSDIESELDOMINANT FUELDRY CELL BATTERIESECONOMETRIC ANALYSISECONOMIC ANALYSISECONOMIC BENEFITSECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC PERSPECTIVEELECTRIC ENERGYELECTRICITYELECTRICITY BILLSELECTRICITY CONSUMPTIONELECTRICITY DEMANDELECTRICITY GENERATIONELECTRICITY PRICEELECTRICITY PRICESELECTRICITY SUPPLYELECTRICITY TARIFFSELECTRICITY-CONSUMING EQUIPMENTELECTRIFICATIONEND USEENERGY CONSUMPTIONENERGY DEMANDENERGY EFFICIENCYENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURESENERGY PRICESENERGY SOURCEENERGY SOURCESENERGY SUPPLYENERGY USEEXPENDITURESFINANCIAL ANALYSISFINANCIAL RETURNFORECASTSFUEL COSTFUEL OILFUEL PRICEFUELSGASOLINEGDPGRID ELECTRICITYGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTHOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTIONHOUSEHOLD ENERGYHURRICANEINCANDESCENT BULBSINCOMEINCOME CLASSINCOME EFFECTINCOME ELASTICITY OF DEMANDINCOME GROUPSINCOME HOUSEHOLDSINCOME LEVELSINTEREST RATEKEROSENEKEROSENE LAMPSKEROSENE LIGHTINGKEROSENE WICKKILOWATT HOURKILOWATT-HOURSLEAST COST ANALYSISLIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GASLIVING STANDARDSLOWER LEVELS OF CONSUMPTIONLOWER PRICELOWER PRICESMARGINAL COSTMARGINAL PRICEMARGINAL UTILITYMIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIESNATIONAL GRIDOIL RESOURCESOPPORTUNITY COSTPETROLEUMPETROLEUM GASPOLLUTIONPOWERPRESENT VALUEPRICE ELASTICITYPRICE ELASTICITY OF DEMANDPRICE INCREASESPRICE OF ELECTRICITYPRIMARY SOURCE OF ELECTRICITYPURCHASE PRICEPURCHASINGPURCHASING POWERQUANTITY OF ELECTRICITYREAL INCOMEREGRESSION ANALYSISRESIDENTIAL CONSUMERSRURAL ELECTRIFICATIONSPREADSUBSTITUTESSUBSTITUTIONSUBSTITUTION EFFECTSUSTAINABLE ENERGYTARIFF STRUCTURETECHNICAL ASSISTANCETIME VALUE OF MONEYTINUTILITIESUTILITY BILLWorld Bank10.1596/2742