Abstract

The most significant input for any economic activity-may it be production or consumption is energy. Its sources varied in importance from time to time and from place to place. Still without access to one or other forms of energy economic life comes to a standstill. We cannot imagine today a world without coal, electricity or petroleum products. They have become so inevitable to mankind that modern technology of production leans heavily on these energy sources. This situation has also led to an ever increasing competition and search for cost effective and ecofriendly energy resources. At the same time there is also the need for conservation of the available supply as most energy resources are non-renewable in nature. This paper is an attempt to report the observations of a study on household consumption pattern of energy especially that of electricity conducted in Ernakulam District. The study focuses generally on all types of energy used for the domestic purposes like lighting, heating and cooking to assess the energy demand. In the present study an attempt is made to have a micro level observation of the nature and pattern of utilization of energy consumption in a rural area in comparison with an urban area. This is done with a view to find out whether the households observed are using the scarce energy resources economically and efficiently. A sample of 200 households 100 each from a rural and an urban area of Ernakulam district were observed to make inferences on the nature and pattern of usage of energy.