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This briefing by the Public Affairs Research Institute examines the failure of the South African government to provide affordable electricity to low-income households despite the Energy Act of 1998. It highlights the systemic failure of the Free Basic Electricity (FBE) policy, where national budget allocations for poor households are not reaching the intended beneficiaries due to municipal mismanagement and registration barriers.

This research paper by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) examines the failure of the South African government to fulfill its 1998 White Paper on Energy promise to provide affordable electricity to poor households, small businesses, and small-scale farmers. It highlights a significant gap between national budget allocations for free basic electricity and the actual delivery of these services by municipalities.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) audits data on energy subsidies, energy use, and gender in Indonesia, specifically focusing on the reform of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumer subsidies. It examines how the current subsidy regime fails to reach the poor and near-poor, particularly women, and analyzes the potential gender-differentiated impacts of removing these subsidies, such as increased health risks from indoor air pollution and economic vulnerability.

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute uses a qualitative 'generative' methodology to examine household energy decision-making in four villages in Haryana State, India. The study identifies that the failure of improved cookstove initiatives often stems from a lack of attention to user needs and cultural contexts, such as the preference for specific fuel combinations and the traditional method of baking roti.

Minutes from a February 2012 seminar in New Delhi, organized by TERI, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and DFID, focusing on the challenges of clean cookstove dissemination, consumer choice, and market development in India.

This report evaluates the impact of three health-based behavioral interventions—SMS messaging, graphic imagery, and goal setting—on the purchase of improved cookstoves (ICS), health awareness, and willingness to pay (WTP) among households in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study utilized a randomized evaluation across eight villages, comparing treatment groups against a control group that received only general marketing. While some initial results showed increases in health awareness, these findings lost statistical significance when controlling for village fixed effects and baseline imbalances. The report concludes that high costs and lack of financing remain the primary barriers to ICS adoption, regardless of health awareness levels.