Sustainable Energy Access: An Evaluation of Energy Crisis Impact in Urban Katsina, Nigeria

The global energy crisis driven by crude oil price volatility, currency devaluation, and the removal of Nigeria’s petroleum subsidy, has placed unprecedented strain on urban household energy budgets. This study evaluates household energy transition in Katsina metropolis, the capital of Katsina State, Nigeria, using the energy ladder and fuel-stacking models as its conceptual anchor. A cross-sectional survey of 384 households, sampled proportionately across nine metropolitan wards using Cochran’s formula, was analysed alongside binary logistic regression to identify determinants of downward energy switching. Results show a marked reversal in household cooking-fuel choice: the share of households citing LPG as their primary cooking fuel fell from 58.9% before the crisis to 39.8% currently, while reliance on charcoal and firewood rose by 11.0 and 8.4 percentage points respectively. Regression results indicate that perceiving the LPG price increase as “severe” (OR = 3.14, p < 0.001) and lower household income (OR = 0.52, p < 0.001) were the strongest predictors of downward switching, while tertiary education and grid electricity access were protective. Rather than fully abandoning modern fuels, most affected households adopted a fuel-stacking strategy, retaining LPG for quick tasks while reverting to biomass fuels for daily cooking, consistent with the fuel-stacking rather than the strict linear energy-ladder model. The findings suggest that urban Nigerian households are experiencing crisis-induced energy regression despite urban status, with implications for indoor air quality, gender burden, and energy poverty. The study recommends targeted LPG cylinder subsidies, cash-transfer-linked clean cooking support, and expanded solar mini-grid access for urban low-income wards.

Keywords: Household Energy Transition, Energy Ladder, Fuel Stacking, Energy Poverty, Global Energy Crisis.