What do Electricity Access Policies Achieve? Evidence from Rwanda

*Draft available on request *

Abstract

We study elasticities of electricity consumption under prepaid metering in Rwanda. Using rich household-level monthly electricity billing data in Rwanda, we find that residential consumers are more responsive to marginal prices (MPs) than to average prices (APs), highlighting how salience under prepaid metering affects consumption. Consumers bunch just above tariff thresholds, suggesting they limit purchases after encountering higher MPs. This contrasts with evidence under postpaid settings, where consumers are more responsive to APs. Simulations show that restructuring block tiers can produce surplus effects comparable to price changes.

Citation

Awonon, Josue, Siddhi Doshi, Justice Tei Mensah, Aimable Nsabimana. 2025. “What do Electricity Access Policies Achieve? Evidence from Rwanda.” Working Paper.