The objective of this paper is to shedsome light on the benefits of improved access to electricitysupply, specifically the benefits referred to as,'consumer's surplus', which is the differencebetween what customers are willing to pay for the utilitiesassociated with electricity access and the price that theyactually pay. The paper leads to several important policymessages for the preparation of investments aiming toincrease energy access in developing countries: consumersurplus as the measure for estimating benefits of enlargedaccess by households to public electricity supply needs tobe used with caution; make sure that benefits of increasedaccess to electricity are measured both in terms of gains inconsumer surplus and gains in real income fromelectrification; plan electricity access expansion takinginto account that reinforced electricity access may increaseconsumption of electricity modestly; plan electrificationalong with accompanying measures to ease access toelectricity consuming appliances; and strengthen public dataon energy consumption. The paper leads to specificconclusions relative to: the methodology to calculatebenefits of increased electricity access; demand patternsfor lighting purposes; demand patterns for entertainment andinformation purposes, and (4) other uses of energy.
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