Electricity Consumption in Brunei Darussalam: Challenges in Energy Conservation

Abstract

Brunei Darussalam is considered to be one of the highest consumers of electricity per capita in the world, and the domestic households account for the highest electricity consumption in the country. Bruneian households enjoy low electricity tariff which leads to over-consumption of electricity. This paper examines the behavioural pattern of the electricity consumption among Bruneian households residing at Lambak Kanan National Housing Scheme, using two approaches including end-use metering of several common household appliances and survey questionnaire on electricity consumption behaviour and energy conservation. The paper also attempts to compare the findings of the study with the data on electricity consumption in Singapore. Findings suggest that Bruneian households consumed high amount of electricity and among the studied appliances, air-conditioning and fluorescent lighting take up a great proportion of the electricity. Energy conservation is not new within the households but implementation of it is still lacking. Challenges on energy conservation, thus were revealed as low energy-efficient technologies integrated in building systems, lack of knowledge on the benefits of energy conservation among households and the disincentive low electricity pricing system. Ultimately, rigorous methods to tackle the challenges are needed in the country in order to curb the excessive usage of electricity and to conserve energy as a whole.