An assessment of household electricity load curves and corresponding CO₂ marginal abatement cost curves for Gujarat state, India

Gujarat, a large industrialized state in India, consumed 67 TWh of electricity in 2009–10, besides experiencing a 4.5% demand–supply short-fall. Residential sector accounted for 15% of the total electricity consumption. We conducted load research survey across 21 cities and towns of the state to estimate residential electricity load curves, share of appliances by type and usage patterns for all types of household appliances at utility, geographic, appliance, income and end-use levels. The results indicate that a large scope exists for penetration of energy efficient devices in residential sector. Marginal Abatement Cost (MAC) curves for electricity and CO₂ were generated to analyze relative attractiveness of energy efficient appliance options. Results indicate that up to 7.9 TWh of electricity can be saved per year with 6.7 Mt-CO₂ emissions mitigation at negative or very low CO₂ prices of US$ 10/t-CO₂. Despite such options existing, their penetration is not realized due to myriad barriers such as financial, institutional or awareness and therefore cannot be taken as baseline options for CO₂ emission mitigation regimes. - Highlights: • Residential sector provides focused mitigation opportunities. • Energy efficient space cooling is the main technology transition required. • Almost 26% residential load could be reduced by DSM measures. • Myriad barriers limit penetration of negative marginal cost efficient options