Inequality and transition challenges in household energy choices: evidence from Indonesia

Purpose This study aims to examine the determinants of household energy choices for lighting and cooking in Indonesia, an archipelagic nation facing persistent inequality in energy access. It seeks to understand how demographic, socioeconomic, infrastructural and technological factors such as digital access and credit availability shape the country’s household energy transition. This research also explores regional disparities to determine whether income or infrastructure poses a more substantial barrier to adopting modern energy. Design/methodology/approach Using nationally representative data from the March 2024 National Socioeconomic Survey (SUSENAS), this study uses a multinomial logit model to classify household energy use into four categories: traditional–traditional, modern–traditional, traditional–modern and modern–modern. The analysis incorporates survey weights and clustering to ensure national representativeness. Key explanatory variables include demographic attributes, education, occupation, wealth, land and house ownership, internet and mobile phone access, credit access and regional interaction effects. Findings Results reveal that 78.09% of households have adopted modern energy for both lighting and cooking, while 19.98% remain in partial transition. Education, female-headed households, access to credit, internet and mobile phones significantly increase the likelihood of adopting modern energy. Rural residence, low income and weak infrastructure sharply reduce it. High income drives transition mainly in well-developed regions like Java, but not in underdeveloped areas such as Maluku and Papua, where infrastructure constraints dominate. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to integrate digital access, financial inclusion and regional-infrastructure interactions into Indonesia’s household energy transition analysis. It demonstrates that economic capacity alone is insufficient, as structural and spatial factors crucially shape clean energy adoption. The findings provide actionable insights for designing regionally tailored, inclusive energy transition policies toward Indonesia’s net-zero emission target by 2060.