In Peddie, the households use electricity and biomass for energy purposes. While some households use both, others use only biomass. This study investigates whether access to electricity has an effect on biomass use or not. There are social, economic and environmental factors that influence the effect that access to electricity has on biomass use. The study uses linear regression, ANOVA and Chi square tests to analyze the data. The results indicate that household income, employment status and education of household head are the factors that influence biomass use in Peddie. Investment in research in order to develop efficient technologies and the establishment of rural electricity generating plants based on solar, wind and hydro-power together with the community environmental education programs should be considered in order to rescue the situation.
