Abstract: Field surveys of the rural areas of Jiangsu and Jilin for energy consumption were conducted to explore regional disparities.Results show that Jilin is much higher than Jiangsu in total energy consumption per capita because the former needs more energy for heating in winter.In the respect of bio-energy,Jiangsu uses more crop stalks/straws whereas Jilin,rich in forest resources,burns crop stalks/straws as well as firewood.In the respect of commercial energy,Jiangsu depends more on electrical power,petro-products,and gasol whereas Jilin more on coal.In the respect of renewable energy-biogas,Jiangsu achieved better results than Jilin in popularization.With the help of the econometric model,factors affecting rural household energy consumption were analyzed.Results show that factors,such as per capita net income,per capita farmland area,per capita number of durable household electrical appliances,per capita motorcycle and major productive fixed assets,and region,are the major ones affecting the rural energy consumption,meanwhile financial and technical support from the government,per capita net income,per capita head of pigs in pen,and location of the household,agricultural zone or forest region are major factors influencing the farmer households in adopting biogas or not.

Key words: rural household, energy consumption, influencing factor, Jiangsu, Jilin