Income-Driven Behavioral Heterogeneity in Rural Energy Transition: A TPB Analysis of China's Coal-to-Electricity Policy

Mingjie Yang¹Xiaodong Zhang¹Rui Guo¹Yaolong Li²Fanglei Zhong^2*

• ¹State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
• ²Minzu University of China, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

To address air pollution and promote the transition to clean energy, China has implemented the "coal-to-electricity" policy. However, significant heterogeneity in farmers' compliance with the policy has emerged due to income disparities. This study integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with income stratification to examine behavioral intentions among rural households in Pu County, Shanxi Province, China. Survey data from 221 households were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results reveal distinct patterns across income groups: low-income farmers are primarily influenced by perceived behavioral control (β=0.396, p<0.01), highlighting the critical role of financial affordability; middle-income farmers balance policy trust and environmental awareness; while high-income farmers are significantly driven by subjective norms (β=0.760, p<0.01), reflecting the dominance of social pressure. Based on these findings, the study proposes a stratified subsidy strategy: direct financial support for low-income groups, technical incentives for middle-income farmers, and normative interventions like social benchmarking for high-income adopters. These findings challenge the conventional "one-size-fits-all" subsidy approach and provide theoretical and practical insights for designing behaviorally informed energy policies in developing countries, while contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7 and SDG 13).